Bills D Hampers Fins Playoff Hopes, Shuts Out Miami

Maybe it was the wet playing conditions.  Maybe it was the fire alarm that went off in the middle of the night in the Dolphins hotel.

Regardless of the reasons behind their loss today, the Dolphins simply did not make the game competitive, which is strange for a team fighting for a playoff spot.

Of the 52 plays Miami ran on offense, only nine of them took place in Buffalo’s half of the field.  The deepest of those nine plays came on Buffalo’s 32 yard line.  Those 52 plays only gained 103 yards of offense for the Fins.  They converted just 14% (2-14) of their third down chances throughout the game.  They had 14 total rushing yards by the end of the game.

It’s safe to say Miami didn’t play their best game of the season Sunday.

“You win as a team and you lose as a team.  Players and coaches working together, and obviously it wasn’t good enough.  It’s not acceptable.  Those are the facts…” Miami head coach Joe Philbin said following the loss.

This is quite the opposite result of the last three weeks for the Fins.  After beating the Jets and Steelers consecutively, Miami then barely held on to beat the Patriots last week, which gave themselves a three game winning streak-and more importantly-control of their playoff destiny.  They had to beat the Bills today and the Jets next week in order to earn their first playoff spot since 2008 and they were unable to do so.  However, the Dolphins are not eliminated completely from playoff contention-yet it may be difficult to bounce back after getting embarrassed and shutout in such a crucial game.

Marrone: “Our guys love playing at home. It’s a different feel.” #RockTheRalph

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) December 22, 2013

The Bills do love playing at home, as they improved their home record to 4-4 after defeating Miami today.  On the road, the Bills have been atrocious this year, posting a 2-5 record.  It’s a tale of two different teams throughout the season, and Bills head coach Doug Marrone is well aware of this problem: “We have to get our players ready to go on the road and play like they’ve played at home.”

With EJ Manuel sidelined due to a right knee injury, Thad Lewis was given the reigns of the Bills offense.  While he didn’t exceed expectations as he did in Week 6 against Cincinnati, Lewis managed the game efficiently and avoided making any costly turnovers.  Lewis finished 15-25 for 193 yards and an interception that came in the first quarter.  The interception had no outcome on the game however, as the Dolphins were unable to convert the turnover into points.

After Fred Jackson sealed off a 9 play, 57 yard drive with a 9 yard rushing touchdown, the Bills were up 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter.  Jackson finished with 111 rushing yards on 19 carries, finishing with his 15th career 100 yard rushing performance.  From that point on, the Bills defense didn’t look back.

A total of seven sacks were recorded Sunday by the Bills, including two by Kyle Williams and two by Nickell Robey.  From the opening kickoff to the last whistle, the Bills defense dominated this game, and ultimately was the main reason they were able to complete the sweep of the Dolphins this season.

Ryan Tannehill has now been sacked 58 times this season, and has been the recipient of some serious shots.  As the Dolphins were down 16-0 in the fourth quarter, Tannehill took a blow from Kyle Williams which forced him to miss the remainder of the drive.  His replacement was Matt Moore.  Moore came in on a 3rd and 14 from his own endzone and delivered a 50 yard strike down the left sideline.  At that point in the game, the Dolphins were 1-10 on third downs.

Surely, this gave Dolphins fans hope of a potential comeback.  That hope was short lived, however, as Moore threw an ugly interception on the very next play.  The Bills were able to convert the interception into a field goal by Dan Carpenter which gave the Bills a three-possession, 19-0 lead late in the fourth.  Tannehill was able to return on Miami’s following possession, but the outcome of the game was already decided.

When asked what went wrong today, Dolphins receiver Brian Hartline said “Everything.  We didn’t take care of the ball, we didn’t protect our quarterback, we didn’t run the ball well, we didn’t catch the ball well.”  It can be very hard to win if one of the phases of the game Hartline mentioned doesn’t  go well for your team, let alone all of them.