Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins go down to Bills, fall to 0-2
Dolphins fall to 0-2 after loss to Bills at Hard Rock Stadium
A fan watches the Miami Dolphins’ 31-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens Sunday. There were 11,075 fans allowed inside the stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Dolphins fell to 0-2 on the 2020 season.
The Miami Dolphins may have figured out the best way to play two games into the 2020 NFL season.
Keep the offense on the field for as much as possible.
And keep the defense off it. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, that strategy did not work on Sunday.
It took less than five minutes for Miami’s defense to squander the only lead its offense has been able to muster this season. And the offense was only able to respond in the final minute after going back down by two scores.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw four touchdowns, including a 46-yard pass to John Brown with 3:09 remaining, and the Dolphins suffered a 31-28 loss in their home opener at Hard Rock Stadium in front of the 11,075 fans allowed inside with due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To make matters worse: The Dolphins, now 0-2, have a few days to prepare for their next game as Week 3 begins on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1), who nearly came back from a 21-10 deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
“Nobody likes to lose. We didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach it well enough. We didn’t play well enough really anywhere,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said.
After a 36-minute lighting delay, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and tight end Mike Gesicki caught fire in the third
quarter, connecting on a one-handed catch by Gesicki that put the Dolphins at the 12-yard line. Gesicki finished with eight catches for a career high 130 yards.
Dolphins running back Matt Breida had a run for 11 yards, stopped by Bills defensive back Micah Hyde at the 1-yard line, but the Dolphins were unable to get any closer on the drive.
The Dolphins were stopped on four consecutive plays at the 1-yard line, ending with a pass that went directly through receiver Preston Williams’ hands in a disappointing ending to a pivotal 12-play drive that could’ve swung the game earlier.
“I think it’s worth it in that game especially against that type of team,” Flores said when asked why his team did not settle for a field goal following their longest drive of the game. “You have to be aggressive to beat a good team. That’s my thought process there. But we didn’t execute.”
The Dolphins rebounded with a 10-play drive as Fitzpatrick had a short run to the 2-yard line and running back Jordan Howard scored to take a 20-17 lead with 10:11 remaining.
The Dolphins offense dominated the possession time for much of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter, tiring out the Bills defense while keeping their own off the field.
But when Buffalo got back on offense, the Bills worked quickly to slow the Dolphins’ momentum.
Allen quickly connected with receiver Stefon Diggs for a 46-yard gain on rookie Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, and Buffalo later scored on a 6-yard pass from Allen to receiver Gabriel Davis.
The Dolphins’ response was a three and out on their second-to-last drive.
And Allen threw his final touchdown pass to put the game out of reach before a late Dolphins touchdown narrowed the score.
Fitzpatrick threw an 8-yard touchdown to Gesicki with 49 seconds remaining and converted a two-point conversion to Williams. But the Dolphins were unable to recover the ensuing kick before the final minute expired.
“I feel bad because really it was two drives. It was the drive in the second half after they took the lead, and it was the drive where we were inside their 5-yard line and had the fourth and 1 and couldn’t finish,” Fitzpatrick said. “Those were the two drives that led to us losing the game. It’s great to throw for yards and touchdowns, but that’s not what we’re here for.”
Allen completed 24-of-35 passes for 417 yards with a 147.0 passer rating with Diggs leading all receivers with eight catches for 153 yards, while Fitzpatrick finished 31 of 47 for 328 yards with two touchdowns, including his first of the game to receiver DeVante Parker in the first quarter.
Parker’s touchdown catch and Allen’s first two touchdown passes, his second going to Diggs with 11:40 remaining in the second quarter, were unable to be seen by fans watching at home. CBS reportedly had a power outage outside of the stadium and was unable to broadcast a portion of the game from the back end of the first quarter into the second quarter.
The Dolphins gave up 342 yards of offense in the first half and 524 yards total against the Bills as Allen improved to 4-1 against Miami.
Flores fell to 0-3 against Buffalo, and is now 5-13 in Miami as his second season has started with back-toback losses.
“We had a chance and we didn’t get it done,” Flores said. “There were some bright spots, and I get that. But we’re here to win. And when you don’t win, it’s disappointing.”