3 Dolphins to blame for Week 15 loss to Bills

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The Miami Dolphins entered Week 15 with a crucial game against the Buffalo Bills ahead of them. They could bolster their playoff chances with a win, or it could all get a whole lot murkier if they lost. And sure enough, they fell short against a tough Bills team on a snowy night in Buffalo.

The Dolphins went neck and neck with the Bills in the first half and ended up controlling the game in the fourth quarter. But they crumbled on the stretch as the snow started to fall harder, and Miami ended up losing on a last-second basket from Tyler Bass to make their path to a playoff berth a little more difficult.

Miami still has a very good chance of making it into the playoffs, but they’re going to have to get back into the win column as soon as possible. With their third straight loss on the books, let’s take a look at the three Dolphins who will be most blamed for this tough loss to the Bills.

3. Tua Tagovailoa

A necessary disclaimer here will indicate that Tua Tagovailoa didn’t have a very bad game here. His last line (17/30, 234 YDS, 2 TD) is solid, but it definitely wasn’t his best game of the season. Still, including it on this list is admittedly a bit harsh, but it will make a lot more sense in a minute.

Tagovailoa had good numbers, but he didn’t totally pass the eyesight test in this game. He missed a few open shots and, for the most part, the Dolphins offense looked as disjointed as it had in recent games. Tagovailoas’ stats were padded on a huge 67-yard touchdown for Jaylen Waddle, in which Waddle was wide open and then did most of the work after catching the ball into the end zone.

Again, you can’t really discredit Tagovailoa for that, but in a game where the Dolphins offense couldn’t put the game away, Tagovailoa has to be partly to blame for the loss. It’s hard to include him here, but quarterbacks have a big responsibility in winning and losing in the NFL, which is why Tagovailoa is here on this list.

2. Mike McDaniel

After a torrid season opener, Mike McDaniel has made some pretty confusing offensive decisions over the past few weeks. That included in that game, when McDaniel decided to walk away from everything that worked in the first half on offense in the second half, and watch it all crumble in front of him.

The Dolphins got pretty much everything they wanted on the field in the first half of this game as Raheem Mostert was absolutely cooking in this one. Granted, most of Mosterts’ yardage came on a 67-yarder early in the game, but the Bills didn’t have much success stopping him or Salvon Ahmed on the ground.

Instead of sticking with it, McDaniel decided to try to air it out in the second half rather than stick to the running game. It didn’t really work out as Tagovailoa had a few big plays (mostly his two touchdown passes) but other than that it was quiet. If McDaniel had stayed in the race a little longer, especially in the fourth quarter when they had the lead, they might have been able to win this game.

1. The entire Dolphins defense

It’s obviously going to be tough to slow down Josh Allen and the Bills for an extended period of time, but it wasn’t a great effort by the Dolphins on defense. They let Allen and company get everything they wanted for most of the game and crumbled in the fourth quarter when they had the chance to earn a much-needed victory over a key division rival.

Allen was on fire through the air (25/40, 304 YDS, 4 TD) and on the ground (10 CAR, 77 YDS) and the Dolphins simply had no answer for him. They limited Stefon Diggs, but just about everyone managed to get involved in the passing attack. Allen wasn’t the only Bills member to have success on the field either, as the Bills averaged 5.2 yards rushing as a team.

The Dolphins had an eight-point lead with nine minutes left in the game, but quickly allowed the Bills to score a touchdown and convert a two-point conversion, then they couldn’t leave the field on the drive of end of the Bills game. . It was a tough game for the Dolphins’ defense, yes, but it wasn’t a performance that serves them well as they try to fight their way into the playoffs.

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