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Week 14 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 17, Buffalo Bills 38
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
The Dolphins dug themselves a big hole in this game. Although they were able to recover to see some daylight, they were unable to lift themselves fully out of the abyss they had created for themselves.
Rookie quarterback, John Beck, started the fourth game of his young career. He did not last long, however. Beck played for only three series and was pulled after he fumbled while attempting a pass. The ball landed in Buffalo safety George Wilson's hands for an easy 20 yard touchdown. Miami found themselves trailing 21-0 and decided to go with Cleo Lemon for the remainder of the game. In Beck's three series, the Dolphins ran eight plays for negative 15 yards.
The offense played better with Lemon under center. In fact, it took the Dolphins only two plays to go 66 yards and get on the board. Lemon rolled out to his right and hit a wide open Ted Ginn running across the field for a 54 yard gain. Samkon Gado broke a couple of tackles for a 12 yard touchdown run on the subsequent play and the Dolphins ended a streak of 13 straight quarters without an offensive touchdown. Gado, who was subbing for the injured Jessie Chatman, played well. He later added a 20 yard touchdown run. For the day, he had 93 total yards.
Though the offense played better under Lemon and the Dolphin defense held Buffalo without a first down in the third quarter, Miami was unable to pull closer than a 14 point deficit. Lemon turned the football over three times. On the day, Miami's five turnovers led to 21 Buffalo points.
| Buffalo Bills |
Buffalo dominated the game at the outset. The Bills took an early 21-0 lead and went on to cruise to a 38-17 victory. Buffalo forced five Miami turnovers and capitalized with 21 points from those turnovers. The Bills have won six of their last eight and remain in the AFC playoff hunt.
Trent Edwards started the game with one career touchdown pass. He added four more to that total. Edwards' first touchdown pass came after Ted Ginn muffed a punt and Buffalo recovered. After a Marshawn Lynch run, Edwards threw a strike on a 16 yard out to Josh Reed. On the next play, he rolled out and found tight end Robert Royal open. Royal plowed into the end zone for a 13 yard touchdown. Two possessions later, Edwards threw a 28 yard strike to Royal on a post route for another touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Safety George Wilson had a John Beck fumble fall into his hands and ran for an easy 20 yard touchdown to give the Bills a 21-0 lead.
Rookie running back Marshawn Lynch returned after missing three games with a high ankle sprain. Lynch did not miss a beat, however. He gained 107 hard fought yards and showed no sign of the injury. Fellow rookie, Fred Jackson, also ran hard. Jackson had his best game yet and added 115 rushing yards. The Bills had two 100 yard rushers in the same game for the first time since 1996 when Thurman Thomas and Darick Holmes accomplished the feat.
Lee Evans had only two catches on the day, but he made them count. Evans made a nice grab in the corner of the end zone for a nine yard touchdown in the second quarter. His 70 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter effectively sealed the game for Buffalo after Miami had climbed back to within two touchdowns.
Buffalo had only five passing touchdowns in their first twelve games, but added four against the Dolphins. The Bills swept the Dolphins for the second season in a row and have won seven of their last eight against Miami.
Roscoe Parrish returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown, but the play was negated by a penalty.
What you ought to know
| QB Cleo Lemon, Pass: 22 - 42 - 241 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 4 - 0 |
Lemon entered the game with the Dolphins trailing 21-0 and immediately rallied the offense for a score. On his first play, Beck rolled out to his right and hit Ted Ginn for a 54 yard bomb. Samkon Gado ran 12 yards for a touchdown on the next play and Miami was on the board.
Lemon led the Dolphins to two third quarter scoring drives, but could never get them closer than a 14 point deficit. His play was up and down. Most of his deeper passes were well thrown, but he was erratic at times on some of his shorter throws. Lemon was more effective when he moved out of the pocket. He threw two interceptions. The first ball sailed on him when he tried to hit Ginn on a crossing route. Lemon was hit as he attempted to throw a pass off his back foot to David Martin and the ball hung in the air before being grabbed by Donte Whitner. Lemon also threw a pass behind Lorenzo Booker, but two Bills' defenders were unable to hang onto the ball.
