The Buffalo Bills faced the Miami Dolphins on January 7, 2024, in Week 18 of the 2023 NFL season. Here are takeaways and highlights from the game.
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Final Score: Bills 21, Dolphins 14
The Jaguars lost earlier on Sunday, securing Buffalo no worse than the No. 7 seed. Once the nightcap got underway, the Bills knew a win would secure the division and second seed.
Buffalo did just that, grinding through a defensively-driven game against Miami, 21-14.
The first 15 minutes of this contest came and went without any scores from either team, but that isn’t to say there weren’t opportunities to score. Tua Tagovailoa‘s deep ball was intercepted two and a half minutes into the contest, and Josh Allen would respond with yet another interception with 6:03 to go in the first after Buffalo drove deep into the red zone. Allen also just barely missed a connection to Stefon Diggs for what would have been a 90-yard touchdown.
The scoring finally commenced with 8:56 left in the half on a 25-yard run from De’Von Achane. The Bills tied the game four minutes later, but not Trent Sherfield made an impressive catch on an Allen pass that bounced off a defender.
Tyreek Hill struck yet again with a short pass from Tagovailoa to send Miami to halftime up 14-7. Hill ended the day and his season a bit shy of 200 receiving yards away from Calvin Johnson’s 2012 single-season record.
The third quarter passed once again without any scoring from either club, and the game went to the fourth with the 14-7 score still intact.
In the final frame, Buffalo took control and never looked back. Deonte Harty took a punt back 96 yards for a touchdown to tie the game, and then Allen led the Bills down the field for a touchdown connection with Dawson Knox. This gave Buffalo a 21-14 lead midway through the fourth, and they walked out of Hard Rock Stadium with the division title in hand.
Highlights
There goes that rook 😤 @ffvmousvon_
📺: #BUFvsMIA on @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/wx3RyDskSb
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 8, 2024
.@cheetah makin' it look easyyyy
📺: #BUFvsMIA on @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/4xTRBxhkDC
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 8, 2024
LET'S GO, @tayynation1‼️
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/DBOCwnG1ey
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 8, 2024
DAWSON. KNOX.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/62JNry1at3
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 8, 2024
Looking Forward
To say Buffalo’s revival saved both their season and Sean McDermott’s job may be an understatement. Their five-game winning streak to close the season involved them going through Kansas City, Dallas, and Miami, all opponents that some thought the Bills would have been unable to take down.
With the No. 2 seed in hand, Buffalo returns home to play Pittsburgh next weekend. Buffalo smacked Pittsburgh around the last time these teams met in October 2022, 38-3. It will remain to be seen if this is finally the year Buffalo goes on its run to a Super Bowl. They certainly have a prime opportunity to do so with Kansas City not earning home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Of course, even with the great opportunity, the Bills still need to beat the Steelers first to entertain Kansas City coming to Buffalo on Divisional weekend.
Miami first lost the No. 1 seed to Baltimore last weekend, and they let the division slip away this weekend. They will now have to travel to Kansas City next weekend for a rematch of this season’s Frankfurt game against the Chiefs. Miami lost that one, 21-14. Mike McDaniel would be left baffled if these Dolphins, the team that started the season by dropping 70 on Denver in Week 3 and was the top-scoring offense for most of the year, were to be one and done in the playoffs once again.
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