Dolphins at Bills final score and immediate reactions

The Miami Dolphins came into this afternoon’s game against the Buffalo Bills looking to sweep the season series, win their ninth game in their last ten, and put themselves all-but-into the playoffs. The Bills, still technically alive, were looking to damage Miami’s playoff chances and get their revenge for the Week 7 loss.

The first half saw Miami ride the ground game to a 14-0 lead before the Bills completed a deep pass in the endzone to bring it back to 14-7. Matt Moore did not have a good first half, putting up a 19.0 passer rating in the first 30 minutes, a distinct difference from how he looked last week.

The second half turned into a shootout with neither team really being able to stop the other team’s offense.

Every week, during the Dolphins’ game, I keep a running tally of my thoughts and reactions to the game, providing for immediate reactions to everything that happens during the game. I break up those reactions into the first- and second-halves, followed by some overall thoughts from the game. You can find all of that below.

Final Score

Dolphins - Bills

First Half

• Dolphins defer to the second half. Kicking off.
• Tony Lippett with the pass breakup on first down.
• LeSean McCoy runs right into Ndamuong Suh on second down. Two yard loss.
• Dolphins flush Tyrod Taylor and force the three-and-out. Punt.
• Here comes Matt Moore. Can he back up what he did last week in his first start as the replacement for Ryan Tannehill?
• Jay Ajayi for three yards. Just needs 211 more to match last Bills game production.
• Dion Sims for two.
• Incomplete pass on third-down. Moore was late with the throw and luckily Ronald Darby ran into Kenny Stills, or else that could have been a pick. Punt.
• McCoy with the cut back. Cameron Wake just missed the tackle. Picks up eight yards. Good solid tackle from Michael Thomas.
• Incomplete on third-and-five. Three-and-out. Punt.
• Ajayi getting going. 7 yards on first down and 19 yards on second down.
• Ajayi -1.
• Great pass from Moore and toe tap from Stills on 3rd-and-11. Replay confirms the catch.
• Ajayi 5 yards.
• Ajayi 8 yards.
• TOUCHDOWN! AJAYI 2 YARDS! MIA 7-0!

• McCoy picks up 8 yards.
• 3rd-and-2. Five yards Taylor to Jerome Felton.
• Mike Gillislee for 7 yards.
• Gillislee for 7.
• Gillislee for 4.
• McCoy for 5. Come on defense. You have to stop the run.
• Taylor to Felton again on 3rd down. This time for 9 yards and the conversion.
• 3rd and 5. Delay of Game. Now 3rd-and-10. Taylor to McCoy for 7. Field goal coming.
• NO GOOD! Dan Carpenter kicks it wide right. Dolphins take over.
• Ajayi for 4 yards.
• End of first quarter.
• Ajayi for 8 yards.
• Ajayi for 7 yards.
• TOUCHDOWN! KENYAN DRAKE FOR 45 YARDS! MIA 14-0!

• Gilislee fumbles on the kickoff, but manages to get it back.
• Taylor to Charles Clay for 9 yards.
• Taylor runs for 5.
• McCoy for 6. Holding. No play and backs Buffalo up.
• Taylor to McCoy for 5.
• Taylor to Sammy Watkins for 20 yards. Damn. Was 3rd-and-15.
• 4th-and-1. Bills going for it. NOPE! Dolphins defense stuffs Gilislee! Turnover on downs.
• Ajayi for 2.
• Two incompletions and Dolphins go 3-and-out.
• McCoy for 8 yards.
• Taylor for 23 yards. Cameron Wake started to pressure and Taylor managed to bounce outside, where there was no one.
• McCoy for 6.
• And McCoy for 14.
• Touchdown. Bills. Taylor to Watkins for 38 yards. MIA 14-7.
• Ajayi for 4.
• Moore to Diom Sims for 7. Tight end screen and Sims fights for the first down. Great play by the tight end.
• Ajayi for 2.
• Ajayi for 7. Nope. Holding on Ja’Wuan James. Brings it back. Should have been 3rd-and-1. Now 2nd-and-18.
• But that’s okay, because Jarvis Landry is ridiculous. Short pass to Landry and he cuts up, back, left, up, left and picks up 15 yards.
• 3rd-and-3. Moore overthrow to Damien Williams. Williams tipped it and, luckily, it falls incomplete. Moore missed that throw.
• Punt.
• Cameron Wake with the sack on 3rd-and-10! Bills go three-and-out! That’s sack 11.5 for Wake this year.
• Ajayi for 11 yards.
• Moore incomplete to Stills. Short hopped it. Moore is bad today.
• Pick. Moore threw a ball he never should have thrown into the endzone and Stills never had a chance. Corey White with the interception.
• McCoy for 13.
• Taylor to Robert Woods for 9.
• Taylor to Woods, lateral to McCoy for 8 yards.
• End of half.
• Moore is 5-for-14 for 57 yards with a pick, giving him a 19.0 passer rating in the first half. Can this please end the Moore should start over Tannehill debate? This game is only going well for Miami because Buffalo cannot stop the run.

