MIAMI GARDENS — The AFC East title was on the line Sunday night when the Buffalo Bills visited the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
The injury-shortened Dolphins put up a decent fight but it wasn’t their night and they lost, 21-14, marking their first back-to-back losses of the season, and their 13th loss to Buffalo in their past 15 games.
Miami’s offense only managed two touchdowns, continuing a disturbing trend against quality opponents.
Miami now faces the daunting task of going to Kansas City on Saturday night for a first-round playoff game. The Dolphins lost to the Chiefs, 21-14, in Germany earlier this season.
But before looking ahead, here are more top takeaways from Sunday:
Waddle, Howard seen on sideline
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (ankle) and cornerback Xavien Howard (foot) were both seen on the bench Sunday night. Waddle, who at one point was jokingly popping a towel on the backside of a team trainer with a towel, wasn’t wearing any type of supportive device on his injured left ankle. Howard was wearing a walking boot on his injured left foot.
The hope is that both players will be back for next Saturday’s playoff game. — Chris Perkins
Baker, Holland have reduced defensive roles
Linebacker Jerome Baker (knee) and safety Jevon Holland (knees) had reduced roles in the defense Sunday. Baker, making his first appearance after spending the last four games on injured reserve, wore a big brace on his right knee. He had a huge hit on Bills running back Ty Johnson on the final play of the first half to keep him out of the end zone.
Duke Riley again started in Baker’s place.
Holland, who was downgraded to questionable on Saturday, played sparingly as Brandon Jones started in his place.
The hope is Baker and Holland will be able to play more snaps next Saturday against the Chiefs.
Injuries get worse among pass rushers
Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (6.0 sacks) sustained a foot injury in the third quarter and didn’t return, further weakening Miami’s pass rush, which was already without Bradley Chubb (knee/11.0 sacks) and Jaelan Phillips (Achilles/6.5 sacks).
There’s no word yet on Van Ginkel’s availability for next weekend.
Melvin Ingram and Emmanuel Ogbah picked up the pass-rushing slack, but if Van Ginkel is out the Dolphins would likely have to sign a pass rusher.
Big offensive plays kept to minimum
Neither team did much damage with big plays on offense, which was a surprise considering Miami has electric guys such as wide receiver Tyreek Hill, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and running back De’Von Achane, and Buffalo has wide receiver Stefon Diggs and quarterback Josh Allen.
Achane had a 25-yard run, wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. had a 24-yard reception, and Hill had a 23-yard reception.
For Buffalo, wide receiver Khalil Shakir had receptions of 46 and 28 yards, Diggs had a 36-yard reception and tight end Dalton Kincaid had a 29-yard reception. None of those plays went for touchdowns.
Defense, special teams light up the night
While neither offense did much in the way of big plays both defenses had interceptions, and Buffalo’s special teams had a 96-yard punt return touchdown by Deonte Hardy.
Cornerback Eli Apple and safety DeShon Elliott had interceptions in the end zone for Miami while Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford had an interception.
Allen also lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins.
Bills ain’t scared of Miami defense
Buffalo, protecting a 21-14 lead with 4:05 left, faced a fourth-and-1 at the Miami 35-yard line. The Bills went for it and converted as Allen went over the top for a two-yard gain.
Buffalo had its mojo working at that point, having scored 14 fourth-quarter points on a 96-yard punt return and an eight-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to take the 21-14 lead.
The first down conversion was a key play in Buffalo’s ability to secure the win.
Stopping Buffalo’s Allen didn’t work well
Allen did it to the Dolphins again. Allen wasn’t at his best throwing the ball Sunday but he had his ground game working and he made a few opportune plays to deliver the victory.
Allen, who had a key 15-yard run on third-and-13 in the fourth quarter while the Bills were protecting a 21-14 lead, made key plays down the stretch.
He ended 29 of 37 for 350 yards passing, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 101.6 passer rating.
Allen had 68 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Allen entered the game with a 10-2 record against Miami, including playoffs.
Allen threw two interceptions in the end zone in the first half, the first by Apple on what appeared to be a miscommunication between quarterback and receiver, and the second by Elliott when the receiver fell down.
Allen’s first touchdown pass was a deflected pass off linebacker Van Ginkel and high into the air in the end zone where Bills wide receiver Trent Sherfield, the former Dolphins, grabbed the ball near the back of the end zone and kept both feet inbounds.
