Bills Escape ‘Phins

The Miami Dolphins, playing with seventh-round rookie and third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, gave Josh Allen and the second-seeded Buffalo Bills a scare in the third quarter, but the preseason Super Bowl favorites recovered for a 34-31 victory on Super Wild Card Weekend to advance to the AFC divisional round. They blew an early 17-0 lead, but they bounced back to take a 34-24 edge before forcing a critical turnover on downs with 2:22 left in the game. 

The Dolphins faced a third-and-one from their own 48 following a 14-yard completion from Thompson to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. They proceeded to run up the middle for no gain, and then mayhem broke loose. Miami struggled to get lined up as the play clock wound down, but the whistle to blow the play dead came a beat after Thompson snapped the ball. He got a heave off to Tyreek Hill, which was an overthrow for an incompletion. However, the play never counted, and Thompson’s pass on fourth-and-6 was ripped out of tight end Mike Gesicki’s hands, thwarting Miami’s chance at what would have been tied for the second-largest playoff upset in the Super Bowl Era based on the spread. The close win made Buffalo the first favorite of more than 10 points in the wild-card round, since 1978, to not cover the spread. 

The Bills entered the game Sunday as 14-point favorites, the largest in wild-card round history, and they looked like it early as they rattled off 17 consecutive points: an Allen touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox, a 12-yard rushing score from running back James Cook and a 33-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass. The second touchdown came after an interception of Thompson by safety Dean Marlowe, filling in for the injured Damar Hamlin.

However, after that run by Buffalo, the Dolphins put together a 17-0 run of their own to tie the game right before the half. The bulk of those points came thanks to two interceptions that Miami was able to force off Allen. After a ball bounced off Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley’s chest and landed into the arms of Dolphins safety Jevon Holland, Thompson was able to connect with tight end Mike Gesicki for a touchdown that helped tie the game along with a Tyreek Hill two-point conversion. As we’ve seen with this Bills offense before, however, you can’t leave it any time. After Miami tied the game with 33 seconds left in the half, Buffalo marched 54 yards down the field and retook the lead, 20-17, thanks to a Tyler Bass field goal. 

After a Dolphins three-and-out to begin the second half, Allen was overrun by the Dolphins’ blitz, and he was strip-sacked by Miami safety Eric Rowe, causing the football to roll down near the goal line. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler scooped up the loose ball and stumbled into the end zone for the score. That sequence gave the seventh-seeded Dolphins the 14-point underdogs, their first lead –24-20 — after trailing 17-0. Sieler’s fumble return touchdown was the first one in Dolphins playoff history.

That lost fumble marked Josh Allen’s first game with three turnovers — two interceptions and a lost fumble — since Week 10 against the Vikings, a 33-30 overtime loss. The Bills entered Sunday 29-1 in Josh Allen starts, including the playoffs, when leading by 17 or more points. That lone loss was that same home game versus the Vikings in Week 10. However, thanks to Allen, that record improved to 30-1. 

He eventually got up off the mat and bounced back to throw consecutive touchdowns, a six-yard score to the recently reacquired Beasley and a 23-yard strike to Gabe Davis that put the Bills on top 34-24. Allen finished with 352 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 23 of 39 passing, which gave him his fourth career playoff game with over 300 yards. Everyone else in Bills history has combined for four such games. An impressive effort for the preseason NFL MVP favorite since the Dolphins had one of their best defensive outings of the year, tying their season-highs in sacks (five) and takeaways (three). 

Thompson led the Dolphins on one more scoring drive after going back down by 10 points: an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Jeff Wilson Jr. Thompson, the 247th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, ended his playoff debut with 220 passing yards, the seven-yard touchdown pass to Gesicki, and two interception on 18 of 45 passing. While those numbers aren’t anything to celebrate on the surface level, the rookie garnered praise for his efforts from Allen — the desired end result for any young, mobile quarterback with a cannon for an arm but could use some improvement in the accuracy department. 

“I thought he played pretty well,” Allen said of Thompson, “He gave them a shot to win the game and that’s all that matters.”