The game that everyone was paying attention to turned out to be a one-sided affair, with the Buffalo Bills keeping their title as the team to beat in the AFC East.
The Miami Dolphins, despite keeping it close in the first quarter of play, had no answers for a juggernaut.
Josh Allen threw for four touchdown passes and added another on the ground, finishing with a perfect passer rating against Miami, the first of his career, showing that they are capable of keeping up pace with the Dolphins on scoring offensively, especially in the week after the Fins put up one of the most historically impressive offensive performances in the NFL in a 70-20 rout over the Denver Broncos.
Allen finished with 320 passing yards, completing 21 of 25 passes without an interception. It was also his 10th career game of four passing touchdowns.
While Miami finished the game with 393 yards of offense, the Bills held them to 3 of 10 on third down and shut them down on all three of their fourth downs. They also sacked Tua Tagovailoa four times, and forced two turnovers—a fumble and an interception.
Miami allowed just one sack in their first three games.
Buffalo never trailed in this game, and racked up 414 total yards of offense en route to their third straight win since a season-opening loss to the New York Jets, along with their 8th straight win at home over the Dolphins, and improving to 12-2 in the last 14 meetings.
The Bills had three straight touchdown drives, with two consisting of Allen throws to Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs, and the other being a James Cook punch-in from one yard out for his first touchdown of the year.
Miami closed out the half with three punts and Raheem Mostert losing a fumble, and Buffalo built a 31-14 lead at the half.
The most exciting play of the first half was Diggs' 55-yard touchdown, where he caught Allen's pass at the Miami 40, broke two tackles, and sprinted his way to the end zone.
Diggs finished the day with six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown hat trick, his fourth of his NFL career, and his third with Buffalo.
Tagovailoa finished 25 of 35 for 282 yards and a touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios.
Miami rookie running back De'Von Achane had two touchdowns a week after he put up four, and became just the fourth NFL rookie to combine for six touchdowns in consecutive games, and the first since Doug Martin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.
The game also marked the return of Damar Hamlin, nine months after suffering commotio cordis and going into cardiac arrest when the Bills took on the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2nd of this year.
He was the last player out of the tunnel, running to the other end of the field, sticking out his arms as he got to the end zone. He took off his helmet, shouted with the rest of the Bills fans, and took a knee before heading to his sideline.
"That moment was everything to me," said Hamlin when asked about taking the field. "I think it was more so about promising to myself than anything else—just showing myself that I have the courage, I got the strength, that I got the pride, everything ... in me to be able to go through something so traumatic and to be able to come back from it. To be able to still do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing."
Hamlin was a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season because of the Bills' plethora of defensive backs. But with Jordan Poyer sidelined with a knee injury, a roster spot opened up for Hamlin.
He did not see a defensive snap, which was expected, but saw all of his action on special teams, appearing mostly on kickoffs and punts, including the opening kickoff.
Taylor Rap took Poyer's spot, though if Poyer's injury keeps him out for more games, Hamlin will see increased opportunities for the Bills.
He has been a full participant for the Bills in their practice sessions since late in OTAs, after it was announced he was physically cleared to return to football in the spring. He played all three preseason games for them.
"What an afternoon overall. You just set the win aside for a second ... nine months ago, this young man is in the situation he was in, and now he's back," said head coach Sean McDermott. "The spring, training camp, preseason, and now a regular season game at an NFL level. You know, just a surreal moment ... to watch."
However, the win for Buffalo came at a cost.
An MRI confirmed the worst fear they had when Tre'Davious White went down with a non-contact injury: a torn right Achilles, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.
He suffered the injury when covering Tyreek Hill on a 4th & 1 play on the final minute of the third quarter, when Ed Oliver sacked Tagovailoa.
The injury came less than two years after he tore his left ACL on Thanksgiving Day in 2021. He took exactly a year to return to the game following that injury, but he has started every game this season after playing six regular season and two playoff games last year. He allowed eight receptions on 15 targets, two touchdowns, and just 3.2 yards per attempt as the nearest defender in coverage and deflected two passes this year.
Before the first season-ending injury in 2021, he missed just three games in his NFL career, and said that the first few months after tearing his ACL were "a very hard, very depressing time."
