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| ATL at NO | CIN at IND | CLE at TEN | DAL at PIT | HOU at GB | JAX at CHI | KC at DEN | MIA at BUF |
| MIN at DET | NE at SEA | NYJ at SF | OAK at SD | PHI at NYG | STL at ARI | TB at CAR | WAS at BAL |
Week 14 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 16, Buffalo Bills 3
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
The game time temperature in Buffalo, New York, was 16 degrees but the wind chill put it below zero. The warm weather Dolphins are just 2-7 in Buffalo's home games in December, but this game was played inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, where it was a balmy 72 degrees.
Chad Pennington did another masterful job directing the Miami attack. He threw pinpoint passes, avoided turnovers, and hit eight different receivers in completing 23 of 29 for 181 yards and one touchdown. His favorite target was rookie Davone Bess, who caught nine passes for 74 yards. His next favorite receiver was TE Anthony Fassano, who caught three passes and the lone touchdown. Ronnie Brown rushed 16 times for 70 yards and backfield mate Ricky Williams carried 11 times for 40 more. Each caught two passes. The Miami defense limited Buffalo to just 163 yards of offense, while Joey Porter registered two sacks late in the game to bring his season total to 16.5.
Miami's win completes the first sweep of the Bills since 2003. At 8--5, with three games remaining in the regular season, Miami is tied with the Jets and Patriots for first place in the AFC East Division. A year ago at this time they were still winless.
| Buffalo Bills |
Bills' fans were outraged that the Miami game was being played inside a climate controlled dome in Toronto and the players couldn't have played much worse in the blizzard back in Buffalo. They failed to score a touchdown in their second straight game and their offensive is in critical condition.
J.P. Losman was inaccurate, indecisive, and infuriating. He completed 13 of 27 for 123 yards but seven of his passes were badly overthrown. He also gained 53 yards on five desperate scrambles. The Miami defense held Marshawn Lynch in check. They played eight men near the line on first down and brought in extra defensive backs on second and third downs. Lynch only averaged 2.4 yards per carry on 13 tries. Lee Evans, who has had some monster games against the Dolphins in the past, only caught three passes for 23 yards. Josh Reed led the Bills' receivers with five balls for 58 yards. While the Bills' offense only converted one of ten third down opportunities and held the ball for just over 22 minutes, the Buffalo defense did a laudable job of holding Miami to one touchdown and four field goal attempts.
Buffalo has made news as they've scheduled annual regular season games outside the United States. The five year $78 million deal includes five regular season and three preseason games with the NFL responsible for setting dates and opponents. Located about 100 miles north of Rich Stadium, the Rogers Centre (formerly known as SkyDome) is home to the Toronto Blue Jays and the CFL Toronto Argonauts.
What you ought to know
| QB Chad Pennington, Pass: 23 - 29 - 181 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 0 - 0 |
Pennington had another masterful game, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers controlling the clock for almost 38 minutes, and avoiding turnovers. He earned a QB rating of 104.2, based on 23 completions in 29 attempts and one touchdown, and his 181 passing yards puts him over 3,000 yards for the season.
While new management and a new coaching staff deserve credit for Miami's turnaround, Pennington was a key off season acquisition. He may not put up great fantasy numbers but he gives his team a chance to win and he doesn't lose many games. Pennington threw for 314 yards and one TD against Buffalo in week eight.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 16 - 70 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (2 targets) |
Brown averaged 4.4 yards per carry. The Wildcat offense was not very successful, but Miami still ran it half a dozen times throughout the game. Brown shows no effects from his knee surgery, and is trying to make this the first season of his pro career not cut short but injury.
| RB Ricky Williams, Rush: 11 - 40 - 0, Rec: 2 - 2 - 0 (2 targets) |
Williams averaged 3.6 yards per carry but had a 14 yard TD run called back on a holding penalty. He seemed to be especially well received by the fans who remembered him from 2006 when he played for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
| RB Lousaka Polite, Rush: 3 - 7 - 0, Rec: 2 - 3 - 0 (2 targets) |
Polite was called upon twice in and short yardage situations to move the chains, which he did.
| RB Patrick Cobbs (1 targets) |
Cobbs failed to catch the one pass thrown to him and was not a factor.
| WR Davone Bess, Rec: 9 - 74 - 0 (11 targets) |
Since replacing Camarillo, Bess has emerged as Miami's number one target and led all receivers with nine grabs for 74 yards. Bess is fast and quick and they design ways to get him the ball in space. In his last game against the Rams he caught six passes for 84 yards following his five catch, 87 yard effort against New England.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets) |
Wilford made his second and third catches of the year in the second half of the game. His appearance coincided with the disappearance of Ted Ginn, Jr.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (3 targets) |
Ginn was only targeted in the first half. In Miami's first meeting against the Bills Ginn had a breakout game catching seven balls for 175 yards.
