The Bills Blog

The Buffalo Bills lose 30-13 to the Miami Dolphins.

The Bills played arguably their worst game of football in the Josh Allen era. The Bills looked absolutely terrible in all three phases and as a result, got blown out by the 2-7 Dolphins. Its a terrible look for a team with Super Bowl aspirations and could be a telltale sign that those aspirations are farther away than previously thought. The Bills now find themselves at 6-3 and losing grasp on the AFC East as well as that coveted #1 seed. It’s almost time to hit the panic button in Western New York and the Bills now need to dig themselves out of the whole they find themselves in.

Surprisingly, the Bills started this game off on the right foot. They immediately forced an Interception as they got pressure on Tua Tagovailoa causing him to sail a pass into the hands of Safety Cole Bishop.

From there, just about everything went downhill. The Bills weren’t able to get anything going on the ground and as a result, Allen was once again forced to make tough throws to receivers who struggled to get open. The offense looked completely discombobulated and couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm. They were completely shut out through the first 3 quarters, they punted 3 times, fumbled, were intercepted and turned the ball over on downs. The Bills defense did what they could to hang in it and gave the offense opportunities to tie it up, but still surrendered big play touchdowns early and late in the game that cost the team. The Bills strung together 2 touchdown drives both coming in the 4th quarter. The first drive was efficient and reminiscent of the team we remember. However, the Bills still failed to execute a 2-point conversion to make it a one score game. After intercepting Tua for the second time in the game, Allen and co had a chance to cut the Dolphins lead to 3. They couldn’t capitalize and Josh Allen fumbled on a crucial 4th down play leading to another Dolphins score that put the game out of reach.

Two drives in this game give me a glimmer of hope for this team. Both ended in uncharacteristic fumbles from James Cook and Josh Allen. In both cases, Allen and Cook were attempting to put the team on their back and gave an extra effort that resulted in the ball being poked loose. Now, don’t get me wrong, turning the ball over is never okay. But, these two were giving their all to put the team in position to win on a day where they couldn’t get anything going. I’m not excusing any of the teams play on Sunday, but a part of me likes to think we win this game, if these two plays go differently.

The Bills performance on Sunday was nothing short of abysmal in all three phases and it raises concerns for the seriousness of this team moving forward. It will be interesting to see how the Bills respond to this loss. In my opinion, this is the type of game that will either make or break this team. They absolutely need to put this behind them, learn from it and get back to playing the way we think they’re capable of.

The Bills will look to right the ship next Sunday, at home, against the 6-3 Buccaneers.