NFL

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills

· National Football League
2-6, 1-3 Away
Final
27 - 30
7-2, 4-0 Home

Bass' 61-yard field goal gives Allen and Bills a thrilling 30-27 win over Tagovailoa and Dolphins

Tyler Bass drills game-winning 61-yard FG for the Bills

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott showed faith in Bass by sending him out to try a 61-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, and the kick was good to give Buffalo a 30-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

“It means everything. Very emotional,” the 27-year-old Bass said of a field goal that was the longest of his career and broke the franchise record by 2 yards. Steve Christie had the previous mark, a 59-yarder in 1993.

“Just reminding myself that I love this, I love the sport. This is what I’ve dreamed of and when I was out there,” he added. “I honestly wasn’t thinking about anything. Just went through my process and trusted my preparation. And that was it.”

The kick capped a thrilling, back-and-forth duel between Buffalo's Josh Allen, who threw three touchdown passes after halftime, and Miami's Tua Tagovailoa. The teams traded leads four times and combined for seven consecutive scoring drives in the second half.

The Bills continued their domination of the Dolphins by sweeping the season series. Buffalo (7-2) has won six straight, 13 of 14 and nine in a row at home over Miami.

And with their best nine-game start since 2020, the Bills have built a commanding, four game lead in the AFC East over the New York Jets as they seek a fifth consecutive division title.

The Dolphins (2-6), meantime, played what they considered their most complete outing of the season only to drop their third straight. They lost on a field goal in the final seconds for the second straight week following a 28-27 loss to Arizona on Chad Ryland 34-yarder as time expired.

“There’s no moral victories in this game,” defensive tackle Calais Campbell said. “It wasn’t enough. ... It’s heartbreaking but we’ve just got to use this to galvanize us and keep preparing this week and find a way to win one next week.”

Tagovailoa lost his second straight start after missing four games with a concussion.

“Hats off to Tyler Bass for making that. Hats off to their team, they did a great job. It was a great game,” said Tagovailoa, who finished 25 of 28 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. “There’s things that we could fix on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, but I think we’re taking a step in the right direction as a team.”

Miami tied the game one last time when Tagovailoa threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle with 1:38 remaining to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive.

The Bills took over at the 30 and had their drive extended by back-to-back penalties. Chop Robinson jumped offside on third-and-14 from the Buffalo 26. On the next snap, former Bills safety Jordan Poyer was flagged for unnecessary roughness for his helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Keon Coleman on Allen’s deep attempt up the left sideline.

Buffalo’s drive stalled at the Miami 43 following a spike and two incompletions with 10 seconds remaining. Bass not only split the uprights, but had enough length to reach the first row of fans in the end zone.

“So proud of him. So happy for him. I got emotional in my little postgame speech out there, just the trials and tribulations that he’s been in throughout this year,” Allen said. “It’s what stories are made of. And I love him.”

Bass missed an extra point in the third quarter, his third missed PAT of the season, and the Bills signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to their practice squad two weeks ago before releasing him this week. Questions about Bass’ job security dated to last season, when he missed a 44-yard attempt wide right in the final minutes of a 27-24 loss to Kansas City in the divisional playoff round.

“He did it. I didn’t do it,” McDermott said when asked if he felt vindicated for sending out Bass, who has also missed 3 of 15 field goal attempts this year.

“I think it’s a great example of mental toughness. I think it’s a great example of perseverance, resilience, And for young kids out there,” McDermott added. “Here’s a player that was under the microscope pretty darn hard. And we brought a player in here to compete with him midseason and he didn’t back down. ... And I couldn’t be more proud of him and what he did today.”

Allen shook off an inconsistent first half. The Bills settled for field goals on two drives inside the Dolphins 20, and on their other trip to the red zone, Allen was intercepted.

He was nearly perfect after halftime, though. Allen capped three touchdown drives with a 1-yard pass to Mack Hollins, Ray Davis and a 2-yard TD to Quinton Morris, which the quarterback lobbed up as he was being tackled by two defenders.

He summed up the outing a one-word answer as he stood at the postgame lectern: “Exhale.”

