Dolphins complete collapse, lose division to Bills
It always seemed like a looming possibility for the Miami Dolphins. Despite leading the division by several games over the Buffalo Bills across the first 17 weeks of the season, the schedule for both teams was starkly different as the season came to a close. The Dolphins closed against Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo. The Bills […]
It always seemed like a looming possibility for the Miami Dolphins. Despite leading the division by several games over the Buffalo Bills across the first 17 weeks of the season, the schedule for both teams was starkly different as the season came to a close.
The Dolphins closed against Dallas, Baltimore, and Buffalo. The Bills faced the LA Chargers, New England, and Miami. The Dolphins would need to prove themselves against some of the league's best in order to hold onto the lead they'd worked all season to hold.
After Sunday night's 21-14 loss to the Bills, what was theirs all season is no longer: the AFC East. With matching 11-6 records, the Bills claimed the division on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
It's a brutal and disheartening result for a team that has been absolutely gutted by injuries as much as any team in the NFL this season. Their injury report for Week 18 looked like a CVS receipt with 19 players appearing on it. It got even worse on Sunday night when Andrew Van Ginkel (foot) and Cameron Goode (knee) left the game with injuries and did not return.
As much as coaches say next man up, eventually that's no longer the case. The Dolphins had no edge rushers beyond Emmanuel Ogbah and Melvin Ingram – who was activated from the practice squad on Saturday – after Goode's injury. Trying to stop Josh Allen with no pass rush is like trying to win a fistfight with two hands tied behind your back.
Miami's offense was productive in the first half. The Dolphins were able to run the ball successfully on pitches to De'Von Achane, who finished with 56 rushing yards on 10 carries. However, the Dolphins went away from their ground game in the second half, and they also didn't work to get the ball to Tyreek Hill in space. Hill finished with 7 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Despite that, Miami still had a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter and seemed to have Josh Allen and the Bills' offense relatively in check. However, that all changed when Deonte Harty fielded a punt inside the five-yard line and raced through the heart of the Dolphins' punt team for a game-changing 96-yard touchdown.
From that point, Miami went three and out and gave the ball right back to Allen and the Bills. Allen, who threw for 359 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, marched the Bills 74 yards in 8 plays for the go ahead score on a five-yard strike to Dawson Knox.
Unfortunately, Tagovailoa and the Miami offense couldn't do much of anything on their final two possessions. The Dolphins went three and out after giving up the lead, and on their final possession, Tagovailoa threw an interception to Taylor Rapp to seal the win for the Bills. Tagovailoa had another forgettable showing against a quality team, completing 17 of 27 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown, 2 interceptions, and a passer rating of 62.7.
Now, the Dolphins must begin the playoffs on Saturday night in Kansas City, where temperatures are expected to dip into single digits.
Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel needs more than a flux capacitor after another big mistake
Miami’s head coach is under fire for an unfortunate event late in the loss to the Ravnes
