Dolphins @ Bills
Final Score: Bills 48, Dolphins 20
Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)
This game was decided in the trenches, but not in the way you’d think. Already without starting center Connor Williams, the Dolphins also had to deal with losing Terron Armstead to a knee injury midway through the second quarter. After a quick start on offense, Miami really struggled to get anything going consistently with constant pressure in Tua Tagovailoa‘s face. Buffalo’s defensive front had their way with the Dolphins’ patchwork offensive line, paving the way for the defensive stops needed to give the Bills’ offense a chance to build a lead, and boy did they.
Stefon Diggs was completely unstoppable and Josh Allen kept looking his way and letting him do most of the work. It was a total beat down of Miami, who has no answer for the Bills’ high powered offense.
Three Up
- Stefon Diggs – A monster game for the Bills’ best offensive weapon
- Josh Allen – Surgical. Effortless. Perfect QB rating
- De’Von Achane – Raheem Mostert fumbled twice and Achane made the most of his opportunities. He’ll be RB1 sooner than later
Three Down
- Miami’s offensive line – With injuries to two key contributors, this unit really struggled
- Raheem Mostert – Two fumbles on back to back possessions
- Kader Kohou – Will be having nightmares of Diggs for years to come
Miami Dolphins
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa: 25/35, 282 yards, TD, INT, 4 sacks, fumble | 2 carries, 7 yards
The Dolphins’ offense cruised down the field on each of their first two drives, but then Buffalo started dialing up the pressure and making it difficult for Tua to do much in the pocket. Combine that with an injury to Terron Armstead in the 2nd quarter and he had himself a nightmare afternoon. Tua didn’t look like himself from the get go, and a number of his throws were uncharacteristically high and off the mark, especially on their first drive. Pressure was an issue for Tua but it wasn’t the cause of his lone interception – in a clean pocket, Tua put too much on a ball to Cedrick Wilson and it was picked off with relative ease. He did not have time to let anything develop downfield and let his elite weapons get open and make a play, but curiously there wasn’t much in the way of creativity to get the ball to Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle quickly and let them make a play. Once the game was out of hand they let continue to drop back and try to make plays but he just couldn’t do it with the constant pressure in his face. This offense is still one of the best in the league, and they faced a really good team in the Bills, but they need to get that OL healthy to help keep Tua upright for 17 games.
Notes
- A few throws high on the first drive
- Passes deflected at the line
- Did a nice job of looking off the defender on Berrios’ TD
- Intercepted on a high throw, not under pressure, bad throw/decision
- Sacked on two 4th downs in the 2nd half
Running Back
Raheem Mostert: 7 carries, 9 yards, 2 fumbles (1 lost) | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards
The fumbles were a real issue. His first fumble was recovered by his own teammate but only after it somehow slipped through the hands of about four Bills. He was holding the ball too loosely and a defender knocked it out. He had the same issue on the second fumble, however he wasn’t so lucky this time around as Buffalo recovered it. Mostert’s highlight reel catch seen below was his best moment in an otherwise poor game where he could not get anything going on the ground.
Raheem Mostert with the goody catch.
My goodness these Miami weapons right now. pic.twitter.com/cXzFDENF4I
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 1, 2023
De’Von Achane: 8 carries, 101 yards, 2 TD | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
Achane absolutely explodes as soon as the ball is in his hand. He had a huge 55 yard run at the beginning of the 4th quarter down 28 that brought them straight to the red zone. On the very next run he took it up the middle and made multiple jump cuts to make guys miss and earn another nine yards, showing he’s not just a one trick pony. Achane once again made the most of his limited touches, and this offense needed every bit of it today.
Achane definitely got more opportunities after Mostert’s second fumble. This is worth monitoring for both players, as it’s very clear that Achane is fully capable of being the number one option on the ground in this high powered offense.
Notes
- Took a pop pass down to the three, carried it to the house on the next play
- Lined up in the slot, went in motion and took a handoff for the score. Tyreek was lined up at RB
Alec Ingold: 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Tyreek Hill: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 58 yards | 1 carry, 14 yards
Tua spread the ball around early in the game when their offense was chugging along like we’ve seen all year, but when the pressure up front became too much for him to handle he was unable to stand in there and throw it deep. That killed Tyreek’s prospects of putting up another elite fantasy day. I was disappointed that the Dolphins didn’t try to get the ball out of Tua’s hands more quickly, utilizing Hill’s speed and shiftiness to get him the ball on quick slants and/or outs. It just kind of seemed like once the pressure started coming they felt they couldn’t adjust and do anything different. Chalk it up as a bad game against a really good team.
Notes
- Not running in motion as much as he has the last few weeks
- Might have injured a knee/leg, grabbed it after a catch but then got up and ran off. Came back in after missing a play. Something to monitor
Jaylen Waddle: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards
What I said about Tyreek stands for Waddle. He was healthy for this game and did catch a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone but it was negated by an ineligible man downfield penalty by the backup center. I’d imagine the starting center would know where the line of scrimmage would be…
Waddle also made one of the most impressive catches you’ll see all season, diving to grab a pass that wasn’t even intended for him that got deflected into the air. The game script was there for a big game for both of these guys but the Bills’ defense was simply that disruptive.
