Kelly: Dolphins finally end Buffalo dominance in AFC East matchup | Opinion
Know that moment in a WWE or AEW professional wrestling match when one of the two combatants has been battered and bruised, run all over the ring by his opponent, who believes he has ended the match with his finishing move.
The official’s laying on the ring, banging his hand on the mat once, twice, and then….
The nearly defeated wiggles his body out the pinned position and lifts his hand, showing that he still has fight left in tattered body.
That’s exactly how the Miami Dolphins performed in Sunday’s 30-13 win against the Buffalo Bills in a contest Miami controlled all game, manhandling the reigning AFC East division champions to prove that the 2025 season isn’t over.
At least not yet.
Miami’s victory ended the Bills streak of seven consecutive wins against the Dolphins, many of which have come in the playoffs (2022), or kept the Dolphins out of them (2023), and cost Miami the division crown.
And the Dolphins gained that victory by not beating themselves for the second time this season.
They left the costly mistakes to Buffalo, which turned the ball over three times, twice while trailing big and getting close to scoring situations.
While the Dolphins had the typical errors that have cost the team numerous fourth-quarter wins this season, a 16-0 halftime lead was too much for Josh Allen and his comrades to overcome.
De’Von Achane made sure of that by turning a two fourth quarter runs into touchdowns. The first turned a fourth-quarter fumble into a 59-yard score when Achane burst through a tired, and seemingly defeated Buffalo defensive front and outsprinted the Bills’ entire secondary to the end zone.
He did it again a drive later, scoring on a 35-yard touchdown run.
So what was different about this Sunday’s game against a team that had dominated the Dolphins during the Mike McDaniel era?
Miami’s protection was sound. The Dolphins regularly utilized a six offensive lineman package, putting offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill into the game as a tight end, and Tagovailoa has time to operate.
While Tagovailoa did throw two interceptions on third downs, those two deep balls might as well have been punts because they changed the field for Miami.
But it was the creases, the running lanes the offensive line delivered that helped the Dolphins produce a season-high 197 rushing yards.
Achane contributed 174 of those yards on 22 carries, and also caught six passes, turning those receptions into 51 yards.
Two breakaway runs in one game.
It was that kind of day for the Dolphins, which oddly only converted three of nine third-down attempts.
“It’s a good win,” Jordyn Brooks said. “We have to take it and build momentum.”
“The energy was livid. We were losing it. People were having fun just like kids,” offensive lineman Patrick Paul said in the locker room after the game. “[We’ve just got to keep building on this.”
Miami’s first score was from a pass where Tua Tagovailoa put the ball in the back of the end zone, throwing it between two Bills defenses into a hole where Malik Washington would grab it for a 9-yard touchdown.
The next drive Tagovailoa unleashes a half field heave into the end zone, throwing a 39-yard rainbow to Jaylen Waddle, who caught it in stride while beating rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston.
The Dolphins defense held the Bills without scoring in the first half. It was the first time all season Miami achieved that.
The Bills were 0-6 on third downs, and 0-1 on fourth down after Allen threw an incomplete pass during a first-quarter attempt from the 49-yard line.
So a week after general manager Chris Grier was let go by owner Steve Ross, in the week edge rusher Jaelan Phillips was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, days after Miami cut their first player (Tanner Connor) this season, Mike McDaniel’s team finally got its act together.
Last week Bradley Chubb called himself “delusional” because he still believes the team could make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
At this point the three-win Dolphins might would prefer delusion over reality.
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 4:23 PM.