Lemon was also credited with four fumbles. He dropped snaps on three different occasions, but was able to recover the football all three times. On one of the occasions he was even able to scramble and find an open Derek Hagan for a first down. Lemon's lost the fourth fumble when he was sacked just after the two minute warning.
| QB John Beck, Pass: 1 - 2 - 6 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - -4 - 0 |
Beck's fourth NFL start lasted only eight plays. He tripped and lost 4 yards on the first play. Beck's lone completion was a six yard screen pass to Ted Ginn. He was under heavy pressure on the rest of his passing plays. He threw one ball away and was sacked the other three times he dropped back to pass. Beck's final play ended disastrously when the football slipped out of his hands as he tried to throw. George Wilson picked it up and ran 20 yards for an easy touchdown. Buffalo had a 21-0 lead and Beck was pulled for Cleo Lemon.
| RB Samkon Gado, Rush: 12 - 52 - 2, Rec: 2 - 41 - 0 (3 targets) |
Gado made the most of his second chance after being re-signed off waivers less than two weeks ago. He ran 12 times for 52 yards, including touchdown runs of 12 and 20 yards. He broke two tackles to reach pay dirt for the first touchdown and one for the second. Gado ran hard and flashed a burst of speed as he made John DiGiorgio miss a tackle and turned a short pass into a 35 yard gain. His numbers likely would have been better if Miami hadn't fallen into such a deep hole early.
| RB Lorenzo Booker, Rush: 4 - 13 - 0, Rec: 6 - 34 - 0 (8 targets) |
Booker ran the ball four times for 13 yards. His long gain went for seven yards. Booker was used primarily in the passing game and grabbed six passes for 34 yards.
| RB Patrick Cobbs |
Cobbs, who has fallen on the depth chart, was injured on a special teams play in the first quarter.
| WR Derek Hagan, Rec: 8 - 93 - 0 (15 targets) |
Hagan's statistics also benefited from the absence of Booker; he set career highs with 15 targets, eight receptions, and 93 receiving yards. He was easily the most targeted receiver in the game. Hagan made a couple of nice catches along the sidelines, but also dropped a pass he should have caught.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rec: 4 - 67 - 0 (10 targets) |
With Marty Booker out, Ginn set or matched career highs with ten targets, four receptions, and 67 receiving yards. Ginn's big play was a 54 yard reception on Cleo Lemon's first pass of the game. Ginn nearly took the pass for a touchdown, but Buffalo's last defender just was able to bring him down. Ginn was the targeted receiver on Lemon's first interception; he was open, but Lemon airmailed the pass.
Ginn muffed a punt that led to an eventual Buffalo touchdown before Miami ran an offensive play. He also had trouble fielding a later punt, but was able to corral the ball before the defense arrived.
| WR Greg Camarillo (1 targets) |
Camarillo was targeted once unsuccessfully.
| WR Marty Booker |
Booker missed the game with a knee injury.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (6 targets) |
Martin caught only two passes for eleven yards. Martin was the target on Cleo Lemon's interception, but Lemon was hit as he threw and the ball hung in the air. Martin did his best to break up the pass, but was unsuccessful. Martin lost a six yard reception to a penalty.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Peelle's lone catch was a dump off pass for only one yard.
| PK Jay Feely 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Feely converted a 41 yard field goal and both of his extra point attempts.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Dolphins are ranked last in the NFL in rush defense. They played like it. Both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson rushed for over 100 yards in the game. The Bills netted 224 yards on the ground and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt. Safety Jason Allen led the team with seven solo tackles and one assist.
| MIA Pass Defense |
Miami held the Bills to 165 passing yards and a less than 50 percent completion rate. However, Trent Edwards threw four touchdown passes in the game. Buffalo had only five touchdown passes in their previous twelve games. The Dolphins were unable to register a sack.
