Sept. 13 – James Cook scored three touchdowns and JaMarcus Ingram threw the first two interceptions of his career as the Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 31-10 in Miami Gardens, Florida on Thursday.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted three times, including a six-point play by Ingram early in the third quarter that blew the game open. Tagovailoa was later injured in a collision with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin and exited the game under his own power.
Skylar Thompson finished the game at quarterback for Miami. Devon Aichen led the Dolphins with 96 yards on 22 carries and seven catches for 69 yards and a score.
Cooks, who rushed for two touchdowns last season, ran for 78 yards and two scores for the Bills (2-0) on Thursday. Josh Allen completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown — Cooks also scored.
Buffalo defeated Miami (1-1) for the 12th time in their last 13 games (regular season and playoffs).
When Miami had the ball for the first time in the second half, Tagovailoa was under pressure and tried to throw a pass out of bounds, but the ball didn’t go far and Ingram easily picked it off and caught the ball for 31 yards.
Tagovailoa led the Dolphins’ rush onto the field on the next play, capping a 6-yard run by the quarterback on fourth-and-4 at the Buffalo 13. Instead of sliding, however, he fell headlong into Hamlin’s arms and remained on the ground. Tagovailoa, who has a history of brain trauma, was attended to by trainers and trainers before heading to the locker room.
Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo kept Miami out of the end zone when Von Miller sacked Thompson on fourth and goal. The Dolphins moved the ball downfield twice more as the game ended.
Tagovailoa’s first interception came early when his pass bounced off its intended target and into Ingram’s hands. Six plays later, on fourth-and-3, Allen hit Cook for a 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Miami responded with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, capped by Tagovailoa’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Ahearn to tie the game.
Tagovailoa’s second down was heavily overthrown and went straight to cornerback Christian Benford on the Dolphins’ next possession. Tyler Bass’s 43-yard field goal gave Buffalo a 10–7 lead with 12:41 left in the half.
Allen then started a drive down the right sideline and threw a 33-yard pass to running back Ty Johnson, who fell on Miami’s No. 1 jersey. Next, Cook scored over the middle and the extra point rewrote the score to 17–7.
The Dolphins tried to convert fourth-and-2 near midfield, but Ed Oliver intercepted Tagovailoa with 3:45 remaining in the half. On the next play, Cook ran 49 yards and scored.
The Dolphins only managed a 34-yard field goal by Jason Sanders before halftime to make it 24–10.
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