Scooter & Hum: Day 600, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Bills Game 8 Review

For a change, Miami offered legitimate hope against an extremely talented opponent on the road, battling Buffalo tooth and nail in a defensive battle for three quarters. This time around, penalties (nine for 58 yards) and boneheaded mistakes sunk the Dolphins' fourth-quarter chances.

With rumors swirling around Deshaun Watson and what would come of Tua Tagavailoa, the 'Fins could have assumed the fetal position and taken a beating, but despite the franchise's best efforts to sabotage its own team, Miami gave a strong accounting of itself despite (another) disappointing result.

On to the recap ...

Offense

This unit managed just 262 total yards and 16 first downs, averaging just 4.1 yards per play and converting only 4 of 14 third downs. Miami made a bigger investment in RPO-aided rushing (23 carries) but totaled only 68 yards for a mediocre three yards per carry. Most damaging, however, was that in three Dolphin trips to the red zone, the team eked out just one touchdown.
Tua had a harried and pedestrian day, hitting 21 of 39 passes for 205 yards with a pick at desperation time. He was sacked twice but under pressure incessantly, running for 10 yards and a score. In general, when he wasn't running for his life, he was staring down receivers, losing his pocket awareness, and throwing off his back foot. By any measure, this was a step back at an inopportune time for Tua. Once again, Jacoby Brissett was not involved in short-yardage situations.
Behind Tua, Myles Gaskin racked up 15 touches, putting up 55 yards. He was spelled by Salvon Ahmed, who carried seven times for 22 yards -- including a key 12-yarder -- and added one grab for six yards. Reserve Patrick Laird had a 10-yard catch in limited action. It's clear that the 'Fins are lacking a punishing option, effectively trotting out a series of scatbacks that are easy to gameplan against.
At receiver, DeVante Parker returned and was effectively early. He was targeted 11 times and caught eight for 85 yards, but he also dropped a key pass and had miscommunications with Tua on a couple of other plays. Jaylen Waddle was targeted a team-high 12 times but somehow only caught four, for just 29 yards and a long of 12. Mack Hollins (four snaps) and Isaiah Ford (eight snaps) were each targeted once without a catch (Ford dropped his after a big hit and Hollins wasn't on the same page as Tua), so the receivers were largely taken out of the game. As a local sportswriter noted, the Dolphins have essentially turned the No. 6 pick in the entire draft (Waddle) into Davone Boss, running screens and 5-yard hitches. Albert Wilson got just two snaps, making it difficult to understand his presence on the roster, even on a team currently without a viable run-after-catch threat.
At tight end, Mike Gesicki snared three for 48 yards, but he was only targeted four times and all his damage came on a fourth-down play that saw him pull in a 40-yard rainbow. Gesicki also figured in two illegal shifts and could not seem to draw an interference or holding call yet again. Adam Shaheen caught a single pass for eight yards, but after back-to-back strong games, Durham Smythe did not dent the box score at all. Bizarrely, rookie Hunter Long was inactive yet again.
Along the offensive line, rookie left tackle Liam Eichenberg seemed to regress in this one (44.8 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, which can be a controversial outlet but at least offers performance context), getting out of his stance late a few times, surrendering six pressures (according to PFF), and getting whistled for a false start. On the other side, right tackle Jesse Davis was even worse (a staggering 29.2 pass-blocking grade), allowing eight pressures, called for holding, and generally getting turnstiled way too often. On the interior, right guard Robert Hunt had a false start and forgot his blocking assignment on at least one occasion, but did recover a fumble, while left guard Austin Jackson was a problem yet again (55.0 pass-blocking grade by PFF). Center Austin Reiter struggled with a few of the calls and played a role in the key red zone fumble. The Bills cause a lot of problems with their exotic blitz schemes, but this was a dramatic step back for an offensive line that was at least showing some signs of improvement in recent weeks.