Durham Smythe: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards
Notes
- Two catches on first two offensive plays. One went for 22 yards after Tua sold the playfake well to pull the linebacker up, leaving Smythe wide open.
- Great block on Achane’s TD to help open the hole. The type of play that keeps a guy on the field in goal line situations
Braxton Berrios: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 43 yards, TD
Berrios’ touchdown came in the back of the end zone on the same side of the field where both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were. Both stayed close to the line of scrimmage while Berrios ran a post to the back corner of the end zone, and Tua used his eyes to keep the corner closer to Hill/Waddle, leaving Berrios open for the score. It was a nicely designed play.
Cedrick Wilson Jr.: 2 targets, 1 reception, 16 yards
Robbie Chosen: 1 target
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 21/25, 320 yards, 4 TD, 2 sacks | 4 carries, 17 yards, TD
Josh Allen had himself a game, though it was pretty easy for him to just throw the ball Stefon Diggs‘ way and let him do all the work. Buffalo’s OL did a good job of keeping Allen upright and giving him time to look downfield. At one point, Allen had a ton of time to throw but had nowhere to go. The pressure got to him but he moved around and gave himself extra time, finding James Cook on the sideline who then took it for a huge gain after the play had already basically been dead. And that was kind of the story with Allen’s day – Stay upright long enough to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands and let them make plays. And that’s not to lessen Allen’s day – he obviously played well. But his gaudy numbers were even larger because of guys like Diggs and Cook who made plays with the ball in their hands.
Notes
- Did a nice job of avoiding pressure up the middle and delivering a perfect ball to Diggs on the sideline
- Helped push Cook in for the score
- Throw on the run to Diggs for the score
- Awesome job of staying on his feet under pressure, keep the play extended, throw a perfect ball to James Cook for a huge gain
Running Back
James Cook: 12 carries, 29 yards, TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 48 yards
The 48 yard catch and run that Cook and Allen improv’ed certainly saved his day from a fantasy perspective. That was the only play that popped on the day for Cook, including the touchdown that I vaguely remember as I sit here writing this. The touchdown probably shouldn’t have even counted, as he looked like he might have come up short of the goal line on a reverse tush push (Allen pushed him), but it was called a touchdown on the field and there wasn’t a view that definitively showed he was short. Cook owners should be lucky they came away with 14.7 fantasy points from this performance.
Notes
- Stuffed at the line, Allen pushed him in for the score. Was reviewed and looked like he might have been short but there wasn’t a definitive look.
- Broken play, Allen stayed on his feet under pressure, Cook found an opening and Allen found him with a nice throw. Huge gain down the sideline
Latavius Murray: 4 carries, 32 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards
Notes
- 29 yard run, made a defender miss with a nice high step juke cut
Damien Harris: 6 carries, 29 yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Stefon Diggs: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 120 yards, 3 TD
This is Stefon Diggs‘ world and we’re all just living in it. With injuries to the secondary, former undrafted free agent Kader Kohou was forced to cover Diggs today and he struggled mightily. Struggled so much that he’s become a bit of a punching bag online after his performance today, which is a bit harsh and unfortunate but not all that surprising. Kohou was completely outmatched by Diggs, and two of Diggs’ three TDs demonstrate that more than any words could.
Notes
- Catch on the sideline on opening drive, flopped out of bounds to draw a personal foul call. Questionable call put Buffalo in position for the score on the next play
- Drew DPI on a deep ball
- Celebrated his TD with some beers
- Broke two tackles to take his second TD to the house. 9th career game with two receiving TDs
Stefon Diggs beat Kohou like three separate times to get this TD 😬pic.twitter.com/KOviNvuXoZ
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 1, 2023
Stefon Diggs is a baaaaaaad man pic.twitter.com/ZugtzMwD4o
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) October 1, 2023
Stefon Diggs celebrates his TD with some beers pic.twitter.com/fu9cuUMX8w
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) October 1, 2023
Gabriel Davis: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 61 yards, TD
Davis’ touchdown came on a play where the defender in coverage got caught on his heels. Davis ran a wheel route up the sideline and had a step on the defender, and Allen hit him with a great throw that Davis hauled in for the score. It was a nice catch. Davis also made a great block at one point to spring Damien Harris for a first down. He wasn’t super involved in the passing game as Diggs was open seemingly every play and the game got out of hand by halftime.
Notes
- Defender took a bad angle at the snap, led to a wide open Davis for the score. Nice catch, too
- Made a great block to spring Harris for a first down
Dawson Knox: 1 target, 1 reception, 12 yards
Notes
- ANGRY RUN
Dalton Kincaid: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards
Kincaid didn’t jump out in this game but he was certainly more involved than Knox. I know that doesn’t say much more than the box score but there just isn’t much to pull from this performance.
Trent Sherfield: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Deonte Harty: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards
Khalil Shakir: 1 target
Notes
- Looked to injure his hamstring on his lone target