Dolphins-Bills Week 3 Halftime Observations

Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) scores a touchdown against Miami Dolphins free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) in the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins' home opener against the Buffalo Bills:

We'll start with the list of inactives, where the biggest news was wide receiver Jaylen Waddle NOT being on the list after being listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. The list included the three players ruled out Wednesday (TE Darren Waller, S Ifeatu Melifonwu and CB Storm Duck) along with WR Tahj Washington, CB JuJu Brents and DT Zeek Biggers, with Quinn Ewers serving as the emergency third quarterback again.

Cornerback Ethan Bonner and running back Jaylen Wright both were active for the first time this season.

THE FIRST QUARTER

The Dolphins got the start they needed in this game, with Dee Eskridge continuing the fine work of the return game with a 54-yard kickoff return.

The story of the first drive was the Dolphins' ability to run up the middle, something we haven't seen all that often the past couple of years.

It was particularly good to see Ollie Gordon II convert a third-and-1 with an 8-yard run behind some great blocking up the middle and then cap the drive with a touchdown on third-and-2 with another run up the middle.

This is what we saw from Gordon during the summer and why there was so much hope he could be a factor for the running game.

Tua was good on the first drive throwing mostly short, but he had a pinpoint throw to Tyreek Hill to convert a third-and-4 at the start of the drive.

Guard Kion Smith had a couple of negative plays on the drive, getting flagged for being an ineligible downfield and then getting beat on a play that resulted in a 2-yard loss by Gordon.

Overall, though, this was a great first drive for Miami.

And then the defense had to come onto the field.

No resistance whatsoever, even after a penalty forced the Bills to start at their 15-yard line.

The Bills didn't face a single third-down situation while marching to a touchdown, and it was the run defense that was particularly offensive for the Dolphins.

The Bills completely dominated at the line of scrimmage. Just bad.

The Dolphins should have known by then they were operating with a very small margin for error.

Their second drive was a disaster, with Tua overshooting Malik Washington on an easy throw and then bobbling a shotgun snap on third-and-5 after the Bills were showing an all-out blitz look.

Bad three-and-out.

The second Buffalo drive started with runs of 9 yards by James Cook and 11 yards by Elijah Moore on an end-around with no Dolphins defender in sight.

Again, no resistance by the defense.

THE SECOND QUARTER

There was some improvement in that the Dolphins did force the Bills to convert a couple of third downs, but Cook got one easily with a 5-yard run on third-and-3 and then Coleman took advantage of very soft coverage by Rasul Douglas for an easy completion on a slant.

Yes, the drive ended with another touchdown, this one after tight end Jackson Hawes slipped while going in motion and then two Dolphins defenders slipped while chasing Allen as he scrambled out of the pocket.

Safety Ashtyn Davis did have the one good defensive play on the drive when he broke up a pass intended for Dalton Kincaid in the end zone.

It was another three-and-out for the Dolphins offense after that, and the Buffalo pass rush became a factor, forcing Tua out of the pocket on first and third downs.

Tua threw incompletions on both of those plays with Achane and Tyreek Hill both covered closely. And maybe, just maybe, the Dolphins need to start thinking about focusing on the run a bit more.

The Dolphins got burned again by Cook on the next drive, but the defense finally stiffened and Jaelan Phillips played a big role despite not getting credit for a tackle.

Phillips' pressure led to a stop for no gain on a run by Cook and then he was part of a group pressure effort that led to the sack by Bradley Chubb. And Chubb, though overall fairly quiet, now has three sacks in three games.

When Matt Prater badly missed a 39-yard field goal attempt, the Dolphins found themselves still down by only seven late in the first half.

And the Dolphins quickly got a first down by, what, running the ball.

Tua then came up with his best play of the half when he avoided pressure with a pump fake on third-and-12 and then had a 19-yard completion to Tyreek Hill, who also deserves credit for making hismelf available off a broken play and then making a tough, high catch.

Hill then did some great work after the catch to take a short completion and convert a third-and-10 just after the two-minute warning.

Great job by Tua to get out of the pocket and running for the first down on third-and-7 after Joey Bosa got around Larry Borom.

And after third-down conversion, Tua's touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle made it a tie score at the half.

The Dolphins went 8-for-10 on third downs in the first half, the biggest reason they've given themselves a chance to win the game and pull off the massive upset.