Bills Dominate Late To Beat Dolphins But Playoffs Don't Seem Promising For Either Team
The best thing that can be said about Sunday night's game between the Bills and Dolphins is both teams get a chance to redeem themselves next week in the playoffs.
That's about it, folks.
Because both these teams are kind of teetering now.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 07: Dawson Knox #88 of the Buffalo Bills runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Bills Win AFC East Again
You'll read everywhere else that the Bills beat the Dolphins and won their fourth consecutive AFC East title. And the schedule says the Bills finish the year with a flurry, winning their final five games to rally into the playoffs.
And, give the Bills credit, those are facts.
But the truth is the Bills are kind of stumbling their way into the playoffs. Just as the Dolphins are.
Sure the Bills beat the Dolphins, 21-14, to sweep the season series. Sure, they host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo next week while the Dolphins, now the No. 7 seed, visit Kansas City.
But Buffalo is a tale of two cities. Or teams.
They look great at times, as they did in in that fourth quarter Sunday night. And then they look awful as they did as they suffered three key turnovers, including two interceptions in the end zone and a fumble in the red zone.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 07: Jeff Wilson Jr. #23 of the Miami Dolphins rushes during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Dolphins Have Two Consecutive Losses
The Dolphins, meanwhile, are on their heels.
They lost their second consecutive game to finish the season and must travel to play a Chiefs team that beat them earlier in the year.
The Dolphins are beat up, with injuries throughout the defense, particularly at the pass rusher position where they've lost Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb for the season and lost two more players during this game.
And given a chance to tie the game with one final possession this game, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ended the comeback hopes by throwing his second interception of the game.
And so what are the chances either of these teams does what they set out to do when the season began? What are the chances they make it through the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl?
Your guess is as good as mine if your guess is it doesn't look promising for either right now.
One must assume the Bills, however, have a better chance.
They waited for a very long time to impose their will in this game, but the fourth quarter belonged to them. They got a stunning 96 yard punt return from Deonte Harty to tie the game. And the next time they had the ball, they engineered a 74 yard drive the culminated with a Josh Allen TD pass to tight end Dawson Knox.
Other than that Bills played like, well, the Bills for most of the game.
They moved the ball up and down the field with relative consistency. And then they did things that kept themselves off the scoreboard.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JANUARY 07: Dalton Kincaid #86 of the Buffalo Bills runs after catching a pass during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Bills Inconsistent But Effective When It Mattered
Allen threw his first red zone interception of the season in the first quarter.
He was stripped of the football on a fourth quarter foray into the red zone and Christian Wilkins recovered. That was Allen's third turnover of the game.
The total brought Allen's total for the season to a whopping 21 turnovers. Like, by himself.
There were other moments in which the Bills beat themselves.
James Cook dropped a touchdown pass in the second quarter. And running back Ty Johnson caught a pass at the Dolphins 1 yard line with mere seconds to play in the first half but couldn't get in the end zone when Miami linebacker Jerome Baker stopped basically knocked him out of the game.
Baker's tackle sent Johnson into the concussion protocol and he was out for the rest of the game. The pass to the middle of the field with no time outs resulted in the Bills getting zero points because the clock ran out.
Womp, womp.
The Bills won't care. They won the game. But to suggest all is well is not seeing the truth.
On to the playoffs.