James Cook tallied three touchdowns, Ja’Marcus Ingram grabbed the first two interceptions of his career and the Buffalo Bills trounced the Miami Dolphins 31-10 on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted three times, including a pick-6 by Ingram that blew the game open early in the third quarter. Tagovailoa later sustained a concussion when he collided with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin and left the game under his own power.
Skylar Thompson finished out the game at quarterback for Miami. De’Von Achane led the Dolphins with 96 rushing yards on 22 carries, seven catches for 69 yards, and a receiving score.
Cook — who had two rushing touchdowns all of last season — ran for two scores Thursday while gaining 78 yards on the ground for the Bills (2-0). Josh Allen completed an efficient 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards and one TD — also scored by Cook.
Buffalo defeated Miami (1-1) for the 12th time in their past 13 meetings (regular season and playoffs).
On Miami’s first possession of the second half, Tagovailoa was under duress and tried to throw a pass out of bounds, but it didn’t reach the far sideline and Ingram fielded it for an easy 31-yard pick-6.
Tagovailoa guided the Dolphins downfield on the next possession, and facing fourth-and-4 at the Buffalo 13, the quarterback scrambled up the middle for 6 yards. Instead of sliding, however, he stumbled headfirst into Hamlin’s arm and stayed on the ground. Tagovailoa, who has a history of concussions, was attended to by coaches and trainers before walking to the locker room.
Tagovailoa finished 17-for-25 passing for 145 yards and one touchdown.
Buffalo kept Miami out of the end zone when Von Miller sacked Thompson on fourth-and-goal. The Dolphins turned the ball over on downs twice more as the game wound down.
Tagovailoa’s first interception came on the opening drive, as his pass bounced off his intended target and into the hands of Ingram. Six plays later, on fourth-and-3, Allen hit Cook for a 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Miami responded by driving 70 yards in 10 plays, and Tagovailoa found Achane for a 5-yard touchdown to tie it.
Tagovailoa’s second pick was badly overthrown, straight to cornerback Christian Benford on the Dolphins’ next possession. That led to Tyler Bass’ 43-yard field goal for a 10-7 Buffalo lead with 12:41 left in the half.
Later, Allen extended a play by scrambling right and tossed a 33-yard pass to running back Ty Johnson, who went down at the Miami 1. On the next play, Cook scored up the middle, and the extra point made it 17-7.
The Dolphins tried to convert a fourth-and-2 near midfield, but Ed Oliver swallowed up Tagovailoa with 3:45 left in the half. On the next play, Cook sprinted away for a 49-yard score.
The Dolphins only managed a 34-yard Jason Sanders field goal before halftime, making it 24-10.
–Field Level Media
