Josh Allen tossed a go-ahead touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis to lift the host Buffalo Bills to a 26-11 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.
Davis’ score was the first touchdown of the game for Buffalo (5-2). Allen added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, and the Bills’ ferocious defense held on for the win.
Miami (1-7) lost its seventh straight game overall and seventh consecutive contest in the series against Buffalo. The Bills have outscored Miami 61-11 in two games this season.
Allen completed 29-of-42 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 55 yards and one score.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the subject of trade rumors, completed 21-of-39 passes for 205 yards. He ran for one score and was intercepted once, by Jordan Poyer.
The Dolphins played without their leading tackler, linebacker Jerome Baker, due to a knee injury. But they got back DeVante Parker (8 catches, 85 yards), who had missed three straight games due to shoulder and hamstring injuries.
Miami’s Jason Sanders, the league’s 2020 All-Pro kicker, missed a 36-yard field goal on the team’s opening drive. Buffalo has gone 18 consecutive games without allowing an opening-drive TD, and that’s the longest active streak in the NFL.
By halftime, the score was tied 3-3. Buffalo’s Tyler Bass made a 57-yard field goal, and Sanders connected from 51.
Late in the first half, the Dolphins squandered a chance to take a lead as they lost a fumble on a third-and-5 play from Buffalo’s 5-yard line. On that play, Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki went in motion, and the shotgun snap hit him as he passed, with Bills safety Micah Hyde recovering the ball.
Buffalo avoided disaster in the third quarter as Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt at his own nine. Teammate Jake Kumerow recovered the ball in the end zone, and it was ruled a touchback.
Given that reprieve, the Bills drove 80 yards on 15 plays, culminating that march with Allen’s 8-yard flip to Davis, a native Floridian who was alone in the right corner of the end zone.
Allen’s 19-yard TD pass on a slant to Diggs gave Buffalo a 17-3 lead early in the fourth quarter.
With 9:43 left in the fourth, Tagovailoa scored on a 1-yard run. His two-point-conversion pass to Gesicki cut Miami’s deficit to 17-11. Gesicki also reeled in a 40-yard pass to set up the touchdown.
Buffalo, however, drove for Bass’ 39-yard field goal with 3:29 left. Allen added a 7-yard run with 67 seconds remaining to seal the win.
–Field Level Media