Since getting drafted in 2017, he allowed the lowest completion rates, passer ratings and average separation as the nearest defender, ranking 7th in completion percentage (53.6%) and average separation (2.35) as the nearest defender and 8th in passer rating (65.7). He is the backbone of a defense that leads the league in takeaways (11), sacks per dropback (12.2%) and fourth in passing yards per game allowed (169.5).
After him come Christian Benford and Dane Jackson on the depth chart at the outside corner spot, with Kaiir Elam right behind.
However, Benford also suffered an injury, getting his shoulder X-rayed, and is ruled day-to-day. Him being healthy is key for Buffalo, as he has yet to allow a touchdown this season. His numbers aren't as impressive as White's, but he still has a 64.3% completion percentage of 14 targets and 10.4 yards per attempt.
Jackson filled in for Benford after he was injured on Sunday and allowed five catches on five targets for 45 yards as the nearest defender, though he did break up a two-point conversion and had a booming hit on Berrios.
The other contender is Elam, who is the only first round pick from last year to miss games that are neither due to injury nor suspension. He was a healthy scratch for the first four games despite the Bills trading up to draft him. He was usurped by Benford and Jackson at training camp and the preseason, but there is a new opportunity now.
There are a lot of unanswered questions about the secondary, especially with Poyer's health, who missed every practice leading up to this game.
Buffalo still has a strong case for being the best team in the AFC, but the question shifts to how the younger players on their roster can perform over the course of the season. That carries on when they travel to London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to play a "home" game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Miami, meanwhile, got their first loss of the season after entering as the AFC's only unbeaten team. The game flashed the potential for an offensive shootout, but after the second tying touchdown by Miami, the Bills outscored the Dolphins 34-6.
Most of Diggs' offensive showings came against Kader Kohou, Miami's second-year undrafted free agent. He allowed 112 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating as the nearest defender in coverage.
Kohou complimented Diggs' route running and said that his own technique should be better, but isn't wanting to let the worst performance of his young career define him.
Miami has embraced adversity, and that was the mentality that head coach Mike McDaniel wants his players to adopt. Tyreek Hill said that, even if this loss was disappointing, this could be something to learn from in future games.
"We still got a young team, man," said Hill. "And obviously, I mean you never want to lose a game in the NFL, but we kind of needed this—early adversity is always good and we definitely can learn from it and stick together as a team moving forward."
You can't expect a team to put up 700 yards of offense every week. Plus, defenses are going to make life harder for Tagovailoa if they apply the pressure. He was pressured more times by the Bills (14 times) than he had been in his previous three games combined.
Several problems plague the Fins' defense, including their inability to get off the field on third down. They are allowing opponents to convert 46% of their third down attempts, the 8th worst rate in the NFL.
Their performance in critical situations is aggravated by a mediocre pass rush and a below average run defense, not what they were hoping when they hired Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator, and even with Jalen Ramsey missing extended time.
To add to the frustration, Terron Armstead left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter, and did not return. It's not known if the injury is a "reaggravation of anything," as McDaniel said.
Miami returns to Hard Rock Stadium to host the New York Giants on Sunday.
