No Tremaine Edmunds.
No Matt Milano.
Not exactly no problem for the Buffalo Bills’ defense Sunday, but a 31-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium and a 2-0 start to the 2020 season made for a happy flight home from South Florida.
“We didn't play our best game defensively today, give the credit where credit's due to the Dolphins,” head coach Sean McDermott said during his postgame video conference call. “But, again, they stood up when they needed to stand up and they fought. We came in a little bit beat up on defense and real proud of the way that the linebackers stepped up, the guys that played stepped up and did a good job.”
The final numbers weren’t pretty against the Dolphins. Miami gained 28 first downs, as quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was able to move the ball through the air with ease at times. Fitzpatrick went 31 of 47 for 328 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Miami tight end Mike Gesicki had eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
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“Seems like we couldn't get off the field in the second half,” safety Micah Hyde said. “They were just driving, nickel and diming us.”
The defense did come through, though, with a big goal-line stand. The Dolphins weren’t able to punch it in on four plays from the Bills’ 1-yard line late in the third quarter.
“With the performance that we had today, not being able to get off the field, them driving down and being on the 2, maybe the 1-yard line, we were able to stuff them a few times and created a little momentum back on our side,” Hyde said. “That was huge. The way our offense is playing, I’d say lights out, we tried to get the ball back in their hands and we were able to get a fourth-down stop. But it was just a huge play in the game and just a great effort by the whole defense.”
Cornerback Levi Wallace in particular had a day to forget. The Bills’ third-year cornerback was picked on over and over again by Fitzpatrick. Wallace was replaced briefly by Siran Neal at the start of the fourth quarter, but came back into the game on the same drive for Miami. It’s possible the Bills rotated in Neal given the South Florida heat and how much the defense was on the field in the second half.
Veteran cornerback Josh Norman is out for at least one more week on injured reserve, so the Bills will have to hope Wallace can make the necessary corrections before the Los Angeles Rams visit in Week 3. Those corrections are easier to make following a win.
2. Hyde iced things. The safety pulled in the Dolphins’ attempted onside kick attempt with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter after Miami had pulled within a field goal after Fitzpatrick’s touchdown pass to Gesicki and two-point conversion to Preston Williams. Hyde also sealed the Bills’ win over the Dolphins last year in Orchard Park by fielding an onside kick – and returning it for a touchdown.
“A lot of kickers are right-footed. They do that sky-high kick,” Hyde said. “We know that kicker from last year. Last year, did the same onside kick. Great call by whoever called the timeout right before the kicker kicked the first one, because now we knew that they were trying to go middle. They weren't going to do that again, so obviously the next kick was try to do what the kicker is best at and that was coming to me. So great job by the guys in front of me blocking. I have 100% trust in them blocking in front of me and I was able to go up and get the football.”
3. The Bills switched things up on the offensive line. Right guard Cody Ford was moved to over to the left side for a series in the fourth quarter, with Brian Winters coming off the bench. On the Bills’ touchdown drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter, left guard Quinton Spain came back in, while Ford went to the bench and Winters stayed at right guard. On the next drive, Ford replaced Spain at left guard and Winters stayed on the right.
“It was just looking at what we felt like was best for the situation overall right there,” McDermott said. “So we wanted to rotate some guys early and then use that what we saw early in the game to determine what we were going to do later in the game.”
4. Rookie defensive end A.J. Epenesa made his debut for the Bills. Epenesa was inactive for the team’s Week 1 victory over the Jets. Epenesa did not register any statistics against the Dolphins.
5. McDermott’s tough record on challenges continues. He threw the red challenge flag with a minute left in the first quarter on a 26-yard completion from Fitzpatrick to receiver Preston Williams. From this corner, it looked to be a good challenge, as Williams did not appear to maintain possession of the ball through the ground. This being the NFL, though, and a catch being impossible to define, the play stood up. McDermott is 3-13 on his 16 challenges as Bills’ head coach.
6. Second-year defensive tackle Ed Oliver briefly left the game for the Bills. Oliver was hurt with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter when he suffered an injury to his right leg on a 1-yard run by Dolphins running back Jordan Howard. Oliver could have been penalized for sticking his leg out on the play. Oliver was able to return a short time later after being looked at by trainers on the sideline.
Tight end Dawson Knox left the game and did not return because of a concussion. It was unclear from the TV broadcast when Knox was hurt. Knox lost a fumble at the end of his only catch of the game before getting hurt.
Rookie running back Zack Moss also limped off for the Bills in the fourth quarter, but was able to return a short time later.
7. It was a special day for the Ferguson family. Bills long snapper Reid Ferguson played against his younger brother, Blake, for the first time. Blake Ferguson, like his older brother, is Miami’s long snapper. Both brothers attended LSU and entered the NFL as undrafted free agents.
8. The Bills and Dolphins elected to stay in their respective locker rooms during the playing of the national anthem. It’s the second straight week the Bills have decided to do that.
“It was a team decision,” Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes said after the Week 1 win over the Jets. “It was something that we spoke about back in training camp. We came together as a team and we felt like, for us, we were going to stay in the locker room as a team because it symbolizes unity.”
9. Former Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson was shaken up for the Dolphins in the second quarter. Lawson was injured on a play in which Bills receiver Isaiah McKenzie was flagged for an illegal blindside block on Miami cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. The penalty was highly questionable at best. Lawson was able to return to the lineup. He finished with two tackles and one quarterback hit against his former team.
10. The Bills’ healthy inactives: Running back T.J. Yeldon, quarterback Jake Fromm, guard Ike Boettger and tight end Lee Smith.
