Bills their own worst enemy against Dolphins

Miami defeated Buffalo 21-19 in Week 3 due to self-inflicted mistakes

Welp, the Bills got that game out of their system. It was the first loss of the year and it won’t be the last. Thankfully, Super Bowls aren’t won in Week 3. The opportunities were there for the taking, but the Bills failed to capitalize on them.

Strip sack fumble inside their own five

This was a critical play early on in the game. Buffalo marched down the field for a touchdown to start the game and then forced Miami into a three and out on their first possession. The Bills followed that up with back to back 1-yard runs from Zack Moss from their own 12 yard line, forcing them into a 3rd and 8 deep in their own end. This allowed Miami to tee off, and Melvin Ingram had the strip sack, recovered by MIA at Buffalo’s 5 yard line. The Dolphins scored a couple plays later, tying the game up at seven apiece.

Miscue at end of first half

This one ultimately came back to bite the Bills. When it looked like Buffalo had gotten themselves into field goal range for Tyler Bass at the end of the first half, a poor snap from Greg Van Roten (filling in for an injured Morse) derailed the drive. Allen couldn’t handle the snap, which led to him throwing it to Diggs along the sidelines. By the time Diggs went out of bounds, the time had already expired.

They missed a chance to kick about a 50-yard field goal for Bass that would’ve put them up 17-14 going into the locker room. It was a hot day and I’m sure the ball was slippery with sweat it and hard to grasp, but little stuff like that has huge implications when winning a football game.

Missed field goal

After driving down in Miami territory once again and getting stopped again, the Bills had a chance to extend their lead to 20-14. All Bass had to do was kick a 38-yard field goal from the right hash. Bass pulled the kick left and left points on the board.

Those six points that were left off the board from the botched snap and the missed field goal add up in games like these.

Gabe Davis dropped touchdown

Late in the third quarter the Bills had a chance to expand their lead even further when Gabe Davis had one-on-one coverage against Crossen, and Allen looked his way and threw a perfect ball. Davis caught it, had two feet down and then had the ball stripped from his hands at the last second. The refs called it an incomplete pass.

This is a play that I think was absolutely worth a challenge in this situation. Davis caught it, had complete control of it and had two feet inbounds before the ball was stripped. We have seen this called a touchdown many times before and I think Mcdermott should’ve challenged this.

Granted if Davis had controlled it for even a second longer I think that play is a touchdown and there is no need to challenge. That dropped TD led to a field goal for the Bills, but it should’ve been a TD. Again, more points left off the board.

Matt Milano dropped pick six

Another big play late in the third quarter was a pass right at Matt Milano that he dropped. We saw Milano take a pass from Tannehill and take it the distance last week and that’s exactly what would’ve happened again this week. Milano had read the play perfectly and just dropped the pass right at him.

That most likely would’ve been a walk in touchdown and the Bills would’ve been in complete control, going up 24-14. Instead they had to punt and the Bills failed to move the ball down the field the following possession.

Goal-line inefficiency

Late in the game the Bills looked like they were going to take the lead with under two minutes left to go. They had first and goal from the two yard line and failed to score.

A run from Singeltary got stuffed. Next play Allen got stuffed. No one gets open on the next play and the fourth down play Allen short arms it to McKenzie, resulting in a turnover on downs. Really tough stretch of playcalls and execution there when the game was on the line with a chance to win.

Unfortunately, there is still a dire need of a Bills short yardage running back. They struggle in short yardage situations because they can’t get a push up front and they don’t have the running backs to power through and get those tough one or two yards. This is something that should be addressed as it has hurt the Bills a few times already this season.

I could go on about their miscues but these were the biggest that I saw. The Bills had complete control in this game and had the ball for over 40 minutes! Having that kind of time of possession usually results in winning the game, but a lot of factors led to the defeat.

The heat did the Bills no favors either as guys were dropping like flies, constantly cramping up, dehydrated and out of breath. They missed six defensive starters and were still in it to the very end. With all the blunders the Bills had, they were still able to almost pull off the win. You can’t be too disappointed by the effort.

The Bills will be fine. It was a brutal game but we have to give credit to the Dolphins. They made more plays than Buffalo did and they stepped up to the occasion when it matters most.

The Bills will be getting key players back next week and will be ready to take on the Ravens.