The Dolphins started hot and finished strong against the Buffalo Bills in a 30-13 win Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. Offense, defense and special teams brough their A game as the Dolphins opened with a 16-point lead in the first half and scored two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
We go Inside the Numbers, presented by BDO, to look at the most notable individual metrics, milestones and more from the Dolphins win over the Bills.
Beating Buffalo
Miami defeated Buffalo 30-13 for the Dolphins' third win of the season on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. The victory keeps the Dolphins in front of their AFC East rival in the all-time series with a 63-61-1 record advantage.
It marked the Dolphins' first victory over Buffalo since Miami's 21-19 win over the Bills in September 2022. The 17-point scoring margin is the Dolphins' largest against the Bills since Miami's 35-8 victory over Buffalo in November 2011.
Defensive dominance
Miami's defense had one of its best performances of the season on Sunday, holding Buffalo to just 13 points, forcing three turnovers and sacking Bills quarterback Josh Allen three times. The Bills entered Week 10 averaging 29.4 points per game, the third-best mark in the NFL. The 13 points scored was the lowest mark for Buffalo since September 2024.
Several players had a hand in the three turnovers forced in the win. Cornerback Jack Jones punched the ball loose from Bills running back James Cook. His position mate, Juju Brents, recovered the fumble in addition to allowing just two catches on five targets for 12 yards. Jones also had two tackles for loss in the game.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks forced the second fumble of the game for the Miami defense. He racked up 12 tackles, two for a loss, and the forced fumble. Brooks is the only player in the NFL to record 12 stops, two tackles for loss and force a fumble in a game this season. He surpassed the 100-tackle mark on the year for the fifth-consecutive season and went over 750 tackles (760) in his career. He leads the NFL with 105 tackles this season.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered a fumble and made a critical tackle on a fourth quarter two-point conversion attempt. Fellow safety Ifeatu Melifonwu secured his first interception of the season, putting an end to a nine-minute drive by Buffalo and preserving the shutout through three quarters. Buffalo didn't score in the game until their eighth possession.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler picked up his first sack of the season. Linebackers Willie Gay and Bradley Chubb had the other two sacks. Chubb led all NFL defenders in Week 10 in quarterback pressures with 10, according to Pro Football Focus.
Three-headed offensive monster
The Dolphins offensive stars lit up the scoreboard Sunday. Running back De'Von Achane scored a pair of touchdowns and tallied 225 yards from scrimmage, the second-highest total of his career.
Achane brought his season total to five rushing touchdowns with his two scores against Buffalo. He is just the third player in NFL history to have at least five rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns in each of his first three seasons, joining Abner Hayes (1960-62) and Roger Craig (1983-85).
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdown passes. It was his sixth multi-touchdown pass game of the season and the 33rd of his career. His second touchdown pass was a 38-yard strike to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. It marked Tagovailoa's third-passing touchdown of at least 35 yards this season, tied for the fourth most in the NFL.
The touchdown was the fourth catch by Waddle of at least 35 yards since Week 5. Waddle is 10th in the NFL with 667 receiving yards.
Winning in the trenches
The Dolphins offensive line protected Tagovailoa, holding the Bills without a sack in the game. It marked the third time this season the Dolphins didn't allow a sack – tied for the second-most games without allowing a sack in the NFL this season.
Miami ran for a season-high 197 yards in the win. The Dolphins have had 425 rushing yards in the last three games, the sixth-highest total in the league over that span.
Milestones and achievements
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler made his 75th career start.
Fullback Alec Ingold appeared in his 100th career game. Ingold is one of just five active fullbacks to appear in 100 career games (Kyle Juszczyk, SF – 198, Michael Burton, Den. – 147, C.J. Ham, Min. – 132, Patrick Ricard, Bal. – 123).
