Gutsy Dolphins Effort Falls Short
The Miami Dolphins almost pulled off a major shocker Sunday, but almost doesn't count and there are no moral victories.
The Dolphins took a second-half lead after once trailing 17-0 but couldn't hold on and suffered a 34-31 loss after entering the game as 13.5-point underdogs.
Buffalo clinched the victory with a run for a first down by Devin Singletary in the final minute after he carried a group of Dolphins defenders a few yards.
But the Dolphins had their chance with the ball around midfield in their final drive facing a third-and-1 than turned into a fourth-and-6 after Salvon Ahmed was stuffed for no gain and Robert Jones committed a false start.
The Dolphins' final offensive play was an incompletion from Skylar Thompson to tight end Mike Gesicki after Thompson moved out of the pocket.
DOLPHINS SHOW GREAT RESILIENCY
Thompson started at quarterback in place of Tua Tagovailoa, who missed the game because of his concussion, and the Dolphins also were without starting running back Raheem Mostert and starting right tackle Brandon Shell.
The Dolphins managed to hang tough despite some costly dropped passes, four false-start penalties and burning all three of their second-half timeouts before the 4-minute mark because they couldn't get the play off in time.
While the defense gave up 423 total yards, including 352 passing yards to Josh Allen, it also was the reason the Dolphins had a shot to pull out a late victory.
Zach Sieler gave the Dolphins a 24-20 lead in the third quarter when he returned an Allen fumble 5 yards for a touchdown after he was sacked on a blitz by safety Eric Rowe.
Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland both came up with interceptions, and the Dolphins finished with seven sacks, including two by Sieler.
TOUGH DAY FOR THE DOLPHINS OFFENSE
The offense struggled, finishing with 231 yards, including only 42 on the ground.
Thompson's final numbers were ugly — 18-for-45 for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and a 44.7 passer rating — but his teammates didn't do him any favors.
There were a handful of clear drops along with tough catches not made, starting with Jaylen Waddle dropping an uncontested deep pass on the first drive of the game.
Thompson also was flushed out of the pocket on a regular basis, though some of that appeared to be his own doing.
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COMPETITIVE SHOWING FOR THE DOLPHINS
At the very least, the Dolphins were competitive in this playoff lost, a nice change from their recent postseason appearances.
After losing their previous four playoff games by a combined score of 106-26, the Dolphins appeared headed for another blowout loss when they fell behind 17-0 early in the second quarter.
But the Dolphins clawed their way back, getting three field goals from Jason Sanders, set up by a Buffalo kickoff out of bounds, Howard's INT and 49-yard return, and Cedrick Wilson Jr.'s 50-yard punt return.
The Dolphins then tied the score late in the first half on Thompson's touchdown pass to Gesicki, followed by a two-point conversion pass to Tyreek Hill.
While Buffalo regained the lead before halftime with a quick field goal drive, the Dolphins took their first and only lead on Sieler's touchdown.
The Dolphins defense came up with two stops before a key momentum swing, which came on a third-and-19 from the Miami 8. Instead of taking a conservative approach, Thompson tried to hit Trent Sherfield deep down the left sideline but was picked off by Kaiir Elam at the Miami 33.
That set up a short touchdown drive, and Buffalo followed a Dolphins three-and-out with another score to make it 34-24.
It looked like the expected blowout might arrive after all, but the Dolphins would have none of it.
The Dolphins drove 75 yards for their second touchdown, Jeff Wilson Jr.'s 1-yard run that came shortly after Salvon Ahmed picked up 20 yards on a screen pass.
DOLPHINS HAD THEIR CHANCES
The Dolphins defense up with two stops to give the offense the chance to retake the lead, but Miami went three-and-out on the first and then had the frustrating finish to the final drive.
This was a frustrating loss for the Dolphins, who were so close to overcoming a bunch of injuries and a bunch of mistakes to pull off a stunner.
They deserve respect for putting up the kind of fight they did, but that's not going to move them to the next round of the playoffs.
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