Miami Dolphins’ supposedly elite defense collapses against Bills with season on the line
There was one consistent in this bizarre, unprecedented season for the Miami Dolphins.
Whether Tua Tagovailoa or Ryan Fitzpatrick was playing quarterback, the Dolphins’ defense was shutting down opponents. No matter which players were missing because of COVID-19 or injuries, Miami’s defense was creating turnovers. Even with about half the starting unit made up of new players from a year ago, the Dolphins’ defense won games for Miami.
No single unit or player lost the Dolphins’ their must-win regular-season finale Sunday — it was, after all, a 56-26 rout for the Buffalo Bills — but Miami’s defense didn’t put together anything close to a winning effort in Orchard Park, New York.
With star quarterback Josh Allen in the game, the Bills unloaded for 28 points in the second quarter, with three touchdowns coming from seldom-used wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. With backup quarterback Matt Barkely in, Buffalo scored another 21 in the fourth quarter, with running back Antonio Williams scoring twice in his NFL debut.
“We didn’t play well in any phase – offense, defense, special teams,” coach Brian Flores said. “It’s a team effort. They talk about the offense, we’ll talk about the defense, we’ll talk about the special teams.”
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With Allen only playing half the game, the Bills still piled up 455 yards against the Dolphins (10-6) and averaged 7.1 yards per play. McKenzie, who had four career touchdowns before this weekend, caught six passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns, and returned a punt for a score. Williams ran 12 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Even star cornerback Xavien Howard got burnt by Buffalo’s reserves, as wide receiver Gabriel Davis beat him for a 51-yard reception as part of a two-catch, 107-yard day.
Allen finished 18 of 25 for 224 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and Barkley went 6 of 13 for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
“It’s a powerful offense they have,” said Howard, who tied a franchise record with his 10th interception of the season in the blowout loss. “They’ve got a lot of weapons and Josh Allen is a great quarterback doing some great things this year.”
Miami only gave up 450 yards in a game four times all season and only allowed an average of 7.0 yards per play five times, and the Bills (13-3) are one of only two teams to hit both benchmarks in the same game. They’ve now done it twice and they did it this weekend without much to play for.
They also did it despite a lifeless first quarter. On Buffalo’s opening drive, the Dolphins teed off on Allen. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel dropped him for an 11-yard sack on the sixth play of the game and cornerback Byron Jones picked him off on the next, setting up Miami to take a 3-0 lead on a 49-yard field goal by star kicker Jason Sanders.
The Bills finished the first quarter with just 42 yards on 16 plays, and the Dolphins had a sack, two tackles for loss and an interception. Buffalo followed it with 192 yards in the second and Miami went into halftime down 28-6.
As the Dolphins’ season died at Bills Stadium, it was a particularly sour note to end on for one of the league’s top defenses after it entered the final week of the regular season as the NFL’s best in scoring.
“Of course, we want to win more games, we want to make the playoffs and bigger things than that,” Howard said. “With that, I feel like we got something here. Everybody believes in Flores and we believe in everybody on the staff. We all put in the work even though we came short, but I feel like the future is bright for us.”
