The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills took the field on Thursday Night Football with the two franchises headed in opposite directions. Buffalo continues to look like a Super Bowl, riding a wave of confidence early in the season behind exceptional play. Meanwhile, Miami is stuck in crisis mode as its head coach and general manager are both on the hot seat.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from Thursday night’s Dolphins vs Bills matchup, with Buffalo winning 31-21 in a game that was closer than expected.
Winner: James Cook is Taking His Game to the Next Level
Already a two-time Pro Bowl selection who tied for the NFL lead in rushing touchdowns last season, James Cook thrived on Thursday Night Football. He was the centerpiece of Buffalo’s offense early, finding the end zone in the third quarter and averaging 7.6 yards per carry on his first 10 touches. Cook also delivered over 80 yards after first contact tonight. Thursday night also marked the fifth time since Week 5 of last season that Cook rushed for 100-plus yards and a touchdown while averaging over 5.6 yards per carry.
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Loser: Tua Tagovailoa is a Bigger Problem than Mike McDaniel
If Miami’s season continues on this trajectory, general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel will certainly be fired. We can blame the culture issues in Miami on McDaniel and the roster assembled by Grier leaves a lot to be desired, but you can only do so much with Tua Tagovailoa under center. As we saw again on Thursday Night Football. When Buffalo took away Tagovailoa’s first read, that’s often when he ran out of answers. While the Bills’ pass rush didn’t generate a ton of pressure, the times they did showed how rattled Tagovailoa can get with defenders around him and how limited he is when that happens. Even on a night when Miami’s offense put up 21 points, Tagovailoa couldn’t even clear 140 passing yards on his first 32 attempts. Tagovailoa at quarterback feels like tying a hand behind McDaniels’ back as a play-caller. Unfortunately for him, he’ll probably get fired for the results this year and the Dolphins are stuck with Tagovailoa through 2026.
- Tua Tagovailoa stats vs Bills: 23-of-35, 161 passing yards, 4.6 ypa, 2-1 TD-INT, 83.2 QB rating
Related: Miami Dolphins Coaching Candidates to Replace Mike McDaniel
Winner: Dalton Kincaid Demonstrates Why He Should be a Big Part of the Buffalo Bills’ Offense
Coming into Thursday Night Football, Dawson Knox played 56 percent of the Bills’ offensive snaps with Dalton Kincaid on the field for 49 percent of snaps. While this is still a timeshare situation, Kincaid is continuing to prove why he should be one of the most used pass-catchers for Josh Allen moving forward. Kincaid led the team in receptions and eclipsed 65 receiving yards with a touchdown. Compare that to last season, when he never had more than 60 receiving yards in a game and his three 50-yard performances came without a trip to the end zone. While his work in the passing game went away in the second half, Kincaid also had the key block on the go-ahead touchdown by Khalil Shakir in the fourth quarter.
Read More: NFL Power Rankings 2025, see where Bills and Dolphins Sit
Loser: Buffalo’s Defense Displaying Signs of Trouble
Entering Week 3, Miami’s offense had a 45 percent third-down conversion rate (9-for-20) with 28 first downs. Buffalo’s defense allowed Miami to go 10-for-15 on third-down attempts, giving up 17 first downs—the second time this season that a Bills opponent had 17 or more first downs. Statistically, Buffalo came into the night with the best third-down defense (27.3 percent conversion rate), though much of that was due to opponents moving the chains on first and second down.
Related: Miami Dolphins Could Fire Mike McDaniel, Chris Grier Midseason
The Bills’ pass rush also failed to record a single sack of Tagovailoa, and his game-sealing interception was much more of a mistake than a great defensive play. Miami also went 3-for-3 in the red zone. All in all, this is the kind of performance that raises more questions about how Buffalo’s defense will fare against teams like the Buccaneers (Nov. 16) and Eagles (Dec. 26).
Winner: Ollie Gordon Shows Some Promise
Miami welcomed back Jaylen Wright on Thursday Night Football, which many thought would have ended the early run for rookie Ollie Gordon. Instead, Wright didn’t see the field, and Gordon scored his first career touchdown. A sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Gordon (4.2 yards per carry) performed well in the short-yardage role. While it’s still probable that Wright will soon resume his duties as De’Von Achane’s primary backup, Gordon showed tonight that he should get a few more opportunities in short-yardage situations.
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025, see where Bills and Dolphins Land
