The Buffalo Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-21, improving to 3-0 on the season.
Josh Allen passed for 213 yards and three touchdowns, reaching 200 career passing touchdowns.
The loss drops the Dolphins to 0-3, increasing pressure on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are 3-0 for the second straight season.
The Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-21 on in a hard-fought ‘Thursday Night Football’ AFC East tilt. Buffalo’s defeated the Dolphins seven straight times, including the playoffs.
Allen passed for 213 yards and three touchdowns.
The Dolphins tied the matchup in the fourth quarter, however, the Bills scored the deciding, go-ahead touchdown after a Miami roughing the kicker call. A late interception by Tua Tagovailoa sealed the Dolphins’ comeback chances.
The loss dropped Miami to an 0-3 hole to begin the regular season, with questions surrounding Tagovailoa, Mike McDaniel and the rest of Miami’s players and personnel continuing to be asked.
USA TODAY Sports provides the winners and losers from the Thursday night AFC East matchup:
James Cook
The Bills running back rushed 19 times for 108 yards and one touchdown. He provided consistent offense through four quarters. He averaged an impressive 5.7 yards per carry.
Cook tallied eight runs for 73 yards in the first half.
Josh Allen on Thursday night
Allen is 8-0 as a starting quarterback in Thursday games.
Allen tied Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins for sixth fastest in NFL history to reach 200 career passing touchdowns during the win.
Allen completed 22 of 28 passes for 213 yards, adding three touchdowns, resulting in a 134.1 passer rating. It was just another night in the office for the Bills quarterback.
Terrel Bernard gets clutch interception
Late in the fourth quarter when Miami was approaching the end zone for a game-tying score, Bernard read Tua Tagovailoa’s eyes and stepped in front of the QB’s pass intended for Jaylen Waddle, successfully snagging the interception.
Bernard’s pick proved to be the final blow to Miami’s comeback bid.
Bills continue winning ways
The Bills are 3-0 for the second year in a row and fourth time since 2017. Buffalo’s won 13 consecutive regular-season home games, the longest active home winning streak in the NFL.
Losers
Tua Tagovailoa
Questions are beginning to circulate surrounding Tagovailoa’s standing as a franchise quarterback.
Tagovailoa’s gotten off to a slow start this season. He came into Week 3 with a 90.6 passer rating, which ranked in the bottom half among starting quarterbacks.
The Dolphins quarterback does deserve some credit for game-tying touchdown drives in the second and fourth quarters, but he threw a bad interception in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins were threatening to score.
Tagovailoa didn’t achieve 100 passing yards until his 26th pass of the night. He finished with 161 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception, resulting in an 83.2 passer rating. He averaged 4.6 yards per completion. He was under four yards per completion for most of the contest.
Mike McDaniel on the hot seat
McDaniel’s team fought hard throughout the game. Dolphins executives will certainly take the team’s effort into account, but McDaniel’s job might be in jeopardy. His seat seemingly gets hotter with every Miami loss.
The Dolphins offense
Despite two of the fastest wide receivers in the NFL at its disposal, the Dolphins offense lacks explosiveness. Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have elite arm strength, but in the past Miami’s offense was able to manufacture explosive plays with creative play designs, intermediate passes and occasional long balls. All of those have been nonexistent through the first three weeks of the season.
Zach Sieler
On fourth-and-7 with 10:20 left the fourth quarter, the Dolphins captain made a bone-headed decision when he ran into Bills punter Cameron Johnston on a desperate attempt to block the punt. Officials called Sieler for roughing the kicker and the penalty extended Buffalo’s drive.
The Bills scored a go-ahead touchdown five plays later to lift them to a 28-21 lead.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.