Scoring
Buffalo, 10:41 1st: Gabe Davis 18-yard TD pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass kick); 7-0 Buffalo
Miami, 6:30 1st: De'Von Achane 3-yard TD run (Jason Sanders kick); 7-7 Tie
Buffalo, 1:10 1st: James Cook 1-yard TD run (Tyler Bass kick); 14-7 Buffalo
Miami, 12:47 2nd: De'Von Achane 10-yard TD run (Jason Sanders kick); 14-14 Tie
Buffalo, 10:02 2nd: Stefon Diggs 11-yard TD pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass kick); 21-14 Buffalo
Buffalo, 2:58 2nd: Stefon Diggs 55-yard TD pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass kick); 28-14 Buffalo
Buffalo, 1:39 2nd: Tyler Bass 53-yard field goal; 31-14 Buffalo
Miami, 9:30 3rd: Braxton Berrios 11-yard TD pass from Tua Tagovailoa (2-PT pass failed); 31-20 Buffalo
Buffalo, 5:21 3rd: Tyler Bass 33-yard field goal; 34-20 Buffalo
Buffalo, 3:00 3rd: Stefon Diggs 13-yard TD pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass kick); 41-20 Buffalo
Buffalo, 14:55 4th: Josh Allen 11-yard TD run (Tyler Bass kick); 48-20 Buffalo
Passing
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Tua Tagovailoa: 25/35, 282 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 92.8 passer rating, 1 fumble
BUFFALO BILLS
Josh Allen: 21/25, 320 yards, 4 TD, 2 sacks, 158.3 passer rating
Rushing
MIAMI DOLPHINS
De'Von Achane: 8 attempts, 101 yards, 2 TD
Tyreek Hill: 1 attempt, 14 yards, 0 TD
Raheem Mostert: 7 attempts, 9 yards, 0 TD, 2 fumbles
BUFFALO BILLS
Latavius Murray: 4 attempts, 32 yards, 0 TD
James Cook: 12 attempts, 29 yards, 1 TD
Damien Harris: 6 attempts, 29 yards, 0 TD
Josh Allen: 4 attempts, 17 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Tyreek Hill: 3 receptions, 58 yards, 0 TD
Jaylen Waddle: 4 receptions, 46 yards, 0 TD
Braxton Berrios: 6 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD
Durham Smythe: 4 receptions, 41 yards, 0 TD
Raheem Mostert: 3 receptions, 36 yards, 0 TD
BUFFALO BILLS
Stefon Diggs: 6 receptions, 120 yards, 3 TD
Gabe Davis: 3 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD
James Cook: 1 reception, 48 yards, 0 TD
Dalton Kincaid: 4 receptions, 27 yards, 0 TD
Defensive
MIAMI DOLPHINS
David Long Jr.: 10 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFL
Jevon Holland: 6 tackles (4 solo)
Jerome Baker: 5 tackles (5 solo)
Andrew Van Ginkel: 5 tackles (4 solo), 3 TFL, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks
Zach Sieler: 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL
Justin Bethel: 4 tackles (2 solo), 1 pass defensed
Xavien Howard: 3 tackles (2 solo), 1 pass defensed
BUFFALO BILLS
Matt Milano: 10 tackles (8 solo), 1 forced fumble
Taylor Rapp: 6 tackles (5 solo)
Micah Hyde: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 pass defensed, 1 interception
Terrel Bernard: 5 tackles (2 solo), 1 fumble recovery
Taron Johnson: 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass defensed
Greg Rousseau: 3 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFL, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed
Ed Oliver: 3 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
Tre'Davious White: 3 tackles (3 solo), 1 QB hit, 1 pass defensed
DaQuan Jones: 2 tackles (2 solo), 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 1 sack
Team Stats
First Downs: Dolphins 20, Bills 24
Passing First Downs: Dolphins 12, Bills 14
Rushing First Downs: Dolphins 8, Bills 8
First Downs from Penalties: Dolphins 0, Bills 2
3rd Downs: Dolphins 3/10, Bills 5/10
4th Downs: Dolphins 0/3, Bills 0/0
Total Yards: Dolphins 393, Bills 414
Yards Per Play: Dolphins 6.8, Bills 7.4
Passing Yards: Dolphins 251, Bills 310
Team Passing: Dolphins 25/35, Bills 21/25
Yards Per Pass: Dolphins 6.4, Bills 11.5
Sacks—Yards Lost: Dolphins 4—31 yards, Bills 2—10 yards
Rushing Yards: Dolphins 142, Bills 104
Rushing Attempts: Dolphins 19, Bills 29
Yards Per Rush: Dolphins 7.5, Bills 3.6
Red Zone: Dolphins 3/4, Bills 5/6
Penalties: Dolphins 8—98 yards, Bills 4—20 yards
Turnovers: Dolphins 2, Bills 0
Fumbles Lost: Dolphins 1, Bills 0
Interceptions Thrown: Dolphins 1, Bills 0
Possession: Dolphins 29:38, Bills 30:22
Miscellaneous
Venue: Highmark Stadium
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Attendance: 70,881 (Capacity: 71,621)
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 75°F
Winds: NW 7 mph
Broadcast: CBS/Paramount+
Commentators: Jim Nantz (PxP), Tony Romo (color), Tracy Wolfson (reporter), Gene Steratore (rules analyst)
Officiating crew: Adrian Hill (referee), Roy Ellison (umpire), David Oliver (down judge), Brett Bergman (line judge), Mearl Robinson (field judge), Jim Quirk (side judge), Greg Steed (back judge)
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