Jay Ajayi runs for 214 yards, beats Bills 28-25
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. >> As the NFL’s newest rushing star, Jay Ajayi is carrying the Miami Dolphins toward respectability.
Ajayi tied a league record by surpassing 200 yards rushing for the second game in a row, helping Miami rally past the Buffalo Bills 28-25 Sunday.
Ajayi rushed for 214 yards in 29 carries after totaling 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh. He scored on a 4-yard run , and busted a 53-yarder when the Dolphins were pinned at their 3 and trailing in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins (3-4) used an extra lineman much of the time to clear big holes for Ajayi, who tied the record for consecutive 200yard games held by O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.
“It’s surreal to me,” Ajayi said. “The backs I’m in company with — that’s huge. Those are Hall of Fame guys, guys I look up to.”
Two weeks ago the Dolphins Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi (23) celebrates a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla. To the right is Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey (51).
appeared strong contenders for the No. 1 draft pick in 2017, and the discovery of a ground game has revived their season under first-year coach Adam Gase.
“I know this — every time No. 23 kept getting the ball, he was popping a run,” Gase said. “I was leaning on him.”
Miami overcame an 11-point deficit with 16 minutes left to end a fourgame
winning streak by the Bills (4-3) and beat them for only the second time in their past seven meetings.
“We got outplayed, we got outcoached, we got out-everythinged,” Buffalo coach Rex Ryan said. “They were the more physical team today, there’s no doubt about that. They controlled the game.”
With Ajayi briefly sidelined by cramps, Damien Williams carried half the Bills’ weary defense into the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown run that put the Dolphins ahead with 3:56 to go. On their next possession, Ryan Tannehill hit Kenny Stills for a 66-yard score that made it 28-17.
The Dolphins recovered an onside kick with 13 seconds left to seal the victory.
Tyrod Taylor threw long to Marquise Goodwin for a 67-yard touchdown that put the Bills up 17-6 midway through the third quarter. The Dolphins responded with a 75-yard drive for their first touchdown, and scored 22 points in the final 15:18.
EMERGING STAR:
Ajayi, a second-year pro from Boise State, is the only NFL rusher with a 200-yard game this year. He ran for 187 yards as a rookie and totaled 117 in Miami’s first five games this year before his breakout.
“The kid made some good runs, ran through some tackles,” Ryan said. “He did a great job bouncing and cutting it back.”