What we learned from the Bills' victory over the Dolphins on Thursday night

COMPLETE RESULTS

1. The Bills' undermanned defense puts on a brave effort. With Cornerback Taron Johnson out, linebacker Matt Milano still missing and LB Bernard Terrel (Pectoral) after the second series, Buffalo's prospects of dealing with the dangerous Miami offense looked bleak. Not to mention that it was a hot, humid night – a supposed advantage for the home team. But the Bills put in a tremendous performance and caught Tua Tagovailoa three times and stopped the Dolphins three more times on the fourth attempt. It was also a group effort. Danielle LewisJohnson's replacement was attacked twice at the start, but recovered and put in a strong performance. Ja'Marcus Ingram had his biggest NFL game with his first two INTs of his career, including a pick-six. Dorian Williams had a third-down stuff, followed by a Ed Oliver Sack on fourth down to prevent another Dolphins attack. But the brilliance of Buffalo’s execution was to get the ball from Tyreek Hill And Jaylen Waddle; all three of Tagovailoa's passes were aimed at other receivers. Hill and Waddle finished the game with a total of seven catches for 65 yards. After a somewhat slow start last week, the undermanned but courageous defense of Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich has sorted things out quite nicely.
2. The Dolphins' offense falters before Tagovailoa leaves the field with a concussion. Tua Tagovailoa left the game late in the third quarter with a concussion after a poor performance earlier in the game. It was the third three-interception game of Tagovailoa's career, with the last pick returned 31 yards for a touchdown and a 31-10 lead for Buffalo. His wide receivers (Grant DuBose And Robbie selected) were probably at least partially responsible for the first two picks, but Tuas' pick-six was a poor throw under heavy pressure. The Dolphins lost Offensive Tackle Terron Armstead and left guard Robert Jones Midway through the game, but the Dolphins' offense was too inconsistent before their departure. Penalties and a stop on fourth down slowed the momentum several times. Even Mike McDaniel's plays seemed oddly off at times. Running back De'Von Achane (ankle) wasn't ruled out until the game, but he ended up with a career-high 29 touches (his previous high was 22). Achane was great — actually the only player on offense that stood out. But why was he on the field well into the fourth quarter when most of the other starters were out of the game? Tagovailoa was under a lot of pressure early in the game, and it was another disappointing result for him and the Dolphins against the Bills, but the big question now is Tua's health, given his concussion history.
3. Cook sets the tone in his hometown from an early age. Invoices are backlogged James Cook was born and raised in Miami, yet he has been quiet in his last five games against the Dolphins, scoring three touchdowns and averaging 49.4 yards from scrimmage. Cook matched those numbers in the second quarter – and then surpassed them. His three first-half touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) helped the Bills build a 24-7 lead by halftime, as Cook rushed for 95 yards on 12 touches in one of his best games, right up there with Dallas last season but without the whole lot. The fourth-round rookie Ray Davis was even there with a few nice runs and Thomas Johnson had a beautiful 33-yard catch and run to the Miami 1-yard line, setting up Cook's second TD. The Bills' offensive line opened up some nice gaps for Cook, and it made Josh AllenLife is pretty simple, honestly. The Bills didn't get past the 40-play mark on offense until midway through the fourth quarter, mostly because they were so efficient early on and the defense did a good job.
4. Miami's defense has problems again at the beginning. The Dolphins started slowly and a bit sloppy on defense in Week 1 against the Jaguars, but were absolutely outstanding after halftime. Overall, it was an encouraging first performance from new coordinator Anthony Weaver's team. Thursday, however, was a step in the wrong direction. A little context: Three of the Buffalos' first-half possessions started in Miami territory. But the Dolphins were pushed around at the point of attack and barely got a paw on James Cook on all three of his touchdowns. And when Josh Allen had time to act, he was very effective. The Dolphins' pass rush just wasn't there in the first half. They couldn't count on another second-half comeback after Tua Tagovailoa threw the pick-six. Now the pressure will be on this group to tighten the screws more, especially if Skylar Thompson must replace Tagovailoa.
5. Allen plays a small role in the win and is coping well with his hand injury. There was some pregame regret over the health of Josh Allen's left hand, which forced him to wear a special glove with the middle fingers taped together, but the effect of that was minimal (at worst) in the Bills' blowout win. Allen attempted just 19 passes and completed 13 for 139 yards and a touchdown. He ran the ball just twice, for 2 yards. And the best part? No turnovers. He lost an early fumble last week, but has played seven quarters without a turnover since. Allen was forced to hand off right-handed runs, but that didn't seem to make a difference. He botched a shotgun snap that appeared to hit his glove, resulting in an incomplete pass. But otherwise, it was a clean affair. It's not often that the Bills come out of a game where Allen didn't play a central role in the outcome, good or bad, but this was an exception where the running game and defense did the bulk of the work. The Bills will take advantage of it — and a big division win — every time the opportunity presents itself.

Next-gen stats of the game: On his 49-yard touchdown run, James Cook reached a top speed of 20.99 mph, the fastest speed as a ball carrier of his career. The run resulted in +42 rushing yards more than expected.

NFL Research: The Dolphins have a 20-13 record, including Thursday's loss to the Bills, with Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback since McDaniel became head coach in 2022. Without Tagovailoa in the starting lineup, they are 1-4 during that span.