Bills Stay Perfect, Improve to 3-0 with Win Over Dolphins

by Jake Lax, September 22, 2025

The Buffalo Bills entered Thursday Night Football coming off a Week 2 road win in New York against the Jets, to face off against the struggling Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins entered the game 0-2 after losing to a fellow AFC East team, the New England Patriots. Thursday night saw a lot of action from two AFC East rivals.

The Dolphins’ offense took the field after a big kick return set them up near midfield, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa came out sharp. A quick pass to Tyreek Hill and some steady runs from De’Von Achane moved Miami into scoring position. Running back Ollie Gordon chipped in with a tough 8-yard run to push the ball inside the 10, and despite a penalty that briefly slowed the drive, the Dolphins kept their momentum. Capping it off, Gordon powered in from two yards out for the game’s opening touchdown, giving Miami an early 7-0 lead.

Following the Miami score, Buffalo’s running back James Cook took control. Cook accounted for 35 yards on the opening Bills drive. Quarterback Josh Allen was off to a hot start, finding Dalton Kincaid for a 9-yard pass, and two plays later, finding him again, this time for a touchdown from 20 yards out. This brought the score to a tie at 7-7. The Dolphins got the ball back with about 2 minutes left in the first quarter. The struggling Bills’ defense managed to stand tall, forcing Miami into a quick three-and-out and a punt.

The second quarter started with more of the same from Buffalo, moving the ball downfield anyway they wanted. A couple of James Cook runs and short yardage completions from Josh Allen had slowly gotten the Bills into the red zone. Setting up for a first and goal from the five-yard line, Allen found rookie tight end Jackson Hawes for a 5-yard touchdown pass that he released with a flick of the wrist while on the run, giving Buffalo a 14-7 lead. The Dolphins offense then took the field down 7-14, and Tagovailoa got ready to deal; however, the only thing Tua Tagovailoa was dealing was incompletions. Two incomplete passes and a short one-yard pass to the running back De’Von Achane, and the Dolphins were bringing out the punt team.

Buffalo now had a chance to extend their 14-7 lead. A big 26-yard run from James Cook ignited the drive and helped the Bills pass midfield. Allen then found Tyrell Shavers for a 17-yard catch, bringing them to the Miami 16-yard line. A big sack from the Dolphins’ edge rusher, Bradley Chubb, on third down brought out the field goal unit for the Bills. Matt Prater came out for the 39-yard field goal, and it never had a chance, going extremely wide left.

The Dolphins offense then took the field down 7-14, and Tagovailoa got ready to deal. A couple of short passes and De’Von Achane runs got Miami down to midfield. Tyreek Hill finally got his chance to show up on this drive, catching two passes. One of Hill’s catches came on a clutch 3rd and 12 for a 19-yard gain right at the two-minute warning. Tyreek’s other catch was again on a 3rd down, going for 13 yards and a new set of downs. The pair of running backs Achane and Ollie Gordon got the Dolphins closer to the goal line. Tua Tagovailoa was able to find Jaylen Waddle for a 3-yard touchdown to end the half. Both teams went into halftime with 14 points. The Dolphins were surprisingly hanging in there.

Buffalo had the ball to start the second half looking to take the lead. The reigning MVP was making his case for another. Josh Allen completed three consecutive passes to start the half. Spreading the ball all over the field, Allen found four different receivers on the drive: Coleman, Johnson, Shakir, and Kincaid. A big 19-yard rush from Allen set up the Bills on the Miami 20-yard line, looking to take the lead. Allen found tight end Dalton Kincaid for a big 19-yard gain, coming up 1 yard short of the end zone. James Cook’s number was called to run this one in, giving the Bills a 21-14 lead after the extra point.

The third quarter saw both punters having a busy night. The defenses traded three and outs bringing Miami’s punter Jake Bailey and Buffalo’s punter Cameron Johnston onto the field a lot more than they’d like in the quarter. Going into the fourth quarter, the Dolphins had the ball and were driving down the field. A gutsy fourth-down pass was converted for 15 yards to Jaylen Waddle, bringing Miami to the Buffalo 21-yard line. De’Von Achane ran the ball twice, gaining 16 yards to set up a goal-line package. This time, it was a short pass from Tua Tagovailoa to his veteran wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, for a 5-yard touchdown to tie the game.

The Bills got the ball back and went straight to James Cook, who had been having a great night all around. A couple of short passes and gains off Cook’s legs brought the Bills downfield with ease. Josh Allen was then able to find his wide receiver Khalil Shakir for a 15-yard touchdown and the lead, 28-21. Allen threw his third touchdown of the night, marking his 300th career score. He became the fastest player in NFL history to reach the milestone, doing so in just 127 games.

With time ticking down, the Dolphins got the ball back and needed a scoring drive. Seven minutes left in the game and down 7, Tua Tagovailoa took the field. Tagovailoa was able to find Waddle multiple times, making clutch plays. Waddle was able to bring in two big third-down catches, one for 11 yards and another for 13 yards. A couple of runs and the Dolphins found themselves at the Bills’ 21-yard line, looking to tie the game. As Tua Tagovailoa was looking for Waddle again, he was intercepted by Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard. Bernard returned it 24 yards to seal the victory for Buffalo. Matt Prater added a 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to make the final score 31-21.

For the Bills, Allen finished 22 for 28, throwing for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns. James Cook had an outstanding night, rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player to rush for over 100 yards against Miami in 36 games. As for Miami, Tagovailoa went 22 for 34, throwing for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns before throwing the crucial interception to Terrel Bernard in the closing minutes. The running game had Ollie Gordon rushing for a touchdown. The Bills improve to 3-0 on the season and will host the New Orleans Saints next week. The Dolphins drop to 0-3 on the season and will host the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.