By Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham, Jayna Bardahl and Lauren Merola
Trailing the Buffalo Bills by seven and in good field position on Thursday night, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a short pass intended for Jaylen Waddle. But Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard read Tagovailoa, stepped up and picked it off near the Bills’ 15-yard line, giving Buffalo the ball with three minutes to play.
The Bills burned two minutes and 38 seconds on a six-play, 29-yard drive that ended in a field goal, helping Buffalo improve to 3-0 with a 31-21 win at Highmark Stadium. Meanwhile, the Dolphins dropped to 0-3.
“MINE!” – @TerrelBernard_2
📺: @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/QtX9I52pId
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 19, 2025
After trading touchdowns in each of the first two quarters, the Dolphins and Bills started the second half knotted at 14. A 2-yard touchdown run by James Cook gave the Bills the lead heading into the final frame, and the Dolphins responded for the final time on their next drive in the back-and-forth affair.
Josh Allen went 22-of-28 for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Allen surpassed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to become the fastest player in NFL history to reach 300 career offensive touchdowns, including playoffs. Cook finished with 108 yards and one score.
Tua Tagovailoa went 22-for-34 for 146 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Tyreek Hill caught five passes for 49 yards and one TD and Waddle had five receptions for 39 yards and a TD.
Dolphins throw McDaniel a lifeline
Despite the loss, the Dolphins may have quieted some questions about coach Mike McDaniel’s job security … for now.
Miami came out swinging with a 10-play, 52-yard opening touchdown drive. And just when the Bills looked like they might start to run away, kicker Matt Prater missed it wide left on a 39-yard attempt. Down by just one score, the Dolphins waddled down the field to tie it 14-14 at halftime.
“So far so good, but it’s meaningless without another half,” McDaniel said at halftime on the Amazon Prime broadcast. “We have a lot of football to play and a lot of execution.”
A Dolphins defense that allowed points on 10 straight opponent possessions to open the season — the worst mark since at least 2000 — looked improved. It nearly forced three straight punts in the second half, until a roughing the kicker penalty gifted the Bills a first down.
Tagovailoa settled for a lot of lateral passes, but the offense made it work. Tagovailoa didn’t surpass 100 passing yards until a fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter. He finished that drive with his second touchdown pass of the night. But after looking like he might steer clear of turnover trouble, Tagovailoa was picked off by Bernard with under four minutes to play, his fourth interception through the first three games.
Still, the Dolphins are 0-3 for the second time in 10 seasons (the last was in 2019). They aren’t completely out of the spotlight with a Monday night home game on deck in Week 4 against the New York Jets. McDaniel, who got a three year extension last year, is far from off the hot seat. But improvement from his team came just when he needed it Thursday. — Jayna Bardahl, NFL writer
Bills give up too many third-down plays
The Bills’ defense made it difficult both on the Dolphins and themselves all throughout the game, and it ultimately kept the game a bit closer than they would have liked. Ahead of their late-game field goal to put the game away at 31-21, on first and second down, the Bills allowed only 3.4 yards per play — a more than respectable mark that put the Dolphins in one difficult third-down situation after another all night long. But when it got to third down, the Dolphins’ average more than doubled to seven yards per play, with Miami converting on 10 of their 15 third-down chances. And on one of the failed attempts, the Dolphins converted on fourth down immediately after to extend their drive further.
Predictably, based on their early-down prowess all game, the Bills saved their best defensive play of the evening for an early down. Rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker went nearly unblocked. He got immediate pressure on Tagovailoa as the Dolphins were attempting to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. The passer made a panic throw, and Bernard read the play and sprinted in front of the pass for the game-clinching play. The Bills will not be pleased with their third-down weakness, though this came after a week in which the Jets did not convert a single third down against the Bills the entire game.
The Bills will hope to get their third-down defense back on track in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Too close for comfort … for Buffalo
Numbers will show Buffalo’s offense was efficient. Allen and Cook were superb. But the group looked far from dominant against a reeling opponent. The Bills scored 41 against the Baltimore Ravens in a matchup of AFC powers and then amassed 30 points against the Jets before pulling the chute.
But this game was too close for too long.
Miami’s defense has been a laughingstock and lost top nickelback Jason Marshall Jr. to a hamstring injury in the second quarter, yet Buffalo struggled a bit. Allen and Cook got off to hot starts. They looked unstoppable. Then the Bills got mired and seemed totally incapable of stretching the field for a good chunk of the game.
Prater’s wayward 39-yard field-goal attempt late in the second quarter hurt. The Dolphins tied the score at 14 right before halftime. In the third quarter, the Dolphins forced punts on back-to-back drives for the first time this season, allowing them to tie it again at 21 early in the fourth.
Thankfully, Cook was sensational. Anything less, and who knows what happens? He ran 19 times for 108 yards and a touchdown. He ripped carries of 11, 9, 26 and 11 yards. Allen gladly took what Miami’s defense allowed, throwing for a modest 213 yards (30 yards on Elijah Moore’s catch-and-run at the two-minute warning to ice the game) with no turnovers. Nine targets snagged at least one pass. — Tim Graham, Bills beat writer
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
