Thursday Night Football highlights, stats
Josh Allen’s domination against the Miami Dolphins continues.
The Buffalo Bills quarterback led the Bills to a 31-10 road win over the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday night, bringing Allen’s career record against the Bills’ AFC rivals to 12-2.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a concussion after he was legally hit by Bills safety Damar Hamlin while scrambling for a first down. Tagovailoa finished the night with 17 completions on 25 attempts for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Allen finished recorded 13-for-19 for 139-yards and one touchdown. Running back James Cook scored three touchdowns — one receiving and two rushing — in the first half. — Cydney Henderson
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Bills vs. Dolphins final stats
Team stats:
- Total yards: Dolphins 351, Bills 247
- First downs: Dolphins 20, Bills 13
- Third-down conversions: Dolphins 7-15, Bills 3-9
- Red zone: Bills 2-2, Dolphins 1-4
- Turnovers: Dolphins 3, Bills 0
Passing:
- Josh Allen: 13-19, 139 yards 1 touchdown
- Tua Tagovailoa: 17-25, 145 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 interceptions
- Skylar Thompson: 8-14, 80 yards
Rushing:
- De’Von Achane, 22 carries, 96 yards
- James Cook: 11 carries, 78 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Ray Davis: 9 carries, 29 yards
- Tua Tagovailoa: 2 carries, 17 yards
Receiving:
- De’Von Achane: 7 receptions, 69 yards, 1 touchdown
- Khalil Shakir: 5 receptions, 54 yards
- Jonnu Smith: 6 receptions, 53 yards
- Jaylen Waddle: 4 receptions, 41 yards
- Dalton Kindcaid: 4 receptions, 33 yards
- Tyreek Hill: 3 receptions, 24 yards
First quarter
Bills touchdown (9:49) — James Cook, 17-yard pass from Josh Allen (Tyler Bass extra point)
Dolphins touchdown (3:21) — De’Von Achane, 5-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa (Jason Sanders extra point)
Second quarter
Bills field goal (12:41) — Tyler Bass, 43 yards
Bills touchdown (6:25) — James Cook, 1-yard run (Tyler Bass extra point)
Bills touchdown (3:36) — James Cook, 49-yard run (Tyler Bass extra point)
Dolphins field goal (0:04) — Jason Sanders, 34 yards
Third quarter
Bills touchdown (9:27) — Ja’Marcus Ingram, 31-yard interception return (Tyler Bass extra point)
Tyler Bass misses field goal
Bills kicker Tyler Bass had an opportunity to extend Buffalo’s lead, but badly pulled a field goal attempt wide left.
It was about the only thing that has gone wrong for the Bills in their rout of the rival Dolphins.
With the competitive phase of the game basically over after Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion, we’ve reached run-out-the-clock time at Hard Rock Stadium. — Jim Reineking
Tua Tagovailoa went down in the third quarter of Thursday night’s game.
On fourth-and-4 from Buffalo’s 13-yard line, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle as he attempted to get a first down. He dove headfirst ahead of the first down marker but was hit by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. It appeared Tagovailoa hit his head on Hamlin during the tackle.
Tagovailoa stayed on the grass for a few moments. He was eventually helped off the field and escorted to the locker room by the Dolphins’ medical staff. The Dolphins later ruled Tagovailoa out with a concussion. — Tyler Dragon
Dolphins drive stalls after Tua Tagovailoa concussion
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa extended the Dolphin’s drive, picking up a first down on a 6-yard scramble play. Tagovailoa took a big hit on the play from Bills safety Demar Hamlin and was ruled out with a concussion.
Dolphins backup quarterback Skylar Thompson entered for Tagovailoa with a fresh set of downs, but Miami wasn’t able to do anything with them. On fourth-and-goal, Thompson was sacked by Buffalo’s Von Miller for a 7-yard loss.
The Dolphins turned the ball over on downs at Buffalo’s 15-yard-line trailing the Bills, 31-10. — Cydney Henderson
Bills 31, Dolphins 10: Tua Tagovailoa’s third INT is a pick-six
Tua Tagovailoa is having bad night in Miami.
The Dolphins quarterback threw his third interception of the game midway through the third quarter.
On third-and-7 from Miami’s own 30-yard line, Tagovailoa was under pressure, and he tried to throw the ball out of bounds. But his throw came up short of the sideline and was intercepted by Bills cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram. Ingram caught the football and returned it 31 yards to the house to extend Buffalo’s lead to 31-10 with 9:27 left in the third quarter.
