Josh Allen's 3 TD passes and Terrel
Bernard's pick secure Bills' 31-21 win over spiraling Dolphins
[September 19, 2025]
By JOHN WAWROW
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard
diagnosed the play as soon as Tua Tagovailoa dropped back in the
pocket.
With the game on the line, and the Dolphins threatening to tie the
score with three minutes left, Bernard bolted to his left and
stepped in front of receiver Jaylen Waddle to intercept Tagovailoa’s
pass in securing a 31-21 win and extend the Bills’ long run of
dominance over their AFC East rival on Thursday night.
“It’s honestly something that we have seen on tape,” the middle
linebacker said, crediting his position coach Al Holcomb for showing
film of similar plays this past week. “That’s one of their top
quick-game concepts. We’re in a three-deep zone and I just saw it
and broke on it. So yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
And credit rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker — filling in for
injured veteran Ed Oliver — for getting his arms up and deflecting
Tagovailoa’s pass.
Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes, including a go-ahead
15-yarder to Khalil Shakir with 7:17 left. James Cook scored on a
2-yard run and had 108 yards rushing in becoming the first player to
top 100 yards against Miami in 36 outings. And the Bills (3-0) have
now won 14 of 15 meetings over the Dolphins, and seven straight,
including playoffs.
“Good win, never easy,” coach Sean McDermott said of what was a
one-score outing before Matt Prater hit a 48-yard field goal with 22
seconds left.
“I thought the grit, the mental toughness of our football team was
on display throughout the game, particularly in the fourth quarter
there,” McDermott added.
Though the Dolphins were competitive, miscues and a lack of
discipline have them opening 0-3 for the first time since 2019, and
leading to further questions regarding coach Mike McDaniel’s job
security.
“I’m never proud of a loss. We came here to win, and I refuse to
take moral victories as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins,”
McDaniel said. “It wasn’t good enough, so that’s where I’m at.”
After coaching the team to the playoffs in each of his first two
seasons, McDaniel’s record has dropped to 8-13 since a wild-card
loss to Kansas City in 2023.
Tagovailoa’s interception — the game’s only turnover — came with
Miami down 28-21 and facing first and 10 at Buffalo’s 21. That
wasn’t the only miscue, however.
The momentum shifted with 10 minutes remaining and the score tied at
21.
With Buffalo punting from midfield on fourth-and-7, Miami defensive
tackle Zach Sieler was flagged for roughing punter Cameron Johnston.
The 15-yard penalty put Buffalo at the Miami 36 with Shakir scoring
five plays later.
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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs what the ball during
the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins,
Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian
Kraus)
“I’ve got to be better. I can’t make stupid errors
like that,” Sieler said.
Tagovailoa didn’t second-guess his read on the interception — his
10th in 10 outings against Buffalo — by instead crediting Bernard
for making a great play. The quarterback finished 23 of 34 for 146
yards with touchdown passes to Waddle and Tyreek Hill, while Ollie
Gordon scored on a 2-yard run.
As for the Dolphins level of urgency to win, the quarterback said:
“I wouldn’t say there was an emphasis to prove anything to anyone. I
would say there was an emotion of wanting to get this thing right
for each other.”
Allen finished 22 of 28 for 213 yards and improved his record to
14-2 over Miami, with 43 TD passes in those games. Buffalo has won
10 straight home meetings with the Dolphins in a run spanning
McDermott’s nine-year career.
Bernard’s interception boosted a defense that had struggled to get
Miami off the field; the Dolphins converted 10 of 15 third-down
opportunities.
Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid scored on a 20-yard catch, and rookie tight
end Jackson Hawes scored his first career TD on a 5-yard pass that
Allen released with a flick of the wrist while on the run.
Milestones
Cook extended his streak of scoring rushing TDs to seven straight
regular season games, matching the team record shared by three
players, including Cookie Gilchrist and O.J. Simpson. ... Allen has
now scored 301 touchdowns from scrimmage, and did so in his 127th
outing, passing Patrick Mahomes, who reached the 300-touchdown
plateau in 128 games. ... Buffalo has won 13 straight regular-season
home games dating to mid-November 2023, two short of the franchise
record set spanning the 1990-91 seasons.
Up next
Dolphins: Host the AFC East rival New York Jets in a Monday night
game on Sept. 29.
Bills: Continue their three-game homestand against the New Orleans
Saints on Sept. 28.
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