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The Buffalo Bills scraped out another close win against the Miami Dolphins, 22-16. A Jordan Poyer interception with Miami down by six and closing on Buffalo’s side of the field sealed the win for the Bills. They finish the season with a winning record at 9-7, but they’ll only make the playoffs if the Cincinnati Bengals can eke out a win over the Baltimore Ravens in the next few minutes.
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase opted to give backup quarterback David Fales a trial, benching Jay Cutler after the opening drive. Buffalo’s defense held him in check, with 6.3 yards per attempt, one touchdown, and one interception.
Running back LeSean McCoy was carted off the field with a high ankle sprain at the start of the second half, and didn’t return to the game. The Bills had to turn to Marcus Murphy, Mike Tolbert, and their defense to pick up the slack. They also got a hand from defensive tackle Kyle Williams, who ran in his first career touchdown from one yard out.
The game wasn’t without controversy. Tre’davious White forced a goalline fumble, which Preston Brown recovered and returned 99 yards for a touchdown. It was as clear a fumble as you could find. The NFL’s Al Riveron, for the second week in a row, had other machinations, and he overturned the on-field call to remove the touchdown.
On the next play, Jarvis Landry caught a pass and ran through a scrum to the end zone. He didn’t like getting hit by defenders, and decided to start a fight with the Bills. Landry and Kenyan Drake were ultimately ejected from the game as a result of that fight.
With nine wins, the Bills managed to emerge from Sean McDermott’s first season as head coach without ever facing a losing record. The cherry on top would be a playoff berth, though.