| TE Anthony Fasano, Rec: 3 - 36 - 1 (3 targets) |
Pennington's second favorite receiver in the game, Fasano scored the only TD on a 20 yard pass in the first quarter. It was his fourth touchdown of the season.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 2 - 20 - 0 (2 targets) |
Miami uses Martin when they set up in a two tight end formation. He has decent hands, Pennington is not afraid to throw to him, and he's a good blocker.
| PK Dan Carpenter 3 - 4 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Carpenter hit field goals from 50, 35, and 27 yards but missed one from 48 yards late in the game. The rookie free agent from Montana, who beat out Jay Feely in training camp, was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November.
| MIA Rush Defense |
Miami bunched the line on first down and limited Marshawn Lynch to just 31 yards on 13 carries. The Bills rushed for a total of 84 yards, but Losman picked up most of that scrambling.
| MIA Pass Defense |
While the Dolphins did not intercept Losman, they sacked him four times, including two by Joey Porter. Miami also benefited from the Buffalo quarterback's wildness.
| QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 13 - 27 - 123 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 53 - 0 |
Losman has a strong arm because it's really hard to overthrow both Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish multiple times in the same game. The unofficial total was seven overthrown passes, but the worst came in the third quarter. Evans put on a double move and the corner grabbed him as he broke into the clear and streaked up field. Losman launched a rocket but no penalty was called because the pass was so far over thrown that it was ruled uncatchable. In the second quarter Losman over threw him on the sidelines but Evans leaped up, made an improbable one handed catch, but landed well out of bounds. It was the best catch you'll never see.
Losman had a few moments of clarity when he threw a good pass or scrambled away from the rush and hit a receiver for a first down, but they were too few. His one interception was especially costly, an under thrown pass in the end zone that killed their only serious scoring opportunity. In relief appearances this season Losman completed 26 of 38 for 313 yards with one TD and one INT, but this was his first start since November 2007. The former first round draft pick will be a free agent next season and has stated that he will not re-sign with Buffalo. To their credit, the Bills have expressed no interest in wanting him back.
| QB Trent Edwards |
Edwards was sidelined with a groin injury.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 13 - 31 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lynch was held in check by the Miami defense. He also flat out dropped two passes right in his hands that would have picked up rare Buffalo first downs to keep drives alive. With three games to play, Lynch has rushed for 875 yards.
| RB Fred Jackson |
Jackson was active and played in the game but was not statistically involved in the offense.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 5 - 58 - 0 (6 targets) |
Reed led all Buffalo receivers with five catches for 58 yards. He made a great one handed grab in the third quarter and turned it into the 23 yard gain. Receivers have the opportunity to make outstanding catches that make highlight shows when their quarterback is not accurate.
| WR Lee Evans, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (6 targets) |
Although targeted twice in the first half, Evans made his first catch in the third quarter. Three of the passes he missed were poorly thrown but Evans had at least one opportunity for a big play. He beat the corner and found himself streaking all alone toward the end zone only to see the pass overthrown by 15 yards.
In nine pervious games against Miami, Evans had eight touchdowns. Although he only averaged 7.7 yards per reception in this game, he is still on pace to average over 15 yards per catch for a fifth consecutive season.
| WR Roscoe Parrish, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (4 targets) |
On the third play of the Bills' first drive Losman tried to hit Parrish streaking down the left sideline but overthrew him. It was an sign of things to come. The Bills are still trying to figure out ways to utilize Parrish in their offense. He also returned two kickoffs for 40 yards and two punts for 11.
| WR Steve Johnson, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
The rookie from Kentucky made his one catch in the first quarter.
| WR James Hardy (1 targets) |
Hardy was hit hard just as his only target arrived in the first quarter but he fumbled the ball. Josh Reed recovered for an apparent first down, but the play was challenged. Review showed he never had possession in the first place and it was therefore just an incomplete pass. At 6'5" he would have made a better target for the Bills' ill fated fade route in the end zone instead of the 5' 10" Lee Evans.
| TE Derek Schouman, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Schouman caught one pass for five yards but was mainly a non factor in this game.
| TE Robert Royal (1 targets) |
Royal missed the last game with a hamstring injury but returned to the lineup. Unfortunately he dropped a pass in the third quarter that hit him in the hands and would have been a first down.
| PK Rian Lindell 1 - 1 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 3 points |
Lindell nailed his only field goal attempt from 40 yards out.
| BUF Rush Defense |
The Bills' offense only had the ball for about 22 minutes which left their defense out to dry. Still, while Miami rushed for 115 yards, they only averaged 3.4 yards per carry and neither Ronnie Brown nor Ricky Williams cracked the century mark.
| BUF Pass Defense |
Pennington performed surgery on the Bills secondary. He completed 23 of 29 for 180 yards and enabled Miami to control the ball for almost 38 minutes. Joey Porter had two sacks and now has 16.5 on the season.
