ORCHARD PARK – Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t give defenses very long to get a bead on what he’s about to do because on the bulk of his passing attempts, it’s a quick drop, a quick read and the ball is out of his hand.
So when it came time for Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard to make the biggest play of Thursday night’s AFC East battle at Highmark Stadium, he had to rely on the film study he had done in the brief prep time he had before the game, and his lightning quick instincts because everything happened so fast.
That combination put him in the right spot at the right time to step in front of Tagovailoa’s pass intended for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and intercept it with three minutes left to play, all but sealing the Bills’ 31-21 victory over the Dolphins.
“It’s honestly something that we have seen on tape,” Bernard said. “It’s a common route around the league. But I want to give a shout-out to Al Holcomb, the linebacker’s coach. He put it on tape a few times and we’ve worked that play, our offense runs that play, and he basically told me if I see it, go.”
Bernard, who has been a turnover machine ever since he worked his way into the starting lineup in 2023, jumped the route and Tagovailoa – pressured on the play by rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker who appeared to tip the pass – threw the ball right to Bernard.
“Great read by TB, great rush and coverage example for our players to learn from,” coach Sean McDermott said. “There’s a certain thing we look for in that style of coverage. And TB’s solid, which is growth. Last week we had two examples of a similar type of indicator, and we didn’t see it, so that’s growth and development. That’s what coaches are here for. And the players have done a phenomenal job of being coachable, like TB in particular.”
Things weren’t always pretty for Buffalo’s defense, particularly on third down where the struggles were immense and maddening, but just like 2024 when they lived on takeaways, the defense came up with one at the most opportune time.
“I think it’s just the mindset, and we talk about it all the time,” Bernard said. “The ball is the most important thing. We know it’s not going to be perfect, offenses around the league are good. That’s a known fact. But for us, it comes down to taking the ball away, especially in the critical moments of the game. That’s something that we preach and something that we believe in and something that we’ve been pretty good at. And I think that’s just the philosophy of who we are.”
Here are my main takeaways from the game:
Bad teams do dumb things
That sort of describes the 2025 Dolphins, a team that has done plenty of dumb things in losing its first three games of the season, and another glaring error came midway through the fourth quarter.
Miami’s defense was stifling Buffalo’s offense and it forced a punt with a little more than 10 minutes to play and the score tied at 21-21. But defensive tackle Zach Sieler, one of the Dolphins leaders and best players, inexplicably plowed into punter Cameron Johnston which gave the Bills an automatic first down at the Dolphins 36.
Five plays later Josh Allen threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir to put the Bills back on top and that proved to be the winning score.
And while the Tagovailoa interception on the following possession wasn’t a dumb play but more a great play by Bernard, it was also the kind of mistake that bad teams make, driving for the tying to score and then turning it over.
A laugher got a bit uncomfortable
The Bills seemed ready to run the Dolphins out of the building in the second quarter up 14-7 and driving for a third consecutive touchdown. But offensive coordinator Joe Brady made a bad play call, a run to James Cook on second-and-8 at the Miami 14 which got blown up.
That was followed by Allen taking a sack, and then Matt Prater shanked a 39-yard field goal and the game turned on a dime with that sequence. Miami proceeded to drive 71 yards to the tying touchdown, converting five third downs along the way, and suddenly it was 14-14 and that set up a taut second half.
“Just have to understand that I can’t take a sack there and move us backwards,” Allen said.
However, that wasn’t the problem. The run call and then failing to block it properly was the play that derailed the series and the Bills were fortunate that those lost points didn’t cost them the game.
Third-down defense was abysmal
The Bills’ defense was one of the NFL’s worst on third down in 2024, it was bad in Week 1 against the Ravens, and after getting fat against the anemic Jets in Week 2, they were back to being terrible Thursday night.
Miami converted all three of its third downs on its first possession of the night which ended with Ollie Gordon scoring on a third-and-goal run from the 2. And then to end the half, the Bills gave up five third-down conversions which allowed the Dolphins to drive 71 yards in 16 plays to tie the game going into halftime.
It’s the same old problem, too, as the third-and-longs killed them. On that drive at the end of the first half, Tyreek Hill got open and converted a third-and-12 with a 19-yard catch, and then did it again on a third-and-10 with a 13-yard reception. Later in that drive, the typically immobile Tagovailoa got loose for an eight-yard scramble on third-and-7, and finally, Hill converted a third-and-3 to set up the TD to Waddle with eight seconds left.
Things improved in the second half, but the Dolphins still finished 10 of 15 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down, that conversion coming on the possession where they scored the tying touchdown with 12:18 to play.
“There’s a couple of times when we have them and we miss a tackle here, (Tua) gets out of the pocket, creates a play,” Bernard said. “So that’s really what it comes back down to. I know we weren’t great at all on third down. And that was really the emphasis at halftime. We felt like we were winning first and second down, getting to third-and-long, and just weren’t detailed and finishing those drives.”
Tre’Davious White was a blast from the past
The veteran cornerback missed the opener against the Ravens with a groin injury, then had almost nothing to do last week against the anemic Jets, so this was going to be his first big test in his return to the Bills.
And while the Buffalo defense struggled on third down, White had a very good game as he was around the ball constantly and not only was strong in coverage, he showed great instincts and a willingness to tackle in run support, something that wasn’t always his strong suit even in his All-Pro days.
He finished with five tackles, one for lost yardage, and he broke up a pass and he was part of a coverage unit that limited Tagovailoa to 146 yards passing.
Dalton Kincaid was a focal point
The third-year tight end was clearly a player the Bills were trying to find mismatches for and he came through with a nice game.
On the opening possession Kincaid converted a first down with a nine-yard catch, then finished the drive by getting open on the left side, reeling in Allen’s pass and taking it to the end zone to complete a 20-yard play. It was exactly the kind of play we’ve been expecting Kincaid to make since he arrived as a first-round pick in 2023.
He had a 12-yard reception later in the first quarter, and then in the third he caught a 19-yarder and nearly scored before getting drilled at the 1. He finished with five catches for 66 yards, though his night didn’t end well.
He committed a brutal holding penalty with less than three minutes remaining on the first play after Bernard’s interception and that might have been costly if not for Elijah Moore bailing him out with a clutch 30-yard catch and run for the first down that put the game away.
Matt Prater redeemed himself
The Bills’ 41-year-old kicker had been perfect in the first two weeks, but he completely mis-hit his lone field goal attempt in the second quarter, part of the sequence that got the Dolphins back into the game.
However, Prater made all four of his extra points and then with 22 seconds left, McDermott decided to have him attempt a 48-yard field goal. The Bills could have pooch-punted to pin the Dolphins back with no timeouts, but McDermott went for the gut punch and Prater nailed the kick.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 6 observations, players who stood out in Bills’ Week 3 win over feisty Dolphins
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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