The Storylines Have Changed Quickly For The Bills And Dolphins Following Sunday's Romp
The narrative changes quickly in the NFL, folks. Just as the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins will attest.
After the Bills dispatched the Dolphins, 48-20 on Sunday, they suddenly control the AFC East race. Again. Just as they have the past three seasons when they won the division.
And just like that the questions about quarterback Josh Allen playing too much hero ball and being out of control -- which surfaced after the season-opening loss to the Jets -- have faded.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Dawson Knox #88 of the Buffalo Bills stiff arms Jevon Holland #8 of the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Bills Season-Opening Loss Just A Memory
The Bills spent the first week of the season surrounded by talk locally and nationally about their championship window closing. But they are 3-1 now and lead the division because they have a head-to-head win over the Dolphins which are also 3-1.
So never mind the championship window closing talk.
The narrative about the Dolphins similarly is different this Sunday than it was last Sunday.
"It's humbling," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said, "for a lot of people to have the highest high and then you loss in a manner like this. It's very humbling."
Consider:
The Bills have never lost a home to the Dolphins when Allen played.
And Allen throwing 4 TDs against Miami marked the 12th consecutive game he threw multiple scoring passes against Miami (including a playoff game). That is the longest streak by a QB against any opponent.
So the talk about the Dolphins emerging as the team to beat within their division is also kind of meaningless now.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins Offense Struggles
You'll recall last week the Dolphins led 35-13 at halftime last en route to a stunning 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos. It made them seem unstoppable and perhaps even the NFL's best team.
But that was against the Broncos.
And the Broncos are not just bad, but really terrible on defense. That was was proven by their terrible outing against the otherwise hapless Chicago Bears. The Broncos yielded 4 TD passes to Bears quarterback Justin Fields on Sunday -- one more than he had the season's first three games.
So that kind of threw some proverbial cold water on the Dolphins' performance a week earlier. So does this:
Tagovailoa threw 4 TD passes against the Broncos a week ago. He had only one and also had an interception against the Bills.
"I think they just do a really good job of playing the things they play and they play it really well," Tagovailoa said of the Bills. "The pressure on the early downs and the earlier drives in the game ... and then they got the flow of the game and started to play what they play.
"They've done a great job on that side of the ball in mitigating big plays for us offensively."
And then there's the Miami defense:
Never mind that Allen diced them up for 3 TD passes in the first half alone. Never mind he also ran for a touchdown.
The fact is the Miami defense is disappointing now for other reasons.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Latavius Murray #28 of the Buffalo Bills runs with the ball as Brandon Jones #29 of the Miami Dolphins misses a tackle at Highmark Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Bills Run Away From Dolphins
The Bills got a 55 yard touchdown connection from Allen to Stefon Diggs in which two Dolphins defenders simply missed easy tackle on Diggs maybe 35 yards from the goal line. Missed tackles were a thing this game -- a worrisome thing.
The Dolphins also had a dumb 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on cornerback Kader Kohou to set up an early TD.
And defensive coordinator Vic Fangio curiously decided cornerback Xavien Howard, his best defensive back, would not mirror Diggs all over the field as he has in the past.
Diggs finished this game with three touchdown catches.
That wasn't the only questionable coaching decision by the Dolphins. Head coach Mike McDaniel curiously opted to go for 2 when his team opened the second half with a touchdown drive.
The decision, which went awry, bet on Miami making it 31-22 if successful. That would not be appreciably better than kicking and making it 31-21 considering the Bills were likely to score more. So before the Bills indeed scored more times, the Dolphins trailed 31-20.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Jerome Baker #55 of the Miami Dolphins tackles James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Questionable Moves By Dolphins
McDaniel also went for it on fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter. He is the team's offensive play-caller and decided to put Tua Tagovailoa in shotgun for the play. It didn't work.
As so much didn't for the Dolphins this day.
And what does that give us?
It means there's a race in the AFC East.
The Bills suddenly seem to have been resurrected from their season-opening loss. And the Dolphins are suddenly making a 70-point outing just another game that does not signal they're a certain championship club.