Ingram is having himself a night. The Bills cornerback has two interceptions and a touchdown. — Tyler Dragon
Bills LB Terrel Bernard out for rest of game
The Bills will be without LB Terrel Bernard for the remainder of the game. Bernard appeared to suffer a pectoral injury in the first quarter during a defensive stand at the goal line. Bernard was listed as questionable, before the Bills ruled him out after halftime. Bernard recorded 11 total tackles (10 solo) last week in the Bills’ season opening win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Dolphins LT Terron Armstead was listed as questionable with shoulder injury, but returned shortly after. — Cydney Henderson
James Cook, turnovers power Bills in first half vs. Dolphins
We hope you started Bills running back James Cook in fantasy football this weekend.
Cook has accounted for all three of the Bills touchdowns as they head into the locker room with a 24-10 halftime lead over their AFC East rival, the Dolphins. Cook, who has 60 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards, picked up one touchdown by air and two on the ground. Cook’s three touchdowns tie the most ever by a Bills player in the first half.
Turnovers were the story of the first half for the Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa was picked off two times, yielding 10 points to the Bills. Tagovailoa has completed 13 of 18 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown, in addition to the two interceptions.
Josh Allen, on the other hand, completed nine for 13 passes for 108 yards and one touchdown. — Cydney Henderson
Bills 24, Dolphins 7: Fourth-down stop leads to long James Cook TD run
The Dolphins had a promising drive underway, but it ended in an Ed Oliver sack.
On fourth-and-1 from the Bills’ 45-yard line, Tua Tagovailoa was sacked by Oliver for a 6-yard loss. Oliver immediately created pressure up the middle and got to Tagovailoa.
The Bills took over possession of the football and went the distance in one play.
Josh Allen handed the football off to James Cook, the running back found a hole up the middle and raced down the field for a 49-yard touchdown. It’s the longest run of the season for Cook, who has three touchdowns in the game.
The Bills now lead 24-7 with 3:36 remaining in the first half. — Tyler Dragon
Bills 17, Dolphins 7: James Cook extends Buffalo’s lead
The Bills have opened up a double-digit lead over the Dolphins. Bills running back James Cook easily found the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to cap their 85-yard drive.
The Bills’ drive was aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty called on Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer, who was on the Bills from 2017-2023. The penalty moved the Bills from their 35-yard line to the 50-yard line after Poyer led with his head on a tackle on Bills receiver Khalil Shakir.
A 33-yard pass play from Josh Allen to Ty Johnson set up Cook’s touchdown run. — Cydney Henderson
Bills 10, Dolphins 7: Tua Tagovailoa’s second interception leads to Buffalo field goal
The Bills have scored all 10 of their points off turnovers.
After Buffalo’s defense forced another takeaway with excellent field possession, the offense got one first down. But the possession ended on Miami’s 25-yard line, which led to a successful 43-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass.
The Bills have a 10-7 lead with 12:41 remaining in the second quarter. — Tyler Dragon
Tua Tagovailoa picked off for a second time
Tua Tagovailoa has thrown an interception, again.
Although the first interception wasn’t necessarily Tagovailoa’s fault after his pass was tipped by his receiver, the second interception of the game was entirely on Tagovailoa. On first-and-10 from the 29-yard line, Tagovailoa’s pass intended for WR Robbie Chosen was picked off by Bills cornerback Christian Benford and returned six yards to Miami’s 44-yard line.
It’s the first time Tagovailoa has thrown two first-quarter interceptions in 55 career games. The Dolphins defense held the Bills to a 43-yard field goal. All 10 of the Bills’ points have come off turnovers. — Cydney Henderson
Bills 7, Dolphins 7: Tua Tagovailoa bounces back after early interception
Tua Tagovailoa and De’Von Achane led the Dolphins on a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7-7.
Achane was key on the touchdown drive, rushing four times, including a 14-yard run. The drive was capped off when Achane caught a short pass from Tagovailoa and ran it in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.
The running back has seven touches, 31 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in the first quarter. — Tyler Dragon
Bills 7, Dolphins 0: Buffalo capitalizes on turnover
The Bills offense had excellent field possession after the turnover.
