TUA TAGOVAILOA WALKED off a first-half injury and the Miami Dolphins’ defence eventually shut down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills to grind out a 21-19 victory in a hard-fought, thrilling NFL divisional battle on Sunday.
A groggy Tagovailoa looked to be in bad shape after hitting his head on the turf and leaving field for treatment at the end of the first half at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, visibly stumbling after he returned to his feet from a tackle.
However, the Miami quarterback returned after half-time to help the Dolphins move to 3-0 at the top of the AFC East as the Bills suffered their first loss of the season.
#Tua will be ruled out for @MiamiDolphins vs @BuffaloBills.
— David J. Chao - ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 25, 2022
Outward signs of head injury means ruled out even if clears the concussion protocol. pic.twitter.com/Lj2AKO5D1A
Bills quarterback Allen finished with 400 passing yards and two touchdowns but was found lacking on Buffalo’s final two drives as they chased a potentially game-winning touchdown.
Miami had taken a 21-17 lead after Chase Edmonds crashed over from close range near the end of the fourth quarter.
Allen took Buffalo upfield on the next possession, but missed a wide open Isaiah McKenzie in the end zone on fourth down as a gilt-edged chance went begging.
WE HAVE THE FIRST EVER ‘BUTT PUNT’ pic.twitter.com/1183HbEqpt
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) September 25, 2022
Buffalo’s defence forced Miami to concede a safety on a ‘butt punt’ — Thomas Morstead literally booted the ball into a teammate’s backside — to close the gap to 21-19, leaving Buffalo one last chance to snatch victory as the seconds ticked down.
The botched punt drew comparisons with Mark Sanchez’s ‘Butt Fumble’ for the New York Jets on Thanksgiving Day in 2012.
However, the Bills’ attempts to get the ball into field-goal range fell short when McKenzie gathered an Allen pass but was unable to reach out of bounds to stop the clock.
The Bills ran out of time to spike the ball to halt play and time expired, much to the fury of Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in the coaches’ booth.
Bills OC Ken Dorsey was not happy at the end of the game. pic.twitter.com/F7Jp5IMlFP
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 25, 2022
“I think it’s so cool to see what our team is capable of,” Tagovailoa said afterwards. “Last week you saw what our offence could do, but this week you can see our defense is capable of stepping up and being able to finish a tough game like that.
“We’re starting to find our identity as a team.”
Tagovailoa meanwhile played down the injury that forced him to leave the field.
“I feel good,” he said. “I’ll get them checked but for the most part it feels good, especially after a win.”
In other early games, the Kansas City Chiefs saw their unbeaten start to the season come to an end in a 20-17 defeat on the road to the Indianapolis Colts.
Colts quarterback Matt Ryan threw two touchdowns and 222 yards — including a clutch game-winning pass to Jelani Woods with 24 seconds remaining — to seal victory for the Colts.
“Our defense and special teams kept us in it the entire day and we just kept fighting and battling and had the belief that we were going to win,” said Ryan.
“That’s huge for us today. Hopefully we can build on that. But I’m proud of the guys — there was no quit in the fight,” the 37-year-old veteran added.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 262 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Elsewhere, Lamar Jackson threw four touchdowns and 218 passing yards in the Baltimore Ravens’ 37-26 win over the New England Patriots, whose quarterback Mac Jones suffered a leg injury on his final pass attempt. The Philadelphia Eagles improved to 3-0 with a 24-8 defeat of the Washington Commanders in an NFC East battle.
NFL results (early Sunday fixtures)
- Dolphins 21-19 Bills
- Patriots 26-37 Ravens
- Vikings 28-24 Lions
- Commanders 8-24 Eagles
- Colts 20-17 Chiefs
- Bears 23-20 Texans