Miami’s De’Von Achane finished with 12 rushes for 63 yards and a touchdown and had eight receptions for 58 yards and a score. Tyreek Hill had 80 yards receiving for the Dolphins, his most since Week 1 of a frustrating season.

Khalil Shakir had six catches for 50 yards for the Bills, who had little running game to speak of and relied on Allen distributing the ball to eight receivers with Amari Cooper sidelined by a hand injury.

Up next Dolphins: At the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, Nov. 11.

Bills: At Indianapolis next Sunday.

How can I watch Dolphins vs. Bills?

  • TV Channel: Dolphins at Bills 2021-22 NFL, week 9 is broadcasted nationally on CBS and NFL Sunday Ticket - Paramount+ NFL on CBS 2021 - Try it FREE!.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Dolphins vs. Bills on DAZN.

Matchup Prediction

Bills: 73.4%
Dolphins: 26.4%
*According to ESPN's Football Power Index

Scoring Summary

BUF FG 1st Period 6:30 Tyler Bass 40 Yd Field Goal
MIA FG 1st Period 1:19 Jason Sanders 39 Yd Field Goal
MIA TD 2nd Period 3:20 De'Von Achane 14 Yd pass from Tua Tagovailoa (Jason Sanders Kick)
BUF FG 2nd Period 0:07 Tyler Bass 49 Yd Field Goal
BUF TD 3rd Period 7:20 Mack Hollins 1 Yd pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass PAT failed)
MIA FG 3rd Period 2:59 Jason Sanders 23 Yd Field Goal
BUF TD 3rd Period 2:07 Ray Davis 63 Yd pass from Josh Allen (Josh Allen Pass to Keon Coleman for Two-Point Conversion)
MIA TD 4th Period 12:14 De'Von Achane 8 Yd Run (Jason Sanders Kick)
BUF TD 4th Period 6:18 Quintin Morris 2 Yd pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass Kick)
MIA TD 4th Period 1:38 Jaylen Waddle 7 Yd pass from Tua Tagovailoa (Jason Sanders Kick)
BUF FG 4th Period 0:05 Tyler Bass 61 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/mia.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
26 1st Downs 24
14 Passing 1st downs 15
10 Rushing 1st downs 5
2 1st downs from penalties 4
4-8 3rd down efficiency 5-10
1-1 4th down efficiency 1-1
60 Total Plays 59
373 Total Yards 325
6.2 Yards per Play 5.5
9 Total Drives 8
224 Passing 231
25/28 Comp/Att 25/39
7.7 Yards per pass 5.8
0 Interceptions thrown 1
1-7 Sacks-Yards Lost 1-4
149 Rushing 94
31 Rushing Attempts 19
4.8 Yards per rush 4.9
3-4 Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-5
8-57 Penalties 4-40
1 Turnovers 1
1 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 1
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
31:53 Possession 28:07

Game Information

Highmark Stadium

Location: Orchard Park, NY
Attendance: 70,862 · Capacity:

2024 AFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Buffalo 12 3 .800 0 469 331
Miami 7 8 .467 0 305 329
New York 4 11 .267 0 292 344
New England 3 12 .200 0 259 361
Full Standings

NFL News

Steelers' Russell Wilson scores on 1-yard run

Steelers' Russell Wilson scores on 1-yard run

After being picked off in the end zone, the Steelers quarterback redeemed himself with a 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Chiefs' lead to 13-7.

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes throws 2 TD passes early

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes throws 2 TD passes early

Xavier Worthy's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the first TD resulted in a longer PAT try, which Harrison Butker missed.

Seahawks look to boost fading playoff hopes against struggling Bears

Seahawks look to boost fading playoff hopes against struggling Bears

Seattle (8-7) at Chicago (4-11)

2024 NFL Christmas games: Picks, schedule, predictions, odds

2024 NFL Christmas games: Picks, schedule, predictions, odds

We have top storylines, bold predictions, game-plan keys and fantasy X factors for the Christmas games and Week 17's Thursday night matchup.

NFL Week 17 uniforms: Texans rock H-Town blue for Christmas

NFL Week 17 uniforms: Texans rock H-Town blue for Christmas

The Christmas week is bringing out notable uniforms on the field during NFL's Week 17.