Miami Dolphins Fall For First Time in 2023 to Buffalo, Look to Bounce Back vs Giants

ORCHARD PARK, NY – Coming off the high of a 70-point performance against Denver, the Miami Dolphins faced their toughest opponent of the 2023 season, their divisional rivals from Western New York, the Buffalo Bills.

On what looked like it was going to be an offensive shootout for the ages, Miami began to sputter early and the Bills never let go of the gas pedal, ultimately cruising on their way to a 48-20 blowout.

One thing was for certain – while Miami’s 70-20 win over the Denver Broncos last week was impressive, the difference between a team like Denver and Buffalo is staggering. The Bills’ defense seemed unphased by the Fins’ motion-based offense and pressured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on almost every play, leading to the most sacks he’s had to endure all season.

Not Your Average NFL Defense

The leading question heading into Sunday’s game was if the Bills could crack the code on Miami’s explosive offense, which has averaged the most yards per game and points per game in the NFL.

Without a doubt, it looked like the answer was no early on as the Dolphins spent no time charging down the field on their first two drives of the day, both of which led to rushing touchdowns by rookie back De’Von Achane.

After that drive, however, it seemed that Buffalo’s defense adjusted on the fly, stacking linemen up front and blocking passes, while their secondary targeted the middle of the field and limited passes in that direction. They even forced turnovers through fumbles, even though most of the time they were recovered by Miami.

every dropback (i think) tua vs. bills | week 4 | #finsup

stats:

25 completions
35 attempts
282 yards
71.3% completion %
1 touchdown
1 interception pic.twitter.com/YfcQoi1VbV

— josh houtz (@houtz) October 4, 2023

Miami was then forced to punt three of their remaining four offensive possessions in the first half, with the other one being a fumble, naturally. All the while, the Bills kept on scoring points, extending their lead to 31-14 at halftime.

Aside from their first drive out of halftime, the Dolphins’ offense didn’t adjust and their woes continued, leading to an interception by Tua and three straight turnovers on downs to close out the game.

Buffalo especially kept eyes on wide receiver Tyreek Hill, limiting him to just five targets, three completions, and only 58 total yards. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle also didn’t have a spectacular return, only managing 46 total yards.

To add insult to injury, the Bills poured on the points with 17 unanswered, mainly as a result of spot-on field positioning thanks to the Fins’ turnovers.

A  Battered, Bruised O-Line

Stat-wise, Tua still ended up with 282 yards and went 25-35 on completions, but perhaps Miami’s biggest downfall was their underwhelming offensive line performance.

It was clear early that the loss of center Connor Williams would be huge. Despite troubles with botched snaps, Williams was still a reliable blocker, so the Bills took advantage by sending the blitz up the middle.

A lot of criticism has been put on offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who seemed to struggle with Buffalo’s defense more than anyone else on the field for the Aqua and Orange, leading to four sacks on Tua, with most coming from his right side.

Liam Eichenberg’s inability to hold his block contributed to Terron Armstead getting rolled up.

It’s just not good enough. He isn’t an NFL starter. pic.twitter.com/D31swJ9saA

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 2, 2023

But one play, in particular, has fans wondering if Eichenberg even deserves to be a starter anymore was when he was quite literally pushed to the ground, causing offensive lineman Terron Armstead to back up into him, trip over him, and injure himself in the process.

Now it’s believed that Armstead will miss multiple games with a knee injury.

A Long Day For Miami’s Secondary

On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins’ defense had absolutely no answer for Josh Allen and the Bills.

If it wasn’t clear already that Miami was missing linebacker Jaelan Phillips, it was made more obvious by how Buffalo targeted wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and the secondary had absolutely no answers.

On what was absolutely the biggest defense-to-offense mismatch, cornerback Kader Kohou was in charge of defending Diggs for most of the game, and Diggs took advantage.

He made most of his work in the red zone, and walked away with 120 yards and four touchdowns, leading to many wondering why Xavien Howard wasn’t targeting Diggs instead of Kohou, who usually guards the middle of the field.

Moving On To The New York Giants

The good news for the Miami Dolphins is that it’s only Week 4 of the NFL season and they still are edited for first place in the AFC East.

Even better, they’ll get to head back to sunny, South Florida for a matchup against the New York Giants. This is a matchup that every Dolphins fan should get excited for, as all signs point to Miami bouncing back.

The Giants have had nothing short of an abysmal start to this season, sitting with a 1-3 record. After beginning the season with a 40-0 shoutout loss to Dallas, they managed to beat Arizona but then lost their last two against San Francisco and Seattle.

Their 24-3 loss to the Seahawks was on Monday Night Football, so the whole country got to see their quarterback, Daniel Jones sacked 10 times in a single game (22 times in four games, by the way), and throw two interceptions, including a 97-yard pick six.

Holy hell… pic.twitter.com/jEYgZxKOwz

— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 3, 2023

To sum up the Giants, their offensive line is giving Jones no time in the pocket. Their best player (running back Saquon Barkley) is injured. Also, their defense is plain average. Jones also happens to be their leading rusher, and that’s not by design.

They still have some solid weapons, such as tight end Darren Waller, who they acquired from Las Vegas in the offseason. But when Jones doesn’t have the time to get the ball to him, it’s no wonder why he’s only achieved 153 receiving yards this season.

Now, there weren’t many positives to take away from Miami’s game vs. Buffalo, but I think the biggest thing might have been the success we’ve seen from their rookie running back, De’Von Achane, who continues to impress with his speed and cut-back ability. Expect to see his snap counts continue to rise as the Fins look to tap into his potential.

The main positive takeaway from Sunday’s game is that De’Von Achane is LEGIT🔥 pic.twitter.com/uxTzbh6a8a

— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) October 3, 2023

Funnily enough, Miami’s offensive line looked solid in their first two games against Los Angeles and New England, in which Armstead didn’t play. Assuming Williams can return to the lineup, there’s hope that they can continue their impressive performance without the veteran Pro Bowler.

Defensively, there’s a lot of work to be done with this team. Their secondary has looked lost at times and there was a lot of questionable tackling in their game against Buffalo. But, maybe playing a team like New York is exactly what the Fins needed to see how their defense can adjust.

Miami has already played a relatively similar offense to New York – Denver. To their credit, they forced three turnovers and limited them to only 20 points. Hopefully, we can also see the return of Phillips, but I believe the Dolphins’ defense can handle anything the Giants’ offense has to offer.

Overall, all the analysts seem to agree that Miami has this game in the bag. Call it a matter of circumstance, but the Dolphins playing a team like the Giants after losing to one of the best teams in the NFL might be exactly what they needed.

I’m not sure if the Dolphins will score anywhere near 70, but I still expect to see the offense have their way with how they want to approach this game. If Tua wants to throw to Tyreek in open grass, he should do that. If Achane or Raheem Mostert want to speed by the defense, they should do that as well.

Defensively, Jones should be in trouble all day. Expect both Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel to continue to impress, and their secondary to find a few turnovers here and there.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami will get to stay at home and take on the winless Carolina Panthers the following Sunday, also at 1 p.m.

📸Credit: Miami Dolphins