Miami Dolphins Season Ends by the Hands of Buffalo Bills (34-31) Despite Valiant Effort

Quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills would get past a three-turnover outing, and the three-time defending AFC East champion Bills avoided an upset by rallying late in the fourth quarter for a 34-31 victory over the AFC’s seventh-seeded Miami Dolphins in a wild-card playoff game on Sunday afternoon.

Josh Allen would go on to say during the post-game press conference, all that mattered was the victory in the end.

“One-week seasons, man, that’s it,” Allen said. “All that matters is surviving and advancing. Doesn’t matter how we win, it’s if we win.”

The Bills would boat race the Dolphins to a 17-0 lead, a Dolphins team that was ailing from injuries coming into the playoffs by losing five of their final six games and down to their third-string quarterback, rookie Skylar Thompson.

After starting the game throwing 1-for-8 passing, Thompson would start to heat up in the second quarter and lead the Dolphins to four scoring drives. All four scorings drives would come via three field goal conversions from kicker Jason Sanders and a touchdown strike to tight end Mike Gesicki in addition to a two-point conversion to star receiver Tyreek Hill, to tie the game at 17 a piece in the second quarter.

The Bills would strike on a deep pass from Josh Allen to receiver Gabe Davis to set up a converted field goal from kicker Tyler Bass to put the Bills back on top 20-17 at halftime.

Allen would fumble on a sack that would be returned 5-yards by defensive tackle Zach Sieler just over a minute into the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 24-20.

Allen would throw two touchdown passes over a span of 3:11, with Cole Beasley scoring a 6-yard touchdown catch to take the lead, followed with Gabe Davis extending the Bills lead to 34-24 on a 23-yard touchdown reception of his own.

“That’s just playoff football for the most part. All the games I’ve played in the playoffs, I don’t even know if we’ve had a blowout,” Beasley said. “The thing is you’ve got to keep your foot on the gas. You can’t ever get complacent. You gotta play consistent. We were a little inconsistent tonight. We can’t do that going forward.”

The Buffalo Bills defense would stop Miami as it turned the ball over on downs on its final possession.

Thompson’s pass on fourth-and-6 went just off the fingertips of tight end Mike Gesicki with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation.

Buffalo would run out the clock after running back Devin Singletary bullied his way for a 7-yard gain to convert a third-and-7.

The two teams split their regular-season series in games decided by just five points. The Dolphins beat Buffalo 21-19 at Miami in September, while the Bills would beat Miami 32-29 last month.

Buffalo advances to host the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday in the divisional round.

The Dolphins played a much tighter game than most NFL viewers or even their own fans had expected coming into the game, they entered as 13-point underdogs, without starting quarterback Tua Tagovaiola, due to concussion protocol, and backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater who is nursing a dislocated pinky finger.

The Dolphins season has come to an end but for fans, they see a brighter future ahead among expected defensive coaching staff changes this off-season and playing a pre-season Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills extremely tight in the post-season without their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.