Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills held off a Miami Dolphins fightback to secure their place in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs; watch Super Wild Card weekend conclude on Monday night when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Dallas Cowboys
Sunday 15 January 2023 23:42, UK
Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and the Buffalo defense stood firm in the fourth quarter as the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 34-31 in Sunday's AFC Wild Card clash.
The second-seeded Bills forced the Dolphins into a fourth-and-one near midfield late in the game before Miami took too long getting to the line of scrimmage to snap the ball, causing a delay-of-game penalty after which Skylar Thompson's pass was broken up by Kaiir Elam on fourth-and-six.
Buffalo running back Devin Singletary subsequently reached the line to move the chains on third-and-seven and ice the victory, setting up a home Divisional Round game next weekend.
Allen went 23-for-39 passing for 352 yards and had three total giveaways, while Stefon Diggs caught seven passes for 114 yards, and Gabe Davis had six-for-113 and a touchdown.
Rookie quarterback Thompson, starting for Miami in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater, finished 18-for-45 for 220 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Bills led 17-3 during the second quarter, but two interceptions and a lost fumble by Allen allowed the Dolphins to surge ahead shortly after half-time.
The first half had seen Xavien Howard make a fingertip interception on a deep pass before returning it 49 yards into Buffalo territory, Miami converting a fourth down to set up Jason Sanders' 48-yard field goal with 2.15 to play.
Miami then forced a three-and-out and Cedrick Wilson Jr returned the punt 50 yards to set up Sanders' third field goal of the day, this time from 37 yards with 1:15 on the clock.
Allen targeted Cole Beasley on the ensuing drive only for the ball to bounce off his hands and into that of Jevon Holland, who returned it 29 yards to the Buffalo 18.
Thompson found Mike Gesicki for a seven-yard touchdown before completing another pass to Hill for the game-tying two-point conversion.
With 33 seconds to spare, the Bills drove downfield, and Diggs appeared to haul in a touchdown down the left side of the end zone, but he did not have complete control before stepping out of bounds and officials would not review it.
The hectic half ended with Bass' 39-yard field goal for a 20-17 Buffalo lead.
On Buffalo's first play on offense of the second half Eric Rowe blitzed Allen and jarred the ball loose. Zach Sieler reacting first to return it five yards for a touchdown for Miami's first lead at 24-20.
After Elam intercepted a Thompson pass, Buffalo capitalised with Beasley's six-yard touchdown catch. The extra point made it 27-24 Bills with 5:18 left in the third.
Davis added a 23-yard catch in the back-left corner of the end zone to restore the Bills' double-digit lead at 34-24 with 2:07 left in the third.
The Dolphins travelled 75 yards on their next drive, and Wilson scored from one yard to cut the deficit to three with 10:53 to play, but they could not get closer.
The Bills continue their season next weekend when they face either the Cincinnati Bengals or Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round.
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