Scooter & Hum: Day 319, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Bills Game 16 Review

Obviously, it's taken me a minute to build the strength necessary to write this post.

With, I mean, everything on the line, the Dolphins shit the bed, set it on fire, tossed it into a dumpster, and pushed the dumpster into a pit of battery acid. Miami was outscored 28-3 in the second quarter and never recovered any semblance of competitiveness, ultimately subjecting themselves to a 30-point bitching by the Bills.

Two observations worth making: First, this is the first game I can remember marking a demonstrable lack of effort in the Brian Flores era. Second, it was hard not to notice that Beefalo continued taking deep shots with the game well in hand late in the contest, and I'm guessing Flo is not going to forget that, either.

All told, it was a devastating way to end a surprising 10-win season, opening the floodgate to an offseason full of Tua Tagovailoa questions, coaching changes, free agency speculation, trade rumors, and draft guesses.

Offense

It says here that, at this stage of his development, Tua is not going to win many games for the Dolphins by throwing 58 passes. He hit 35 of his tosses for a career-high 361 yards and one touchdown, but was picked off three times and sacked once. You know all those eek passes he was throwing that opponents were dropping earlier in the year? Yeah, they were all intercepted by Beefalo. Tua was hurt by a ton of drops and did add 28 rushing yards, but his uneven performance when the game was competitive cast even more doubt among the fanbase.
Myles Gaskin led the way here with 11 touches for 77 yards, highlighted by a 32-yard catch and run as well as a rushing touchdown. Salvon Ahmed followed closely behind with nine touches for 48 yards and a rushing score, but Miami was unable to get anything going on the ground when it mattered. Once again, Matt Breida (inexplicably) and Patrick Laird got zero run for the 'Fins.
At tight end, Mike Gesicki was targeted 10 times, but was only able to reel in five of those passes for 47 yards. Durham Smythe contributed three grabs for 23 yards and Adam Shaheen had a nifty 22-yarder, but the Bills knew that G-Sick was among the only reliable weapons and effectively neutralized him.
I'm going to go out on another limb and say that if Lynn Bowden, Jr., is targeted 12 times in a game, it's going to be difficult for Miami to win. He had eight catches for 44 yards and completed a 32-yard pass to Gaskin, but he also lost seven yards on a run. DeVante Parker converted half of his 14 targets into seven receptions for 116 yards, but he slipped on a game-altering pick-6 and had questionable effort on a couple of throws. Despite three catches for 37 yards, Isaiah Ford had his worst game as a Dolphins, dropping at least three passes. Malcolm Perry reeled in a 25-yard pass for his first touchdown, but Mack Hollins contributed only a measly three-yard grab -- which he promptly fumbled over to Buffalo.
The offensive line was unable to establish itself in either phase of the game when it mattered. Outside of a pair of 16-yard runs, the 'Fins ran for 38 yards on 18 carries, and while Tua was only sacked once, he often had to check down due to pressure.

Defense

Buffalo averaged 7.1 yards per play despite playing second-stringers for much of the contest, and every time Miami needed a stop, the Bills easily converted. I also have to use this space to mention that Beefalo receiver Stefon Diggs slid to the ground -- like, slid, literally like a quarterback -- on THREE different occasions after catches. Worth mentioning because I have never seen this from a player who isn't a signal-caller, punter, or kicker. Ever.
Andrew Van Ginkel played a really good game. That's about all I have here for the defensive line. Van Ginkel posted five solo tackles, including three for losses, to go with a sack, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit. Christian Wilkins (three stops), Zach Sieler (two tackles, QB hit), and Raekwon Davis (two tackles) were unable to influence the game from the interior, while Emmanuel Ogbah was held without a statistic when Miami need him most.
At the linebacker position, Kyle Van Noy contributed five stops and Jerome Baker added four, but there was very little pressure on Allen and this unit did not make any impact plays. Calvin Munson had two stops in spot action but was wiped out on an easy 18-yard touchdown run, showing how much injuries had decimated the linebacker depth chart late in the year.
The Miami corners were busy, with Byron Jones tallying six solo stops, an interception, and a pass breakup and Xavien Howard adding four solo tackles, a pick, and a pass breakup. The duo didn't get a ton of help, although nickel Eric Rowe had seven stops despite iffy coverage on a couple of occasions. It was an eminently forgettable game for Nik Needham, who did not post a statistic, but was the trailing defender on three (THREE) Bills touchdown passes.
Safeties Bobby McCain (three solo tackles) and Brandon Jones (two stops) were mostly invisible, pointing up the need for upgrades at this position in the offseason. The 'Fins prize B-Mac's status as a technician and Jones is only a rookie, but Miami simply has to get more game-turning plays from the safety spot to take the next step as a defense.

Special Teams

Jason Sanders drilled his final two field goal attempts of the season -- including a 49-yarder -- and converted both extra points, completing one of the finest seasons ever by a Dolphins kicker.
Matt Haack's performance was uneven in the back half of the year, and that continued in this one. He averaged 43.6 yards on five punts, with two downed inside the 20-yard line, but an 84-yard return on a line drive mixed in.
The coverage units continued their late-season swoon, allowing the long punt return touchdown and giving up a 27-yard kickoff return as well. Miami is not yet in the position to win games while losing on special teams, and this was another in a disturbing trend of being outplayed in this phase of the contest. Against teams like the Bills and Chiefs, the 'Fins needed to win the third phase by a dramatic margin, and so for that not only not to happen, but for the Dolphins to give up touchdowns in the kicking game was a swift kick in the gonads.
Malcolm Perry contributed a 12-yard punt return, but Miami had no other opporunities to affect the contest in the kicking game.

