Through two quarters against the 0-5 Miami Dolphins, the 4-1 Buffalo Bills are training, 14-9. Miami capitalized on their offensive chances, Buffalo didn’t, and that allowed the Dolphins to take the lead for most of the second quarter.
Two well-executed blitzes ended Buffalo’s first two drives on third down in field goal territory, and Josh Allen misread the coverage and checked down on the third drive to end another sequence near the red zone. The Bills offense has impressed in pretty much every metric except the scoreboard and the penalty sheet so far. Penalty calls are putting the Bills behind schedule and forcing them to work for their yardage.
The Bills’ defense stopped Miami early in the game. The Dolphins tried some trickery, with a lateral to Jakeem Grant intended to lead to the wideout passing the ball, but instead it became Ed Oliver’s first career sack. In their subsequent two drives, however, the Dolphins played like they belonged with the rest of the league. Ryan Fitzpatrick hit some key passes and led the Dolphins on two consecutive touchdown drives. Miami’s offense took the field with the lead for the first time all season. Matt Milano’s absence is notable, and backup Maurice Alexander hasn’t been able to replicate his Swiss army knife versatility around the field.
Neither team has turned the ball over, and neither team has landed a knockout punch yet, so this game could still move any number of directions. The Bills will receive the kickoff to start the second half. Go Bills!