Second Half

• Dolphins will receive to start the second half.
• Ajayi for 1. Brings him to 82 in the game. Time to get him to 200 yards again.
• Ajayi for 9. Offensive line shoving the pile again. Great stuff.
• Ajayi for 0.
• Moore to Parker for 4 yards.
• TOUCHDOWN!!!! MOORE TO PARKER SHORT, BOUNCES OFF A TACKLE ATTEMPT AND IS GONE! 56 YARDS! MIA 21-7.
• McCoy for 9.
• McCoy for -1.
• Taylor to Clay for 8.
• Gillislee for 5.
• Taylor to Clay for 7.
• Taylor to Clay for 9.
• Taylor to Watkins for 13. Buffalo is just carving apart the middle of the field right now. The Dolphins are not generating pressure, focusing on keeping Taylor in the pocket, and he is looking like Joe Flacco against the Dolphins right now.
• McCoy for 6 yards. Of course, the Dolphins are not stopping the ground game right now either.
• Touchdown. McCoy for 19 yards. MIA 21-14.
• Ajayi for 5.
• Ajayi for 2.
• Moore to Damien Williams. Bounces off a tackle and cuts back for 44 yards! Matt Moore’s stats are going up as long as the Bills can’t tackle.
• Moore to Parker for 15 yards.
• Ajayi for 3.
• TOUCHDOWN! MOORE TO STILLS FOR 6 YARDS! MIA 28-14.
• McCoy for 1.
• Taylor to Watkins for 53 yards. Damn. Did not see who the cornerback was, but he passed Watkins to no one. Bacarri Rambo was deep in the middle of the field and no where near Watkins. Cannot be having that.
• Taylor for 6 yards.
• Touchdown. Taylor to Clay for 18 yards. MIA 28-21.
• Ajayi for 5.
• Ajayi for 1.
• End 3rd quarter.
• Moore to Parker for 10.
• Ajayi for 10.
• Ajayi for 0.
• Moore dumps it to Landry, who does the Landry thing and somehow picks up 11 yards.
• Ajayi -5.
• Ajayi for 3.
• Ajayi for 7.
• Doink. Andrew Franks hits the left upright and field goal is no good.
• Taylor for 13 on the read-option. There was no one anywhere around to make the tackle.
• Taylor to Marquise Goodwin for 16 yards.
• Taylor for 10.
• Sack! Jason Jones with the sack.
• Taylor to Clay deep in the endzone. Doesn’t get his feet down.
• Taylor to Watkins for 9. Brings up 4th-and-1
• Dolphins called for 12 men. Free yardage and gives Buffalo a first down.
• Field goal. Dan Carpenter for 28 yards. MIA 28-24.
• Dolphins turn to Landry with end-around, dropped screen, and 3 yard reception. 3-and-out.
• McCoy for 7.
• McCoy for 2.
• Gillislee for 25. Where is the defense?
• Taylor scrambles for 3.
• McCoy for 11. Seriously. Where is the defense?
• Taylor to Robert Woods for 34 yards. Flea-flicker and Woods was wide open all by himself coming across the field. At the Miami 7.
• McCoy for -1.
• McCoy for 4.
• Taylor for -3.
• Touchdown. Taylor to Clay for 7 yards. BUF 31-28.
• Incomplete. 1:07 left.
• Moore to Stills for 17.
• Spike. 51 seconds left.
• Incomplete.
• Moore to Damien Willams for 7 yards. Williams fought for extra yards instead of just getting out of bounds.
• FIELD GOAL! FRANKS FROM 55 YARDS OUT. CAREER LONG TO TIE THE GAME! TIE 31-31.

Overtime

• I cannot breath. Seriously. How is this happening.
• Bills receive the kickoff in overtime.
• The Dolphins defense has to show up right now.
• Andre Branch with the tackle for a loss on McCoy.
• Taylor to Clay for 11.
• 3rd-and-1. Damn. 1.5 yard gain. Just gets past the marker.
• Gillislee for 35 yards. What the hell? At Miami 30 now.
• Branch tackles Taylor for a loss on the read option. -1 yards.
• HE MISSED IT!!!!!!!!! DAN CARPENTER MISSES THE KICK!!!!!!!
• Ajayi for 9 yards.
• Drake for 6 yards.
• Drake for 2 yards.
• Ajayi for 3 yards.
• Incomplete.
• Punt. Bobby McCain makes a great play at the goal line and the ball is downed at the 4.
• McCoy for 6.
• McCoy for 15.
• McCoy for -3.
• Taylor for 5.
• Taylor to Clay for 16.
• Gillislee for 1 on the direct snap.
• Taylor to Watkins for 7.
• Incomplete! Bills punt!
• Ajayi for 57!!!!!!
• Ajayi for 8.
• Drake for 3.
• Ajayi for 4.
• Ajayi for 6.
• Ajayi with 206 yards! That’s his third of the year!
• FIELD GOAL! FRANKS FROM 27 YARDS! BALL GAME! 34-31!!!!!!!

Immediate Reactions

Holy crap. I don’t even know how to react to this game. Miami dominated throughout most of it, then just sort of stopped playing and let Buffalo claw their way back. The second half was all about scoring, and Miami could not do it any more. The defense had no answers for anything Buffalo did - both through the air and especially on the ground.

This game should never have gone to overtime, but somehow it did. Then the Bills just marched straight down the field on Miami. There was just no defense for the Dolphins at the end of this game. But, Dan Carpenter missed the field goal in overtime and Miami got the ball back. They could not do anything with it, though.

After actually forcing a punt, the Dolphins finally put it away with some great running by Ajayi, including a 57 yarder. He reached the 200 yard mark (again), though he did leave the game with an apparent issue in his shoulder.

Miami now has 10 wins and is in prime position to make the playoffs!

Go Chiefs!