Clearly Dolphins don’t do too well in the cold. The Buffalo Bills all but clinched the AFC East divisional race as they beat the Miami Dolphins 32-29 in a Buffalo winter snowstorm, proving they are still the class of the AFC East.
When the weather reports came out from Buffalo that the game was going to be played in the midst of below freezing weather, 18 MPH winds, and a foot of snow, I knew it was wraps on the Dolphins. I mean, who doesn’t know that Dolphins shrivel up and freeze in the cold?
Okay, I’ll give the Dolphins some credit for staying in the game for as long as they did. To lose on a last second field goal with the wind, snow, and cold air blowing in the face of the Buffalo kicker not only was quite impressive but was also very admirable on the Dolphins behalf.
That team came out of their comfortable, hot-weather, Miami shells and went toe-to-toe with the arguably best team in the AFC in the midst of a nasty Buffalo storm. That’s not easy to do and should be seen as a moral victory at the very least,
But, as we all know, moral victories count for absolutely nothing as the Dolphins now find themselves in an extremely perilous position with the Patriots, Chargers, and practically half the AFC now are only a few games behind them in the AFC playoff picture.
Despite playing better than expected, Tua Tagovailoa was unable to keep up pace with Josh Allen as he was only able to conjure up 17/30 competitions for 234 yards and 2 TDs, while Jaylen Waddle (3 REC, 114 yards, 1 TD) and Tyreek Hill (9 REC, 69 yards, 1 TD) carried the passing game burden with a combined 12 catches for 183 yard and 2 touchdowns.
I don’t want to sound like a Tua hater as I really respect what the former Alabama QB has accomplished this season, but with Hill and Waddle continually proving themselves to be Top-5 receivers in the league week after week, the choice to pick Tua over Herbert in 2020 looks worse with each passing day.
Herbert is just a better built quarterback, both physically (ex: arm strength, arm skill, accuracy) and athletically (ex: height, speed, mobility), for the NFL game than Tua and would be literally 2.0 Dan Marino in this offense. Have you seen what the former Oregon QB has done in a Chargers offense with less weapons, a worse O-Line, and an extremely questionable HC and OC calling the plays?
Somehow the Chargers are still in the playoff race, which is all down to Herbert and his play.
You can’t change the past, but I’m sure the Dolphins executives wish they could after watching their season slowly crumble before their very eyes. Oh, I would also give a shoutout to Raheem Mostert and his 136 rushing yards on 17 carries as he was the integral piece that allowed Tua and the passing game to play as well as they did.
Now, without further ado, it’s time to talk about the real superstar and deserving (if he wins it) NFL MVP: Josh Allen.
The Buffalo quarterback was nothing less than sensational yesterday as he was the star in both the Bills passing and running game…like he always is. Throwing 25/40 for 304 yards and 4 TDs (yes, 4 TDs in a snowstorm) and then rushing a further 10 times for 77 yards, Allen broke the Dolphins defense in just about every way a quarterback can.
When the Dolphins would send Christian Wilkins (6 tackles), Bradley Chubb (2 tackles, 1 QB hit), Zach Sieler (5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 2 QB hits), and Jaelan Philips (3 tackles, 1 sack, 3 QB hits) after him, Allen would zip out passes to Dawson Knox (6 REC, 98 yards, 1 TD), Stefon Diggs (5 REC, 6o yards), and Gabe Davis (4 REC, 56 yards), which would more often than not end in massive gains and touchdowns.
Then, when the Dolphins would drop their safeties and CBs, such as Xavien Howard (4 tackles), Justin Bethel (2 tackles), Kader Kohou (7 tackles, 1 PD), and Jevon Hollard (4 tackles, 1 PD), into zone coverages across the field, the QB would simply break out of the pocket and bully past the cornerbacks and safeties to pick up 10-20 yards downfield.
Simply put, the Dolphins couldn’t stop Allen in any facet of the game, which cost them on the final drive as the Buffalo QB drove the ball 93 yards in a little under 6 minutes to set up Tyler Bass for a 25-yard game-winning FG in the snow. And, of course, the Bills kicker made it to send the Bills players and their fans into pandemonium, giving them an early, snowy Christmas present.
I can’t see any team catching the Bills (11-3) for the AFC East division title now with both the Jets and Dolphins dropping games. Reversely, the Dolphins (8-6) are going to have a tough time keeping their playoff spot with what seems like half of the AFC a game or two behind them and all on winning streaks.
These final few weeks in the AFC are going to be wild.
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