Reaction to the Bills and Dolphins on TNF

After a big AFC East Thursday Night Football Showdown, the Buffalo Bills would be the team to come out on top of the Miami Dolphins. The Bills would win this game on the road and show the entire league that they are on a mission to get back to competing for the AFC crown with the Chiefs. With the Bills being the first team to get to 2-0 in this young NFL season, here are some takeaways from this game.

The Miami Defense Couldn’t Handle the Bills Rushing Attack

James Cook ran wild in this game. The problems started with the Dolphins defensive line. They would get pushed back right off the snap which never gave the linebackers a chance to go and fill the gaps to make a play on Cook. This dominant push by the Bills' offensive line really cleared the way for Cook and this Bills rushing game all night long. James Cook would end the game with 95 yards and 3 TDs with only 12 total touches! For reference, James Cook only had 2 rushing TDs all of last year, but he managed to get more than that in this one game alone.

Tua Got Gun-shy and Stopped Throwing Downfield

After Tua threw a few ugly interceptions, the Dolphins stopped throwing the ball downfield. Even with one last drive before the end of the first half, the Dolphins opted to run the ball and throw the ball short instead of pushing the ball downfield. Tua couldn’t navigate the pocket well and it resulted in him taking a lot of hits throughout the game. This also led to Tua attempting to take off and taking an unnecessary hit that resulted in another concussion for Tua.

Miami is in Trouble!

There isn’t much that could’ve gone worse for Miami in this game. Their defense got run over, their offense line couldn’t stop the Bills’ pass rush, and they lost Tua to yet another concussion. Perhaps the most concerning and impactful effect of this game is the Tua injury. Tua has a long history of head injuries throughout his career. A few years ago, he suffered so many head-related injuries that he was close to retiring from the league for good. I opposed the Dolphins' decision to resign Tua to a big deal given his lack of playoff success and injury history. However, now the Dolphins are stuck with their $53 million-a-year quarterback who continually can’t stay on the field.