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 11 - 23 - 165 - 4 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Edwards threw only one touchdown pass in his first six games. Against Miami, however, Edwards tossed four touchdown passes to even his season total at five touchdowns and five interceptions. Edwards has a strong arm and is capable of making any throw on the field. He is also usually very accurate; Edwards entered the game with a 65 percent completion percentage. That rate dropped as Edwards missed on some passes he would normally complete. Nevertheless, Edwards took care of the ball and led Buffalo to a season high 38 points. Edwards is now 4-1 as a starting quarterback.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 23 - 107 - 0 (2 targets) |
Lynch returned from his ankle injury and didn't miss a beat. Lynch ran hard and showed no signs that his ankle bothered him. It frequently took multiple defenders to bring Lynch down. Lynch's hard-running style got him into trouble on one occasion: As Lynch was fighting for extra yardage and being gang tackled, the ball was stripped and he lost a fumble. Lynch nearly fumbled on one other occasion, but replay showed he that the ground caused the fumble after his arm touched down.
Lynch lost a 20 yard run to a holding penalty. Lynch was targeted twice, but did not catch a pass. Edwards targeted him on a deep route that was nearly a touchdown, but the pass was slightly off the mark. His other target was a 14 yard reception on a screen pass that was called back by penalty.
Lynch is second among rookie running backs in rushing yardage and touchdowns.
| RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 15 - 115 - 0, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jackson shared the running load with Marshawn Lynch and had the best game of his rookie season. He ran 15 times for 115 yards. He had six runs of at least nine yards, including a 21 yard run that he nearly broke for a 43 yard touchdown on the final play of the first half. Jackson is now averaging nearly six yards per attempt this season and looks like he will be a nice complement to Lynch in the future. Like Lynch, Jackson runs hard and fights for extra yardage. Jackson also did a good job in pass protection, when called upon.
Jackson caught one pass for six yards. He also dropped a screen pass.
| RB Anthony Thomas |
Thomas was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week with a torn calf muscle. With Buffalo's rookie running back tandem looking good, Thomas' future in Buffalo may be short lived.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (4 targets) |
Reed tied for the team lead in receptions with three.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 79 - 2 (4 targets) |
Evans caught only two passes in the game, but both went for touchdowns. Evans' first grab was in the corner of the end zone for a nine yard touchdown. Evans was initially ruled out of bounds, but a replay challenge revealed that he did, in fact, get both feet down. Evans later caught a 70 yard bomb that put the last nail in the coffin for the Dolphins. Evans now has four touchdowns this season.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (5 targets) |
Parrish caught a shovel pass for only a yard. Parrish was unable to haul in a short pass on a third down and two play that would have extended a Bills' drive.
Parrish entered the game leading the NFL in punt return average and had a 67 yard touchdown return called back by a penalty.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 3 - 46 - 2 (4 targets) |
Royal had the first two touchdown game of his career. Royal's first catch went for a 13 yard touchdown. Edwards next found Royal open on a deep post and hit him for a 28 yard touchdown. Royal med the play interesting by bobbling the ball twice before gaining control. Royal now has three touchdowns this season.
| TE Michael Gaines, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Gaines caught his only target for a three yard gain.
| PK Rian Lindell 1 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 8 points |
Lindell's 51 yard field goal was his eighteenth straight successful attempt and broke the Bills' team record for most consecutive field goals. The streak ended when Lindell missed his other attempt from 46 yards. Lindell hit all five of his extra point tries.
| BUF Rush Defense |
The Dolphins ran for only 65 yards. However, Samkon Gado was effective, when he ran and tallied two scores. Due to their deficit, the Dolphins tried to move the ball through the air more than on the ground. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams led the team with five tackles and an assist. He also added a half sack.
| BUF Pass Defense |
Miami passed for 220 yards. However, the Bill defense controlled the early part of the game. The Dolphin's first three drives lost 15 yards. John Beck wound up on the ground on all but one of his passing plays. Cleo Lemon had some success, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a sack. Aaron Schobel's sack forced that fumble. The Bills sacked Miami quarterbacks five times in total. Ryan Denney and Anthony Hargrove also registered sacks. George Wilson recovered a Beck fumble and returned it for a 20 yard touchdown. Wilson later left the game with injured ribs. Terrence McGee and Donte Whitner intercepted passes.