Buffalo got the football on the 37-yard line. The Bills initially earned one first down, but were forced into a fourth-and-3 from Miami’s 17-yard line.
The Bills decided to go for it instead of kicking a field goal. On fourth down, Josh Allen beat the blitz and found RB James Cook on a short pass. Cook retrieved the ball and raced down the field wide open for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Bills an early 7-0 lead with 9:49 on the clock in the first quarter. — Tyler Dragon
Bills intercept Tua Tagovailoa on Miami first possession
The first possession for the Dolphins resulted in a turnover.
On third-and-13 from the 39-yard line, Tua Tagovailoa’s pass intended for WR Grant DuBose was picked off by Bills CB Ja’Marcus Ingram and returned 23 yards to Miami’s 37-yard line.
It appeared DuBose wasn’t ready for Tagovailoa’s pass as it bounced off his shoulder pads and into the arms of Ingram. — Tyler Dragon
Tyreek Hill is opening up about the “traumatic” police stop that ended with him on the pavement in handcuffs.
Ahead of the Dolphins’ “Thursday Night Football” matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Amazon Prime aired a sit-down interview between reporter Taylor Rooks and Hill, four days after he was forcibly removed from his vehicle and detained during a routine traffic stop in Miami. — Cydney Henderson
What time is Bills vs. Dolphins?
Bills at Dolphins will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
How can I watch Bills vs. Dolphins
Al Michaels (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will be in the broadcast booth for Peacock, with Kaylee Hartung (sideline) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) providing additional coverage.
The Prime Video pregame, halftime and postgame shows feature Charissa Thompson as host, as well as former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth as analysts. Taylor Rooks is the feature reporter for Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage.
Bills vs. Dolphins inactives: De’Von Achane active for TNF
For the Bills, starting defensive back Taron Johnson will not be available Thursday night.
Bills’ inactive players:
- CB Taron Johnson
- LB Joe Andreessen
- LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
- DE Javon Solomon
- OT Ryan Van Demark
- DE Dawuane Smoot
Dolphins’ inactive players:
- CB Ethan Bonner
- RB Raheem Mostert
- LB Channing Tindall
- LB Mohamed Kamara
- OL Andrew Meyer
- WR Malik Washington
Dolphins wearing throwback uniforms
The Dolphins are wearing throwback uniforms for their matchup against the Bills, with the look featuring the classic helmet logo, aqua jerseys and white pants. The look harkens back to the Dolphins’ 1970s heyday.
Tyreek Hill could surpass Hall of Famers
Josh Allen has chance at history
Josh Allen has enjoyed success against the Dolphins
Ever since quarterback Josh Allen joined the Bills in 2018, the team has enjoyed success against the rival Dolphins.
Allen has an 11-2 record in 13 career games against Miami, including playoffs. In those games, Allen also has enjoyed statistical success, throwing for two or more touchdowns and 300-plus yards in each of the past five matchups.
The Bills won both games against the Dolphins during the 2023 season, which included a Week 18 winner-gets-the-division showdown. During the 2022 season, the Bills eliminated the Dolphins during the wild-card playoffs with a 34-31 win in Orchard Park, N.Y. — Jim Reineking
Bills vs. Dolphins: Predictions, picks and odds
- Spread: Dolphins (-2.5)
- Moneyline: Dolphins (-145); Bills (+120)
- Over/under: 48.5
Here are the USA TODAY Sports’ expert picks for the game:
The process of ending the longest active stretch in the NFL without a postseason victory begins Thursday night for the Miami Dolphins.
The Bills have been a bugaboo for the Dolphins. This AFC East rivalry has been one-sided for the past five-plus years. A win on “Thursday Night Football” will give the Dolphins an upper hand in the race for a division title. — Chris Bumbaca
Bills vs. Dolphins: A history lesson
The Bills and Dolphins have been regular combatants since the Dolphins entered the American Football League as an expansion team in 1966.
The Dolphins hold a slight advantage in the all-time series, 62-58-1, which includes the Bills’ 4-1 edge in postseason games.
During the 1970s, the series was decidedly one-sided, as the Dolphins won every game (20-0) during the decade. The two teams’ first playoff matchup happened during the 1990 NFL season as the Bills were marching toward their first Super Bowl appearance. Two seasons later, the Bills defeated the Dolphins in the 1992 AFC championship game, the most high-profile showdown between these two teams. — Jim Reineking
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