The hype going into Week 2’s Thursday Night Football game featured two bitter rivals from the AFC East. One team has won the division the last four seasons while the other one has been closely chasing them. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins have a historic rivalry, but the Bills have dominated the rivalry the last six seasons.
The Bills and Dolphins were coming off of comeback victories in Week 1. With the first matchup between the two being in South Beach, Miami had the chance to finally get over the hump and somehow defeat the Bills. The Dolphins started the game off with the ball but it was a bad start to finish for them. Tua Tagovailoa turned the ball over to Ja’Marcus Ingram on Miami’s first drive and it ultimately started the downfall for the Dolphins.
Buffalo took an early 7-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Josh Allen to James Cook. Miami would eventually tie the game on a De’Von Achane rushing touchdown, but then it was all Buffalo from there on out.
The Bills went on a tear, scoring 17 unanswered points before Miami finally kicked a field goal to only go down by 14. While Miami was looking to make a comeback, their plans came up short when Tua threw a high pick that resulted in a Ja’Marcus Ingram pick-six for the Bills (making it Ingram’s second pick of the game).
The game did take a scare later in the 3rd quarter when Tua rushed for a first down and lowered his head going down and he suffered a concussion which kept him out for the rest of the game.
Buffalo would end up controlling the game for the rest of the time and now they are 2-0 with a long break before their Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just like history, Buffalo defeated Miami 31-10 and will take control of the tiebreaker up until these teams meet again in Buffalo in Week 9.
Buffalo Bills showed the NFL that they are not going anywhere
After a close win last week against the Arizona Cardinals, the Bills showed the NFL world that they are not to be counted out. Josh Allen didn’t have a great game statistically, but he didn’t need to. James Cook had three total touchdowns, including a 49-yard rushing touchdown. However, the big story of the night for Buffalo was their defense.
They picked off Tua three times (including twice in the 1st quarter alone), and they kept both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle quiet for all four quarters. Bobby Babich did a fantastic job getting a game plan established on a short week on the road.
The Bills can now rest and get healthy for 10 days while they turn their attention to the Jaguars, a team who has owned the Bills in recent memory. The good news is that Trevor Lawrence and his squad are coming to Orchard Park for this matchup.