Momentum Plays

After a Van Ginkel sack forced a 2nd & 21 on Buffalo's first possession, Byron Jones made an amazing pick along the sideline that was initially ruled incomplete. Despite good field position, Tua took a third-down sack, forcing a Sanders field goal to establish a 3-0 advantage.
On the ensuing possession, Zach Moss broke three tackles on a dumpoff, setting an ominous tone for Miami's tackling on this one. However, the 'Fins rallied to force a punt, but on a 4th & 1, Flores elected to punt himself, with the result being an ugly 32-yarder by Haack. Van Ginkel pressure forced a three-and-out, but Perry did a poor job of letting the punt bounce inside the 1-yard line. Another three-and-out led to Buffalo taking over at midfield to start the second quarter.
The Bills pounced quickly, with Isaiah McKenzie easily beating Needham in coverage for a 7-yard touchdown and a 7-3 Buffalo lead.
Another Miami punt led to a Buffalo drive spurred by a late hit call on Wilkins. On a free third-down play due to a Sieler offsides, McKenzie was once again left wide open by Needham, pushing the margin to 14-3, Buffalo. It has been rare to question the effort level for a Flo team thus far, but at this stage, the Dolphins were displaying a distinct giving-up energy.
A quick 'Fins three-and-out led to McKenzie's third straight touchdown on an 84-yard punt return that featured multiple clear holds. Hollins missed a tackle, but Van Ginkel was egregiously held in the middle of the field, but with no flag coming, the Bills stormed to a 21-3 advantage.
Spurred by a 32-yard trick play that saw Bowden hit Gaskin out of the backfield, Miami raced to a first-and-goal. However, a run of -6 yards and a miscommunication between Tua and Parker led to a demoralizing field goal to make it 21-6.
With Miami unable to get any pressure on the signal-caller, the 'Fins thought blitzing would help. However, it's almost impossible to blitz and get less pressure than the Dolphins did on an easy 32-yard touchdown toss that saw John Brown easily run past Byron Jones for a 28-6 lead that felt insurmountable. A Ford drop sped the ensuing three-and-out, and Beefalo -- with Allen now sitting out -- kneeled on the ball to end the worst quarter of Miami's season and send both teams to the halftime locker room.
The 'Fins started the second half with three straight strikes to Parker, but an inexplicable Tua slide on a first-and-goal run helped lead to three straight incompletions. However, Parker drew a fourth-down interference call in the end zone and Gaskin punched it in on the next play to make it 28-13.
Miami got a much-needed defensive stop, but on the first play of the next drive, Parker slipped to the ground, leading to an easy pick-6 by Josh Norman, who had been getting worked by Parker. The unfortunate play made the score 35-13 and effectively ended the 'Fins' short-lived comeback hopes.
On the next possession, Tua dove for a first down on a fourth-down run, then added a 16-yard scramble. A Ford drop on a tipped pass led to a 4th & 9 toss to Parker that fell incomplete, though it appeared he was interfered with.
"X" reeled in his 10th pick of the year on the following Buffalo drive, and Parker sparked another Miami drive with a couple of great grabs. A late hit on Parker was uncalled, however, and a bad third-down ball to Bowden was tipped and intercepted by the Bills.
The fourth quarter began with a third-down conversion on a catch that looked like it hit the ground, but wasn't reviewed. Buffalo then hit a 51-yard pass before an embarrassing 18-yard touchdown run that saw the Bills' Antonio Williams go untouched for a 42-13 advantage.
On Tua's next pass, he sailed it miles over G-Sick's head for another gift-wrapped Beefalo interception. Dodgy effort and worse tackling quickly led to yet another Williams touchdown run and a 49-13 advantage.
Drops by Ford and Parker hamstrung the next drive, but Gesicki's great grab in traffic converted a 3rd & 10. Ahmed then made a nifty jump cut and raced 16 yards for a score, but the two-point conversion attempt sailed out of the back of the end zone, intended for Parker. The Tua misfire kept the score at 49-19, Bills.
Miami got a three-and-out, but not before Matt Barkley inexplicably threw it deep on a 3rd & 8 play. Perry mishandled the punt for a fumble, but made something out of nothing. However, Hollins turned a short grab into an awful fumble, another in a long line of unforced 'Fins errors.
With just over 6 minutes remaining, Barkley threw deep yet again, victimizing Needham yet again for 56 yards and a 56-19 lead.
G-Sick contributed another third-down conversion and Ford pulled in a tremendous 18-yard catch to partially redeem himself. Tua then hit Perry with a nice sideline throw (it appeared the Beefalo safety gave up on the play) for a 25-yard score to cut the margin to 56-26.
An unsuccessful onsides kick led to more shoddy tackling by Miami, allowing the Bills to run out the clock and end what should have been a celebratory day for the Dolphins.