Dolphins Push Buffalo to the Brink in 34-31 Wild Card Loss

Dolphins Push Buffalo to the Brink in 34-31 Wild Card Loss

On Buffalo’s opening possession, the Dolphins’ defense produced a crucial fourth-down stop and forced a fumble on quarterback Josh Allen that flung out of bounds on the previous third down snap.

However, the Bills scored on their next three offensive drives – including a six-yard receiving touchdown by tight end Dawson Knox and a 12-yard rushing touchdown by running back James Cook.

But after allowing 172 yards to the Bills in the first quarter, the Miami defense gave up three points and recorded two interceptions in the second quarter. That helped the Dolphins score 17 points in just over seven minutes to erase a 17-0 deficit.

Miami’s first scoring drive began with Thompson’s 20-yard strike to tight end Durham Smythe that put the Dolphins in Buffalo territory for the first time with 12:46 in the second. Facing a daunting third-and-19 at the Bills’ 35, Thompson kept his composure and extended the drive with another 20-yard pass to receiver Tyreek Hill down the left sideline.

Four plays later, kicker Jason Sanders made a 40-yard field goal to get Miami on the board.

On Buffalo’s ensuing possession, Allen threw his first career postseason interception at home. Cornerback Xavien Howard completed the takeaway by extending his body for a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch off Allen’s deep ball intended for receiver John Brown. Howard returned the pick 49 yards to the Buffalo 48, and Sanders nailed a 48-yard field goal a few plays later to narrow the gap to 17-6.

Sanders hit a 37-yard field goal with 1:15 remaining in the half after Cedrick Wilson Jr. returned a punt 50 yards to the Buffalo 27. Then, the Bills regained possession and Allen threw his second interception of the game. Safety Jevon Holland came up with the pick when the ball fell into his hands after cornerback Kader Kohou broke up a pass to receiver Cole Beasley.

Seconds later, Thompson threw his first career postseason touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki. Hill caught a two-point conversion on the next play, and just like that, Miami had tied it at 17 with 33 seconds before halftime.

However, the Bills still had enough time to make a 39-yard field goal and go up 20-17 at the break.

But Buffalo’s lead would not last long. After forcing a fumble on the Bills’ first possession of the game, Miami did it again on their first drive of the second half. This time, the Dolphins recovered and ran it back for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game at 24-20.

As Allen dropped back to pass, safety Eric Rowe sped past the offensive line and stripped him. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler scooped up the ball and ran it five yards into the end zone. It was the first fumble return for a touchdown in Dolphins playoff history.

The post Dolphins Push Buffalo to the Brink in 34-31 Wild Card Loss first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Committee week in Florida’s Capitol: Welcome to the festival of ignorance

Image
Legislators came to town for the autumn ritual of political harlotry they call “committee week.” Tallahassee’s collective IQ dropped by a good 60 points. That’s bad, but what they propose doing to Florida is worse. Seems Sen. Joe Gruters, R-$ara$ota, who also is chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, was intimately involved with a plot to quash the Democratic vote. Remember that “ voting reform ” bill the governor signed on “Fox and Friends” last May? The one that restricts access to ballot drop-boxes, limits vote-by-mail applications, forbids giving people standing in long lines a bottle of water, and lets partisan poll watchers police canvassing boards? Even though Florida ran an immaculate election in 2020, Republicans goose-stepped in time with the Madman of Mar-a-Lago and claimed with straight faces they merely wanted to prevent election “fraud” — which is about as common as polar bears in Miami. (What fraud there was, was courtesy of the GOP .) Joe Gruters ...
Read more

U.S. House GOP would make it easier for feds to give public lands away to states

Image
U.S. House Republicans included in the new rules for the chamber they passed this month a provision meant to make it easier for Congress to give away public lands. The provision is a fairly technical piece of the 55-page  rules package . It affects internal House accounting and requires that anytime Congress were to give any federal lands to a state, municipality or tribe, it would not be counted as a loss to the federal budget. House Republicans had an identical rule when they controlled the chamber from 2017 to 2019. Advocates and critics agree the measure would be helpful to any effort by the House to transfer federal lands to states. But they disagree about the wisdom of such giveaways. Republicans and conservative groups see states as preferable stewards of most public lands. Those closest to the land are in a better position to make decisions on how to manage them than those in Washington bureaucracies, they say. Environmental groups and Democrats see federal divest...
Read more

Democratic governors press U.S. Senate to act on voting rights legislation

Image
WASHINGTON — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and 16 other Democratic governors are urging the U.S. Senate to pass two bills that aim to protect voting rights. Both measures need 60 votes to advance under Senate rules but have been stalled by Republican opposition in the evenly divided Senate. “Without decisive action by the federal government this year to protect voters’ access to the ballot and ensure the integrity and transparency of our elections, the voices of Americans across the country, especially Americans of color, will be suppressed,” the governors wrote in a Monday  letter  to U.S. Senate leadership. Governors who signed the letter include Jared Polis of Colorado, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Steve Sisolak of Nevada, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Kate Brown of Oregon, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Tony Evers of Wisconsin, among others. One bill, known as the  John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2...
Read more