Buffalo Bills defeats Miami Dolphins: Wild Card Game Thread
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins play for the third time this season, with a spot in the divisional round on the line. Follow along for game updates and tweets from Jackson Roberts and Mat Mlodzinski.
Bills get first down, end game
Buffalo got a key first down with under a minute left in the 1st quarter, winning 34-31 to move on to the divisional round.
Dolphins score TD, Bills holding on to 34-31 lead
Miami put together its longest drive of the game, going 67 yards in 11 plays and ending it with a Jeff Wilson Jr. touchdown.
End of 3rd quarter: Bills – 34, Dolphins – 24
Allen and Davis hook up for TD, Bills go up 34-24
The Bills took it right down the field, thanks to a 29 yard catch and run by Cole Beasley and a 23 yard TD grab by Gabe Davis.
It’s Allen’s third touchdown of the game and he goes over 300 yards passing.
Cole Beasley catches TD, Bills retake lead 27-24
Beasley made up for an earlier blunder, where a catch he couldn’t handle ended up being picked off by the Dolphins.
The six-yard toss was Allen’s second passing TD of the game.
Kaiir Elam picks off Skylar Thompson on 3rd & 19, sets Buffalo up in Miami territory
A Matt Milano sack backed up the Dolphins near their own endzone. On 3rd & long, Thompson underthrew a pass looking for a first down and was intercepted by rookie Kaiir Elam.
Buffalo takes over on the Miami 33 yard line.
Allen sacked and fumbles, Dolphins return it for TD and take 24-20 lead
On the Bills first possession of the second half, Josh Allen was blitzed hard by the Dolphins defense, and fumbled the football.
The Dolphins returned it for a TD and take their first lead of the game.
Halftime: Bills – 20, Dolphins – 17
Tyler Bass gives Bills lead before halftime
The Bills moved it down the field quick, with Allen finding Gabe Davis for two catches, one of them going for 33 yards.
On 2nd down, Allen seemingly found Diggs for a TD. It didn’t go to review and the Bills didn’t challenge it. Instead of running another play, the Bills opted for 3 points. Tyler Bass was good from 39 yards out.
Mike Gesicki catches TD, Dolphins tie it up at 17
Thanks to good field position after the Allen interception, the Dolphins took advantage. Skylar Thompson found Mike Gesicki for a 7 yard passing TD.
Tyreek Hill caught the two-point conversion to tie the game with 33 seconds left in the first half.
Allen picked for second time
Josh Allen’s pass to Cole Beasley on 2nd & 10 near midfield was intercepted after Beasley couldn’t control it.
The Dolphins take over on Buffalo’s 18 yard line.
Sanders makes a third FG, Dolphins trail 17-9
A Josh Allen deep throw to Khalil Shakir was overturned after it was deemed the ball hit the ground.
Miami was able to drive it down for another field goal, this time from 37 yards out.
Sanders hit another FG, Bills lead 17-6
After the turnover, Miami cashed in for three more points, as Sanders was good from 48 yards out.
Allen throws pick, fight ensues after
Josh Allen tried to find John Brown deep in one on one coverage, but was interception by Xavien Howard.
After the play, Christian Wilkins shoved Allen, who shoved back. A few Bills offensive linemen came back at Wilkins to stand up for Allen.
After the play, Wilkins and Mitch Morse both got unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Dolphins get on board with FG
Miami scored its first points of the game, on a 40 yard field goal from Jason Sanders.
The Dolphins moved it well on the drive, including a 19 yard reception from Tyreek Hill.
Bills settle for FG after Knox TD overturned
Tyler Bass drilled a 33 yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-0.
A few plays earlier, on 2nd & 8, Allen and Knox looked like they had hooked up for a second TD of the day. Upon review, it was overturned and ruled not a catch.
End of 1st quarter: Bills – 14, Dolphins – 0
James Cook rushes for TD, Bills take 14-0 lead
James Cook burst out to the left end for a 12 yard touchdown, putting Buffalo on top by two scores with 5:07 still left in the first quarter.
Dean Marlowe picks off Skylar Thompson, Bills takeover on Miami 23 yard line
Dean Marlowe, who took over the starting strong safety spot after Damar Hamlin underwent cardiac arrest, came up with the first turnover of the game.
Bills strike first on impressive drive from Josh Allen
We can add a few more Allen passes to the highlight reel.
After getting sacked for a 7 yard loss, Allen rebounded with a 52 yard shot to Stefon Diggs, putting Buffalo on the goal line. On the next play, Allen found Dawson Knox in the end zone, as the Bills take a 7-0 lead.
Dolphins only pick up 1 yard, punt to Bills
Miami also started its first possession with a deep shot, that also fell incomplete. It didn’t rattle the Bills, who kept the Dolphins to a single yard on the possession, punting it to Buffalo on 4th & 9.
Bills end first possession with no points, stopped on 4th down
Josh Allen went deep to Stefon Diggs on the first play of the game, falling incomplete. But a penalty moved Buffalo forward and the aggressiveness kept Miami honest.
The Bills moved it 38 yards on the drive, but Allen couldn’t complete a pass to Cole Beasley on 4th & 3. The Dolphins take over on their own 33-yard line.