Coming into Super Wild Card Weekend in the 2023 NFL playoffs, the Las Vegas oddsmakers had the Miami Dolphins as the biggest underdog of the weekend. That said, Miami surprised most fans who watched their 31-34 loss to the Bills as they came into their divisional showdown as double-digit underdogs.
The Dolphins came into this playoff matchup with their third-string quarterback, rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson; Thompson did a tremendous job of giving his team a chance to win in just his second career start. The quarterback on the other side, Josh Allen, did have some typical Allen moments but also many uncharacteristic moments as the Dolphins defense was all over the field as Miami sacked the all-pro signal-caller seven times and picked him off twice in this AFC East division showdown.
Zach Sieler, who has had an all-pro caliber season, scored a touchdown in the game on a fumble recovery and was also the leading sack-getter for Miami with two on the day; also adding sacks were Jaelan Phillips, Eric Rowe, Jerome Baker, Christian Wilkins, Elijah Campbell, and Bradley Chubb.
Superstar safety Jevon Holland was part of the interception department for Miami as he picked off Allen after stellar coverage by undrafted rookie Kader Kohou; Pro-Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard also had an INT in the game.
As for the Bills defense, all-pro linebacker Matt Milano joined Sieler with two sacks; Boogie Basham and Ed Oliver also contributed to that department for Buffalo.
Two of Buffalo’s touchdown scorers were two wideouts in, Gabe Davis and Cole Beasley. In contrast, the other receiving touchdowns in the game came from a pair of tight ends in Buffalo’s Dawson Knox and Miami’s Mike Gesicki.
The Bills took an early 17-0 lead in this one, but the Dolphins stormed back to tie it and eventually jumped ahead 24-20 at the beginning of the third quarter. The Bills would end up scoring 14 straight points to take a commanding ten-point lead, while the Dolphins would score once more on a rushing touchdown by Jeff Wilson Jr. to make it a three-point game, and no more points would be scored again in the game.
Something of note, Wilson Jr. should receive much praise for coming back into the game after leaving earlier with a left calf injury; not only did he come back, but he ended up scoring on an extra-effort play.
With that said, this was another classic Dolphins vs. Bills game, as each game, this season came down to single-digits between the division rivals.
Sean McDermott So Much Respect For Mike McDaniel 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/kIZHpEy75e
— NFL Daily (@SportsContent23) January 15, 2023
Mike McDaniel and his staff should receive much praise for the incredible turnaround they have begun to assemble in Miami Gardens.
As for Buffalo, the Bills will look to cut down on their turnovers and get ready to host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, January 22, at 3:00pm ET.
Let us know what you think about the Bills eliminating the Dolphins by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
