Frankie Fins Fan Week 13 Wrap up: A Must Win
At 5-6, the Miami Dolphins have no more time to mess around, they need to finish strong or have another season in NFL hell. With the Patriots coming to Miami next week and games against the Vikings and Jaguars down the line, the Dolphins faced a must-win as they hosted the Buffalo Bills. A loss and the season would have been over. The Bills a team with a terrible offense is a team the Dolphins should defeat easily if they are in fact a true playoff contender, though realistic fans know they are a pretender.
Wearing their beautiful throwback uniforms and the true uniforms that the Dolphins should wear every week, the game got off to a perfect start, going 75 yards in ten plays for a touchdown, with DeVante Parker catching an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill. It was Parker’s first touchdown of the season. However, once again they could not build on it as their offense went back into their shell. The Bills would get a Josh Allen to Zay Jones touchdown in the second quarter but still led after Stephen Hauschka. The Dolphins special teams helped set up their second score as Isaiah McKenzie muffed a punt by Matt Haack, giving the Dolphins the ball at the Buffalo 36. They would go on to score a touchdown with Kenyan Drake catching a floater from Tannehill for a three-yard score.
Leading 14-6 at the half, the Dolphins offense continued to underwhelm in the second half as Haushcka’s field goal cut the margin to 14-9. In the fourth quarter, Buffalo surged in front, as the Dolphins traded turnovers for the second straight week as Tannehill gave the ball back on the first play after Xavien Howard made a pick at the Miami 41, foolishly trying to go deep. Following Micah Hyde’s interception, the Bills went 83 yards in six plays with Allen connecting with Zay Jones again and successfully getting the two-point conversion to go up 17-14.
Trailing for the first time Miami played with urgency for the first time since early in the game, and shazam they scored, going 75 yards in six plays with the help of a big pass interference call as Kenny Stills reeled in a 13-yard reception to regain the lead. That was the last noise Miami made on offense as they tried to sit on the lead. The Bills had their chances as Hauschka missed a 55-yard field goal attempt. They then drove down to the Miami 30, with no timeouts. It appeared the Dolphins were heading for disaster as Zay Jones got the ball to the Dolphins six-yard line, but replay saved the day and the ball was ruled incomplete, setting up fourth-down and 11. The Bills go what they wanted on fourth down as Josh Allen scrambled around and found Charles Clay wide open in the end zone, but the throw came up a tad short as Clay could not make the diving catch as Miami barely hung on for a 21-17 win.
The Dolphins won, but don’t be fooled at 6-6 they are not a playoff team and next week should show that. This is what happens when you are in NFL you have to be happy hanging on and beating teams like the Bills. Today’s star player is Matt Hack, whose punting continually pinned Buffalo deep and set up a score with a muff.