Miami Gardens, FL – In an early statement game under the Hard Rock Stadium lights, during Thursday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins were embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in a 31-10 blowout that also featured Tua Tagovailoa exiting the game early due to a concussion.
Shortage of Positives
The amount of positives from this game at face value are unbelievably slim. De’Von Achane had a solid outing with 22 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown. That’s about it.
Miami’s big-play offense was nowhere to be found. Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were hardly targeted and had minimal performances as a result. The only receiver to get decent usage was Jonnu Smith. Buffalo’s defense, despite missing a lot of key pieces from last season, shut down Miami’s passing game and eventually adjusted to the running game in the second half.
Buffalo’s offense exposed the Dolphins’ rush defense and had no issues marching the ball down the field. They were efficient and got out to an early 24-10 lead at halftime and never looked back. For most of the second half, they were on cruise control in an otherwise uneventful 30 minutes.
Tua’s Nightmare
Before the injury, Tua had one of his worst nights as a member of the Miami Dolphins, recording 17 completions for 145 yards and three interceptions – the latter returned to the end zone to start the second half.
However, all of Hard Rock Stadium went quiet as Tua, who was running with the ball looking to get a first down near the goal line, went head-first against Damar Hamlin, who tackled him backward, sending the back of his helmet to the turf.
Another look at the hit that Tua took that has ruled him out for the rest of tonight's game.
He was able to get up on his own, but we'll see how long this sidelines him for. #GoFins | #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/Kq9xNEAZio
— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) September 13, 2024
While Tua was able to walk off the field under his own power, it’s currently unclear how much time he’ll miss from this. While they’ll have some extra time to recover as it’s Thursday, his long history of concussions at both Alabama and Miami makes the situation so much worse.
We’ll see what happens when Miami travels to the Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, September 22nd at 4:05 pm.
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