By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
So much for that easy win.
What was supposed to be an “oh-by-the-way’ victory for the unbeaten Bills against the winless Dolphins, Thursday night at Highmark Stadium, turned out to be a white-knuckler for Buffalo which was favored by 12 1/2 points, the longest odds on the board.
With barely three minutes to play, Miami (0-3), trailing 28-21, had driven to Buffalo’s 21-yard line in a bid for the tying touchdown and the win if it scored and completed a two-point conversion.
Instead, an ill-considered short pass by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was picked off by Bills’ middle linebacker and defensive captain Terrel Bernard to preserve what turned out to be a 31-21 victory.
“I think it’s just the mindset,” Bernard of his pick. “We talk about it all the time. The ball is the most important thing. And we know it’s not going to be perfect. Offenses around the league are good. That’s a known fact. But for us, it comes down to taking the ball away, especially in the critical moments of the game. That’s something that we preach and something that we believe in and something that we’ve been pretty good at. I think that’s just the philosophy of who we are.”
MIAMI COACH Mike McDaniel, who was greeted by an airplane-towed banner saying he should be fired before a 33-27 loss to the Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium last Sunday, conjured his team’s best effort of the young season as it never trailed by more than a touchdown.
The tense triumph bought Buffalo (3-0) a 10-day mini-bye and a meeting with the winless Saints Sept. 28 in New Orleans.
But it took three touchdown passes by defending NFL MVP Josh Allen (two to tight ends Dalton Kincaid, 20 yards and rookie Jackson Hawes, 5, and one by wide receiver Khalil Shakir, 15 and an untouched 2-yard run by James Cook — his league-leading fourth rushing score — to get it done.
“THEY HAD a good plan today,” Allen said. “Their offense did a good job of sustaining drives and really limiting our opportunities. We had opportunities on the offensive side and we didn’t take advantage of some of them, but at the end of the day, we got the win.
To which coach Sean McDermott added, “(Miami) had a good game plan and did a good job of sustaining drives but I think our grit and mental toughness was on display.
“We kind of hit a little bit of a gap in scoring and did not get off to a great start, then shot ourselves in the foot. It was 14-14 at the half but our guys didn’t blink.”
However, the defense permitted Miami to convert 10-of-15 third-down attempts, a totally unacceptable percentage, a persistent early-season problem.
NOTES from the Bills 31-21 win over Miami Thursday night at Highmark Stadium:
— The Bills have now won 13 straight regular-season home games since a loss to Denver in Nov. 2023. They have beaten the Dolphins 10 straight in Orchard Park, and Josh Allen is 8-0 versus Miami at Highmark. His overall record against the Dolphins is 14-2 and he has accounted for 48 touchdowns in those 16 games, 43 of them on passes.
— This year marks the fourth time the Bills have started 3-0 in nine seasons under coach Sean McDermott.
– Allen’s 15-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Khalil Shakir was the 200th of his NFL career.
– The game’s lone giveaway was that late interception of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovialoa by Buffalo middle linebacker and team captain Terrel Bernard.
– The Dolphins first sack of Allen was logged by linebacker Bradley Chubb, his team-leading third of the young season. Later, linebacker Tyrell Dodson, the former Bill, dumped Allen en route to a game-high 11 tackles.
– Slot cornerback Taron Jphnson paced Buffalo with eight tackles, Bernard had seven.
– Buffalo’s backup kicker, Matt Prater, missed his first kick in place of Tyler Bass, an ugly 39-yarder.
– Inactive for the Bills were defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle), linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral), cornerback Ja-Marcus Ingram, tackle Chase Lundt and defensive end Landon Jackson.
The Bills activated linebacker Keonta Jenkins and defensive tackle Zion Logue as the permitted elevations from the practice squad.
Among Miami’s inactives were starting cornerback Storm Duck (ankle) and tight end Darren Waller (hip)..
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
