Buffalo Bills Had Dolphins Beat

The Buffalo Bills turnovers kept the Miami Dolphins in the game. Those turnovers kept Miami within striking distance early in the second half. The Dolphins cashed in every time as Buffalo lost their first division game of the season.

The Bills had a 16-7 lead in the third quarter. They saw it slip away as Miami scored 18 unanswered points to win 25-16.

"When you get that many big plays and that many turnovers it's hard to recover," said head coach Dick Jauron. "It is hard to recover."

"I think a lot of it had to do with field position and a lot of little mistakes and missed assignments and it's kind of frustrating," said Trent Edwards. "We made mistakes that got us beat and that ís what ís frustrating. We didn't play our best game and I'd rather walk off that field playing the best game we can and losing. It's frustrating."

"I would call it sloppy," said Donte Whitner. "We had mental lapses out there at times. Everything is correctable, but we didn't play our "A" game and we still had an opportunity to win the game."

The Bills have a lot to be proud of in that loss. Their defense gave up only three points off of their three second half turnovers.

The Bills didn't want to blow a big lead at the start of division play. That loss was the Bills second of the year out of seven games.

The Bills seemed to be in control as they put together eight plays that went 70 yards. Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson were responsible for most of the Bills yardage of the game.

After a seven-yard run by Jackson set up 1st-and-goal from the Miami eight-yard line, Lynch did the rest with a nifty cutback to the end zone to increase Buffaloes halftime lead to nine points.

The scoring run by Lynch marked the seventh straight game in which Buffalo scored at least one rushing touchdown this year.

The lead did not last long. Ted Ginn's 64-yard reception on the next play put Miami in scoring position. The Dolphins only got three points on the possession because of a sack and a pass that was batted down.

Ginn was a big problem for Buffalo. He finished with 175 yards on seven receptions.

Terrence McGee had problems keeping Ginn under wraps.

After a three-and-out by Buffaloes offense, the Dolphins took the lead with a 69-yard drive. Ginn again contributed with a 19-yard reception and Pennington got first downs on his next two completions to set up 1st-and-goal at the Bills eight-yard line. Two plays later Ricky Williams ran in from three yards out giving Miami their first lead since the second quarter.

The Bills defense stiffened as they sent the Dolphins offense three-and-out, but Miami was still close enough for Carpenter to put three more on the board to give the Dolphins a four-point lead early in the fourth.

The four-point deficit only got worse for Buffalo. In an effort to gain the first down on a 3rd-and-1 from the Dolphins 33, Trent Edwards called a quick snap and reached out to extend the ball past the first down marker, but was stripped in the process and Joey Porter recovered with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

The Bills defense was able to keep the fumble from turning into more points for Miami. Buffalo's QB was sacked for a safety. Miami kicked a field goal towards the end of the game for a nine-point win.

Buffalo has a chance to win a division game when they host the New York Jets.