Upon Further Review: More Takeaways from Dolphins' Win vs. Bills

The Miami Dolphins finally ended their seven-game losing streak against the Buffalo Bills Sunday. It wasn’t a close game, either, as the Dolphins beat the Bills rather easily, 30-13.

For this week’s film review, we’ll be focusing mostly on the Dolphins’ defense, which probably played its best four quarters of the season. How did they keep Josh Allen in check for the most part and stop James Cook?

Let’s see what the film has to say, and don’t worry, we’ll give some quick-hitting takeaways about the offense a bit, too.

Shutting Down Josh Allen Outside the Pocket

If you’ve watched any of the Dolphins’ previous games against Allen, you know how it hard it can be to defend him when he breaks the pocket. Sure, Allen can run, but he’s a master at generating explosive passing plays when he breaks the pocket.

He did get the Dolphins on a few hero-ball plays, but for the most part, Miami did an excellent job plastering Buffalo’s receivers when Allen broke the pocket.

pic.twitter.com/FGc4ImLSsi
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 10, 2025

This is Allen’s first dropback of the game, and you can see how well the Dolphins cover up his options once he breaks the pocket.

Minkah Fitzpatrick does a great job breaking on the short route on the front side of the concept, but JuJu Brents and Jordyn Brooks do an excellent job stopping James Cook and Keon Coleman from creating space once Allen breaks the pocket.

Also, a credit to Jordan Phillips, who creates the interior pressure that forces Allen off his spot in the first place.

pic.twitter.com/MlXCU0age3
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 10, 2025

The Dolphins made a fourth-down stop near midfield in the first quarter that was incredibly important. Again, the front side of the concept is covered up well, this time by Jordyn Brooks.

Teams run this RB-to-the-flat play all the time in short-yardage, and Brooks sniffed it out from the jump. On the backend, you can see Fitzpatrick and Dante Trader Jr. stay attached to their men as Allen breaks the pocket, forcing a contested catch downfield.

Sure, Allen made a few plays in the second half, but Miami’s discipline in coverage in the first half bought them a 16-0 lead.

Generating Pressure With Four Rushers

One of the defense’s biggest issues this season has been generating pressure without blitzing. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s scheme isn’t meant to be a blitz-heavy scheme, but it’s had to be at times this season.

That wasn’t the case against Buffalo this week. Miami had its third-lowest blitz per dropback rate of the season against the Bills (23.9%). Not surprisingly, the two lower outputs were the team’s other wins against the Jets (22.9) and Falcons (18.8).

The Dolphins generated 20 total pressures against the Bills, according to PFF, and they got just seven of those against the blitz. That means the team generated 13 pressures without blitzing, tying its season high.

Hell yeah, Bradley pic.twitter.com/q4Mxo68g0F
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 10, 2025

Bradley Chubb deserves a ton of credit for playing his best game of the season. He was credited with 10 pressures by PFF, and he got the sack you see above. Chubb’s ability to compress the pocket was vital to disrupting Allen’s process.

pic.twitter.com/CGWRxI4sQ0
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 10, 2025

When the Dolphins did blitz in this game, they did a good job using it to clog Allen’s escape out of the pocket. Allen’s INT came off a Cover-0 blitz in the red zone, which is pretty common.

However, watch how Chubb sets a hard edge, and then the blitzing linebackers and safeties plug all of the gaps upfront. Allen has to get the ball out before the pocket collapses on him.

Buffalo actually picked this up well, but Allen loves to create in these scenarios, and the Dolphins didn’t let him.

Keeping James Cook Under Control

Stopping Allen is hard enough, but the Bills have become an excellent running team in recent years. A big reason for that is James Cook’s development as a lead back.

He’s had some big games against the Dolphins in the past, but Miami did a much better job on him in Week 10, forcing the Bills to become a bit predictable early in the game. Cook finished with just 13 carries for 53 yards, his third-lowest output of the season.

I love Jordyn Brooks, man. pic.twitter.com/SoV4Kumj0F
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) November 10, 2025

As always, run defense is very much a team effort. It takes good play from the front line and second level to keep players like Cook in check.

This play is an excellent example, as Benito Jones squeezes the front side gap, forcing Cook to cut back against the grain. Brooks does an excellent job reading that and then shooting the gap to make the tackle for no gain.

The Dolphins have also struggled with tackling this season, but they had a solid performance Sunday. The defense allowed just 2.77 yards per carry after contact, which is its third-best mark of the season.

If you combine all of the solid fundamentals we’ve covered with three turnovers, it leads to a shutdown day on defense. This is the blueprint for Miami, given its limitations.

It has to make other teams work for their yards and then make some opportunistic turnovers.

Quick-Hitting Takeaways on Offense

The Dolphins leaned into running the ball, and it paid off. The team averaged 6.2 yards per carry and closed out the game on the ground. This is who they are; it's not 2022 or 2023 anymore.
The Greg Dulcich and Hayden Rucci experiment is still the way to go at tight end. Rucci’s blocking is the best until Hill returns, and Dulcich is young enough to be a long-term piece.
The six-offensive line package continues to pay off. It was used on Jaylen Waddle’s long touchdown.

More Dolphins Coverage