Dolphins end 1-5 vs. teams with winning records
The Dolphins ended the regular season 1-5 against teams with a winning record.
Miami defeated Dallas and lost to Buffalo, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Baltimore.
Tua’s night was ugly
Tagovaila ended 17-of-27 passing for 173 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a 62.7 passer rating. Tagovailoa was outdueled by Allen once again.
Tagovailoa ended the regular season as the passing leader with 4,624 yards.
Tagovailoa began the game with a 1-5 record vs. Buffalo.
Tyreek 2K derailed
Hill ended as the league leader in receiving yards with 1,792 yards, far short of his personal goal of a NFL-record 2,000 yards.
Hill, who has been slowed by a left ankle injury since the Tennessee game on Dec. 11, began the game with 1,717 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. But in the past few games we’ve seen Hill going to the ground immediately after a catch instead of trying to get yards after catch. We’ve also seen him pound the ground with his fist in pain after tackles, and we’ve seen him limp to the sideline after being tackled.
Dolphins grabbed a superfecta no team wants
Dolphins this year have allowed a 63-yard fumble-return touchdown, a 96-yard punt-return TD, a 99-yard kickoff-return score and a 102-yard pick-six. — Steve Svekis
Dolphins’ sobering record in the playoffs in cold weather
Miami has never … anywhere… won a playoff game where the kickoff temperature was 46 degrees or colder, going 0-10. They have won two where that temperature was 47: The Christmas 1971 game in Kansas City and Super Bowl VIII against the Minnesota Vikings in January 1974 in Houston. The coldest temperature for a Dolphins home playoff win? That was 55 degrees on Dec. 23, 1973, a 34-16 hammering of the Cincinnati Bengals. The results of those sub-46 degree playoff games (none of which has been played in Miami or Miami Gardens)? Super Bowl 19 (in Palo Alto, California): 49ers 38, Dolphins 16, 44.8 degrees; Raiders 21, Dolphins 14 (1970 season), 44.7; Super Bowl 6 (in New Orleans): Cowboys 24, Dolphins 3, 34.5; Patriots 17, Dolphins 3 (1997), 32.6; Bills 44, Dolphins 34 (1990), 31.3; Broncos 38, Dolphins 3 (1998), 29.1; Bills 34, Dolphins 31 (2022), 27.0; Bills 37, Dolphins 22 (1995), 26.2; Steelers 34, Dolphins 14 (1979), 25.4; Steelers 30, Dolphins 12 (2016), 17.0. The forecast temperature in Kansas City for Saturday night was 0 degrees as of late Sunday night.
NFL showed itself to care about its fans even less than its usual minimal standard
With Kansas City, forecast to have single-digit night-time temperatures (before accounting for wind chill) on Saturday night, the NFL, instead of putting that game into its one 1 p.m. slot on Sunday, or even one of the two 4:30s, put it at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Now, avoidable dangerous conditions in the stadium and on the roadways for those people will be in play. Simply reckless. Drunk with power.
Dolphins’ wild coin-flip narrative maintained itself
A fascinating dichotomy continued Sunday night. The Dolphins under Mike McDaniel have won 19 of their 22 pregame coin tosses before December. However, on Sunday, they lost their ninth toss in 13 games played in December or January.
The storied playoff history between the Chiefs and Dolphins
This will be the fourth postseason game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dolphins, with each of the three previous having a major headline attached to it. The first matchup was in Missouri on Christmas Day in 1971. With 1:36 left in regulation, Bob Griese found Marv Fleming with a 5-yard touchdown pass. Garo Yepremian’s extra point made it 24-24. With 35 seconds left, Chiefs star kicker Jan Stenerud was wide right from 42 yards out. Miami dodged another bullet on the first possession of overtime (when a field goal could send a team home without possessing the ball in OT) when Nick Buoniconti blocked a 52-yard attempt by Stenerud. In a second overtime, Yepremian ended it, and Miami was on its way to its first Super Bowl. …
In January 1991, the Dolphins trailed 16-3 when Dan Marino caught fire, the key throw a laser to the right flat that Chiefs All-Pro cornerback Albert Lewis thought he had intercepted for a 88-yard clinching pick-six. Instead, the howitzer made it all the way to Mark Clayton who danced into the end zone for the 12-yard go-ahead touchdown with 3:28 left. Down 17-16, the Chiefs’ Nick Lowery was just short on a winning 52-yard field goal attempt. …
Then, after the 1994 regular season, the Dolphins topped the Chiefs in Miami Gardens in what was Joe Montana’s final game in the NFL.
