The Miami Dolphins dropped to 8-6 on the season when they loss, 32-29, against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night.
Ahead of the matchup, we offered our weekly ranking and analysis of the five biggest storylines, and now it's time to revisit those to see how they played out:
1. Watching the Weather
BEFORE THE GAME: If you talk to folks in Buffalo, they'll tell you the intense South Florida heat was a factor when the Dolphins defeated the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium in September, but now it's their turn to get weather conditions with which they're more accustomed. We became familiar this week with the term "lake effect snow" and the possibility is that we could have blizzard-like conditions that are going to make for pretty TV viewing but maybe not optimum football. And, yes, this game could come down to which team handles the element better. Or maybe Highmark Stadium will be spared heavy snow and it will be just another December game in Buffalo.
DURING THE GAME: We did get the "lake effect snow" that was forecast, but it didn't show up until the fourth quarter when it produced a really cool visual on television. It's hard to say it played any role in how the game played out, however, though, we did see a couple of players slide at the conclusion of plays. For the first three quarters, it was cold at Highmark Stadium, but there was nothing that adversely affected either team.
2. Can the Dolphins Get the Passing Game Back on Track?
BEFORE THE GAME: The weather conditions might not make this easy, but the Dolphins need to get more consistent production out of their passing game after the two disappointing performances against the 49ers and Chargers. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was off the mark against San Francisco and seemed to try to force too many passes downfield against L.A., so maybe weather conditions forcing both teams to throw shorter passes wouldn't be the worst thing for the Dolphins.
DURING THE GAME: While there still were some hiccups, most notably the failure of receivers to make non-routine catches, there was a vast improvement over what the Dolphins passing game produced against the 49ers or the Chargers. Tua Tagovailoa went back to having a passer rating over 100 and had a few long completions, including the 67-yard bomb to Jaylen Waddle. Against a very good Buffalo defense, it was a nice comeback performance for the passing game, even though it wasn't quite back to peak efficiency.
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3. Protecting Tua
BEFORE THE GAME: It's probably a good thing that no reporter brought this up during Tua Tagovailoa's media session this week because it would have brought back bad memories, but facing the Bills literally has been painful for him. In his last three starts against Buffalo, Tua sustained broken ribs after being drilled by A.J. Epenesa, he sustained an injury to his throwing hand in the Halloween 2021 game, and we don't need to remind Dolphins fans about the Matt Milano hit and its aftermath during the Week 3 game this season. The Bills don't have Von Miller anymore this season, but their pass rush really hasn't dipped very much since he was injured. If the Dolphins are going to have success on offense, they need to protect their quarterback.
DURING THE GAME: Whatever problems there were in the passing game, they certainly didn't center around the pass protection — as they've done in the past against the Bills. Tagovailoa was sacked twice in the game and the Bills were credited with four QB hits, but he was given ample time on several occasions and maybe most importantly didn't take a big hit this time.
4. Spotlight on the Special Teams
BEFORE THE GAME: Seems like we highlight the special teams every week in this spot, but it could be particularly significant in a game where wind and snow could be a factor. Punter Thomas Morstead had one of the biggest plays of the game in the Week 3 meeting with his incredible free kick after the "butt punt," and it might take more big plays from the kicking game for the Dolphins to pull off the upset.
DURING THE GAME: The Dolphins certainly didn't lose the special teams battle in this game because Jason Sanders continued his late-season rebound by going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including a long of 47 yards, and they also got a huge break on a roughing-the-punter penalty against the Bills. On the down side, the one long return of the game was a 36-yard kickoff return by Buffalo.
5. The Dolphins defense vs. Josh Allen
BEFORE THE GAME: The Dolphins are coming off a game where Chargers QB Justin Herbert was the best player on the field, but the defense at the very least didn't make it easy on him with constant pressure that flushed him out of the pocket and made him make the tough throws. The Dolphins need that same kind of effort against Josh Allen, who has been really tough on him since entering the league in 2018. It's also important to remember the Dolphins shut down Allen at Highmark Stadium in the first half of last season, but the defense wasn't able to take advantage and the result was a 3-3 halftime score before the Bills went on to a 26-11 victory. Hard as it might be, the Dolphins need that kind of effort for the full game.
DURING THE GAME: The Dolphins defense had the answer for Allen in the third quarter, and that allowed them to rebound from a 21-13 halftime deficit to take a 26-21 lead, but they had no answers in the fourth quarter. Like Herbert the week before, Allen just made a bunch of plays off script to hurt the Dolphins. He was borderline brilliant in that fourth quarter on the game-tying and game-winning drives, and his 44-yard run was among the biggest plays of the game. It looked like the Josh Allen who was so effective throughout the 2021 season and in the playoffs, not the Josh Allen that the Dolphins solved in Week 3 of this season.
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