Defense

The Bills finally got some momentum going in the second half, ending up with 351 yards and 24 touchdowns, but that doesn't tell the story. Miami did a phenomenal job of holding down Buffalo's high-powered attack before appearing to lose energy and morale when the offense couldn't sustain anything. Sure, the 'Fins could have helped themselves by forcing a turnover, but it would be difficult to ask too much more of a much-maligned defense on the road against one of the league's best teams. Unfortunately, much of the game was decided by the fact that the Dolphins just couldn't find a way to tackle the other team's quarterback.
Though not credited with a tackle, Emmanuel Ogbah was active as usual, with two pressures and a quarterback hit. Andrew Van Ginkel had two solo tackles and two quarterback hits despite losing containment a couple of times, while Jaelan Phillips pitched in with four tackles, including two solo, while taking on a bigger role with 61 snaps.
On the interior, Christian Wilkins had one of his most impressive games, recording six tackles, two stops for losses, and a batted pass. Adam Butler showed a good motor on a number of plays, finishing with four tackles, including two solo. Raekwon Davis had three tackles, but two illegal hands to the face penalties, and his play has been spotty since his return from injury. Zach Sieler with three tackles and one stop for loss, but was limited to just 14 snaps for some reason.
A reeling linebacking corps was led by Duke Riley, who had five tackles filled in for an injured Jerome Baker. Elandon Roberts had four tackles and Brennan Scarlett added three, including a stop for loss. Sam Eguavoen had two solo tackles but only played four snaps, and the group in general is comprised of special-teamers lacking the ability to affect the game with big plays.
The good news at cornerback: Byron Jones played one of his best games as a Dolphin, notching six tackles and a pass breakup while holding Emmanuel Sanders without a catch. Xavien Howard had two tackles and a pass breakup in a solid effort, but he was called for holding and did give up a touchdown to Stefon Diggs. Nik Needham had eight tackles but was thoroughly wrecked by Buffalo slot receiver Cole Beasley, while Eric Rowe (two solo tackles) and Justin Coleman (three stops and an illegal contact flag in 20 snaps) were also targeted a lot. Look, Buffalo realized late that Miami could not cover Beasley with any combination of Needham, Rowe, or Coleman, and mercilessly attacked these players (especially Needham) with Beasley, who finished with 10 catches for 110 yards and some devastating third-down conversions.
At safety, Jevon Holland continued to show his dynamic ability, contributing five tackles, blitzing a few times, and returning punts. Brandon Jones contributed five solo tackles, one stop for a loss, and two quarterback hits, and the two young safeties played outsized roles in keeping Buffalo at bay for most of the contest.

Special teams

Jason Sanders shanked a shorty to start the game off on a debilitating note. He did recover to hit a 51-yarder in the wind and nail all three extra points, but the fact that his miss was followed by a 57-yard bomb from Tyler Bass was more than a little disheartening early on.
Michael Palardy averaged 51.8 yards on five punts, putting two inside the 20-yard line. His play has picked up recently, perhaps as a result of Miami trying out a couple of punters.
Holland is an adventure on punt returns, bringing three back for 12 yards, but he also looks like the kind of player poised to break one at any moment.
Waddle returned two kickoffs for 25 yards and largely seems disinterested in this phase of the game.

