The Buffalo Bills spent most of their first half dominating field position against the Miami Dolphins, but surrendered their first turnover against the Dolphins since nine games prior. Thanks to a couple key miscues on special teams, the Bills trail the Dolphins 14-6 at halftime.
To start the game, the Bills uncharacteristically gave up their second opening drive touchdown of the season, a pass from Ryan Tannehill to Davante Parker. Since then, they’ve clamped down and dominated the line of scrimmage. They’ve accumulated three sacks on Ryan Tannehill, hit him a few times, and forced a few holding penalties.
On offense, Josh Allen’s had less success locating passing targets compared with last week, but he’s still finding success when the play breaks down. After punting on their first two drives, Allen led the Bills on a touchdown drive when he stuttered around Kiko Alonso for a first down, then found Zay Jones running free in the back of the end zone. After the play, Stephen Hauschka missed his first extra point in 46 tries with the Bills, leaving Buffalo in a 7-6 hole.
Starting center Russell Bodine left the game with a leg injury on the first drive, and in his absence, the running game has struggled. LeSean McCoy escaped for a few moderate gains, but he’s spending just as many carries swarmed by defenders in the backfield. Ryan Groy will finish the game in his stead.
Newly-signed Bills punter Matt Darr is playing well against his former team in the field position game. The Dolphins have started their drives at the 25, 13, 13, 14, and 22 yard lines, outside of one key drive. The Bills started at their 24, 49, 45, and 42.
The key play of the half came on a Miami punt near the end of the second quarter. Isaiah Mackenzie ran up to field a short punt, but ran into his converging blockers. The ball bounced off his arm, and Miami recovered the ball deep in Buffalo territory. Miami used that favorable position to score a touchdown before halftime.
Buffalo made some noise with less than a minute left, advancing the ball to midfield. But with five seconds left, Josh Allen’s Hail Mary attempt was intercepted in the endzone to finish the half.
The Bills get the ball to start the second half, trailing by eight. We’re chatting about it in here. Go Bills!