Dolphins’ kickoff coverage has sagged in the McDaniel era
The punt return disaster got headlines Sunday night, but it pointed in the general direction of another Dolphins special teams woe. The one aspect of the Dolphins that has crashed the past two seasons has been their kickoff return coverage unit. Heading into the regular-season finale against Buffalo, Miami was worst in the NFL with an average opponent kickoff return of 30.5 yards. That follows a 2022 where Miami also ranked 32nd with 27.8 yards per kickoff return allowed. Those rankings are a free fall from the 2020 season’s NFL-best 15.7-yard average allowed by Miami. In 2021, the Dolphins ranked 11th at 20.7 yards.
Dolphins would be beating back a lot of history to win the Super Bowl this season
With the Dolphins’ humiliation in Baltimore, it got me wondering whether a team had ever lost a game by as many as 37 points and won the Lombardi. Secondarily, has any Super Bowl champ ever had three losses by at least 17 points in that title year?
Here is the list of the biggest loss by each Super Bowl champ with, if applicable, the number of 17-plus-point losses that season in parentheses. The answer is no in both cases. The biggest rout that a Super Bowl champ has taken was a 35-point pounding absorbed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 (38-3 against the Saints). The most 17-plus-point defeats for a Lombardi winner were two, from six teams (1970 Baltimore Colts, 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1988 San Francisco 49ers, 2007 New York Giants, 2012 Baltimore Ravens and 2021 Los Angeles Rams).
The final 2024 opponents are set
The Dolphins, shockingly the AFC East runners-up, will play these teams next season (apart from the home-and-home series against the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and New England Patriots): Home — Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders (second in the AFC West). Away — Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns (second in the AFC North), Green Bay Packers (second in the NFC North).
Ogbah’s inability to bring down Allen continued
Entering Sunday night, Ogbah had one sack in 288 career snaps against Allen’s Bills, and he didn’t get to him in the finale.
Dolphins’ big plays dried up after Week 6
The Dolphins started on an amazing streak of games to start the season with at least one play of 40 yards, hitting that number in each of the first six games, piling up 14 of them in that span (at Chargers: one; at Patriots: one; Broncos: five; at Bills: one; Giants: three; Panthers: three). From Week 7 onward, however, those plays dried up, with the Dolphins registering only a half-dozen 40-yarders in the final 11 games.
On deck: Kansas City Chiefs (wild-card playoff), Arrowhead Stadium, Saturday, 8 p.m.
Another nightmare after Thanksgiving for the Dolphins looms as Miami gave away what had looked like a near-certain AFC East title and two possible home playoff games. Now, the Dolphins will be headed to what is forecast to be the coldest playoff game in franchise history. The most frigid temperature the Dolphins have endured in a postseason game was the 17 degrees at kickoff in Pittsburgh after the 2016 regular season. As late Sunday night, the forecast in Kansas City for Saturday night is 0 degrees.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa gestures before a play against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hands the ball off to running back De'Von Achane against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane, right, celebrates with teammate Chase Claypool after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Fans cheer as the Miami Dolphins take on the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen tries to get away from Miami Dolphins linebacker David Long Jr. and Emmanuel Ogbah during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, night. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins De'Von Achane scores Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the second quarter of the game against the Buffalo Bills. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills Christian Benford intercepts a pass from Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the first quarter Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen reacts after being pulled down after running the ball in the first quarter aganst the Miami Dolphins Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.(Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins Tyreek Hill jumps up to cath a pass in the first quarter Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the game against the Buffalo Bills. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins Eli Apple and Jalen Ramsey celebrate an Apple interception in the end zone, Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in to the game against the Buffalo Bills. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa slides aftrer runniong the ball Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the game against the Buffalo Bills. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins defense stops Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills Deonte Hardy ruyns back a pont return for a touchdown, Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens game against the Miami Dolphins. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel checks on Cameron Goode who was injured defending a punt return, Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the game against the Buffalo Bills. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen passes Sunday, Jan 7, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reacts as the Buffalo Bills march downfield in the fourth quarter on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