Momentum plays

To start the game, Miami forced a three-and-out that largely featured Holland, who made a tackle on second down, forced a throwaway with a blitz on third down, and then returned the punt on the following play.
The ensuing Dolphins drive was sustained by a 3rd & 9 pass that featured an unlikely sideline grab by Parker for 23 yards. Tua converted a 3rd & 3 with a short pass to Waddle, but two plays later, he stared down Parker -- somehow getting away with it as a likely interception went through the defender and was reeled in by the big wideout. A 3rd & 5 pass to Waddle didn't gain a single yard, and Sanders's 36-yard field goal was hooked wide left, though later in the week it would be officially ruled a blocked field goal by Buffalo. Either way, it was a devastating result after a promising start.
The Bills's drive was sustained by Josh Allen ripping off a 34-yard run that had zero Dolphins on an entire side of the field on 3rd & 10. The defense surrendered only another yard, but Bass crushed a 57-yard field goal to stake the home team to a 3-0 lead.
The 'Fins got the RPO working on the ensuing drive, with Parker pulling in a pair of big catches and a 3rd & 13 converted thanks to an illegal use of hands on the Bills. The offensive line then had a disastrous series, with Eichenberg getting called for a false start before giving up an easy sack, then Hunt allowing a free rusher that killed a screen play on 3rd & 20.
The defense forced another three-and-out when Sieler, Wilkins, and Roberts swarmed the ballcarrier for a loss on 3rd & 1.
Taking over at its own 35-yard line, Miami converted a 3rd & 6 when Gaskin broke a tackle on a short throw. However, Gaskin was easily chopped down on a 3rd & 2 run, setting up a 51-yard field goal that was drilled by Sanders to tie the score at 3. Stunningly, the Dolphins had gone 95 straight offensive plays without a score against the Bills until the field goal.
After a quick Buffalo first down, the 'Fins "D" once more took over. Byron Jones made an acrobatic pass breakup on a deep pass, then Brandon Jones put pressure on Allen, who threw dangerously and blindly into the secondary as he was falling. Holland fielded the punt without a fair catch, but was hammered down at Miami's 6-yard line.
Ahmed gave the offense some room with a nifty 12-yard run, but a 3rd & 6 conversion by Laird was called back due to an illegal shift on Gesicki and Waddle. Palardy uncorked a 58-yard punt, but it bounced into the end zone for a touchback. The most memorable aspect of this Miami drive was the fact that the refs appeared to miss not one, but two, facemask penalties on the Bills on tackles of Waddle and G-Sick.
The Bills went on the move, aided by a near pick of a screen pass by Ogbah that he wasn't able to hold onto. Buffalo went for it on 4th & 4, but pressure by Van Ginkel and Riley forced a late grounding call by Allen, giving the Dolphins the ball at the Beefalo 41-yard line.
A horsecollar of Gaskin propelled the 'Fins even deeper into Bills territory, but on a key 3rd & 5, a premature snap managed to hit Gesicki as the man in motion, causing a fumble that was picked by the Bills. The play looked doomed from the jump, but Miami elected not to use a timeout to rethink things, serving as a fitting summation of the season to date and wasting a staggering good defensive effort headed into halftime knotted at 3.
The 'Fins started the second half with more mistakes, going three-and-out when Tua dove a yard short on 3rd & 7 after an illegal shift on Gesicki.
Fortunately, the Miami defense picked up where it left off, forcing a three-and-out on the strength of a tackle for loss by Scarlett, a batted pass by Ogbah, and a pressure by Riley. A solid punt return by Holland to go with a penalty on Buffalo set up Miami at its own 46-yard line.
An absolutely brutal drive followed, with a negative-yardage run by Gaskin followed by a pair of pressure-induced incompletions. Palardy's punt was muffed by the Bills after good coverage by Elijah Campbell, and the ball bounced into the end zone, where Buffalo pounced on it. Thanks to archaic and nonsensical NFL rules, the Bills were somehow rewarded with a touchback on the play for reasons that no one seems to understand.
Empowered by the break, Buffalo went on a Beasley-flavored drive. On 3rd & 14, he easily beat Needham for a back-breaking first down, then Allen escaped a certain sack by Roberts to convert a 3rd & 1. On a 3rd & 5, Miami blitzed Allen into a poor throw, but Van Ginkel was matched up with Diggs in coverage and got called for a shaky pass interference. Allen paid off the drive by escaping another sack attempt and finding a wide-open receiver in the end zone for a 10-3 advantage.
Yet another three-and-out by the Dolphins followed, with Gaskin unable to reel in a tough pass on 3rd & 2.
Another illegal hands to the face on Davis jumpstarted the next Bills drive, and Buffalo nullified Miami blitzes with tunnel screens and short passes to Beasley and Diggs. After Beasley converted a 3rd & 13 by roasting Needham again, the home team tried a trick play, with Beasley lofting an extremely ill-advised pass into double coverage, but Howard was unable to pull down an interception he usually makes. However, Diggs beat Howard on a slant for a touchdown on the following play, pushing Buffalo ahead 17-3.
Against all odds, the 'Fins finally got something moving on the next possession. A Parker catch and run was followed by a third-down snare by Waddle before Miami faced a 4th & 6 after a no call on a taunting penalty by Buffalo. The Dolphins elected to go for it, and Tua climbed the pocket before dropping in a 40-yard teardrop to G-Sick to set up a first & goal from the Bills 4-yard line. A second-effort sneak by Tua punched in the touchdown, and an RPO look to Gesicki on the two-point conversion trimmed the margin to 17-11.
Beasley converted yet another third-and-long on the following drive, beating Coleman on 3rd & 11 before a hold on Howard helped convert a 2nd & 14. Allen broke five tackles on a designed run, but a low block and back-to-back Butler tackles in space on the next series of downs helped halt the Bills. Bass put through a field goal to push the lead to 20-11.
A vintage offensive possession ensued for the Dolphins, as a crunch-time Parker drop was followed by a holding call on Davis, which was followed by a sack and Tua fumble, which was followed by an easy interception as Tua started down Parker. This sequence of plays could not feel more on brand for this year's version of the 'Fins.
Three straight runs resulted in a largely uncontested Allen score, and he was somehow not whistled for taunting as he berated Scarlett in the end zone. For some reason, Buffalo went for two, with Wilkins slamming Allen to the turf and causing a fumble, which led to more uncalled taunting by Allen and a 26-11 lead for Beefalo.
With 1:07 left, the 'Fins next possession went like this: backwards throw to Gaskin for -2; up-the-middle run by Gaskin; Miami lets the clock run out. Thus concluded another baffling and aimless offensive gameplan by the Dolphins coaching staff, which wasted an inspired defensive performance.