Miami is a real contender, but also a bit lucky

First thing first; Tua Tagovailoa probably should not have returned to Week 3’s game. The NFL’s concussion protocol has a specific clause labeling players who showcase the kind of motor instability — i.e. the stumbling and sudden lack of balance Tagovailoa displayed after his head bounced off the turf late in the second quarter — as “No-Go” players.

But Tagovailoa returned and the ends justified the means. Miami trailed at three different junctures against the Super Bowl favorites, including at the start of the fourth quarter. Each time, the third-year quarterback proved to be the star around which the rest of his team orbits. He led a pair of 72-plus yard scoring drives to provide all the breathing room his defense needed to get to 3-0.

Yes, that includes surviving what will go down in NFL lore as the “butt punt.”

Tagovailoa completed five of his eight passes for 110 yards after halftime. It was an easy lift for a player whose health was in question, and that’s all thanks to the defense that bent but didn’t break in the hot southern Florida sun.

The Bills gained 256 yards in the second half alone. They ran 50 plays. They punted zero times. They did not fumble the ball or throw an interception. They scored three points.

That is stunning. The Dolphin defense deserves credit for holding a team that had averaged 6.7 yards per play — tied for second-best in the NFL through two weeks — to just 5.1 yards per snap with the game on the line. But this was an anomaly that may not be repeatable when these teams meet in Orchard Park in Week 15.

First and foremost, here’s the unfortunate emergence of 2019 Josh Allen smack-dab in the middle of a potential MVP season.

That brain fart was the difference between giving the ball back to Tagovailoa with a 24-21 deficit and 1:44 to play and giving Miami the leverage to run out the clock with one first down. It wasn’t the only regrettable mistake.

Tyler Bass had converted 23 of his last 24 kicks from inside 40 yards headed into Week 3. He still managed to push a 38-yard attempt that would have given Buffalo a 20-14 left wide left in the third quarter.

Stefon Diggs was separated from a 17-yard gain on that final drive thanks to a great play from Jevon Holland, but it was still a catch the All-Pro typically makes.

That could have been the difference between a game-winning field goal attempt and the clock striking zero. It was also Diggs’ final play of the game; he headed to the sideline immediately afterward with what appeared to be cramping due to heat exhaustion.

Almost everything that could break against the Bills’ favor in the second half did. Some of this was bad luck. Some was superior playmaking from a roster that rose to the occasion and thrived in the Florida heat through all four quarters of a tight game.

Credit Miami for getting the job done Sunday. The Dolphins are 3-0 for a reason. But maybe don’t expect the result to hold up when these teams meet again.