Heading into Thursday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins (1-1) had lost 11 of their last 12 games to the Buffalo Bills (2-0). Make that now 12 of the last 13, as the Dolphins took another loss to their AFC East rival, 31-10, on Thursday night.

It couldn’t have gone much worse for the Dolphins, who needed to prove themselves as a viable contender in the AFC East. Even Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa acknowledged this in the days leading up to the game.

“That’s gonna be what’s written out there until we do something about that; that’s going to be the narrative, that we can’t beat the Bills,” Tagovailoa said, per NBC Sports. “Until we do beat them, and beat them consistently, none of that’s going to change. We have an opportunity to do that this year; we have an opportunity to do that this Thursday.”

The narrative remains the same, I’m afraid, Tua. Speaking of Tagovailoa, the Dolphins may have lost more than just the game. Tagovailoa went down with a concussion in the third quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game. It was yet another scary hit for the Dolphins quarterback, and worse yet, it’s the third concussion he has suffered in the last three seasons.

This was already an ugly game for the Dolphins before Tagovailoa went down. They were trailing 24-10 at halftime and failing to execute on nearly all levels. With a loss like this, there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Sorry, Tua Tagovailoa…

Sep 12, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field with training staff after an apparent injury during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium.
© Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Even though he suffered a terrible concussion, Tagovailoa deserves a portion of the blame for the Dolphins loss to the Bills because he wasn’t playing well before his exit.

Tagovailoa was 17-of-25 for 145 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions before he was taken out. Granted, the first two interceptions can be debated. The first pick on the Dolphins' opening drive was the result of a tipped ball, even though Tagovailoa placed it pretty much on the money to Grant DuBose. The second appeared to be a miscommunication on Miami's third drive when a pass sailed over the head of receiver Robbie Chosen.

However, the third interception was horrendous. On a third-and-5 at their own 30-yard line, Tagovailoa, while trying to avoid a sack, attempted to throw the ball out of bounds, but it fell short and landed in the arms of Ja'Marcus Ingram for a touchdown. It was very reminiscent of Will Levis' errant interception against the Bears in Week 1.

In a week filled with horrible quarterback play, the first game of Week 2 wasn’t much better, at least from the Dolphins’ side.

The Dolphins, Mike McDaniel were outcoached by the Bills

Mike McDaniel is widely respected around the league, but maybe only as a play-caller. McDaniel has done wonders to bring the Dolphins' locker room together since he arrived and seems to have the respect and trust of his players. However, the results on the field are starting to raise questions, especially against the one team they need to beat—the Bills—but can’t.

Both the Dolphins and Bills went through significant roster changes due to losses in free agency this offseason. However, that didn’t seem to bother the Bills on Thursday night. After Miami went 70 yards in 10 plays on their second drive of the game to score a touchdown, that was it. They were just 1-for-4 in the red zone on the night.

One drive, in particular, stood out and raised questions about McDaniel's coaching. With 3:36 remaining in the first half, down by 14, the Dolphins needed to score—and really, they needed a touchdown. For some reason, there was no urgency from McDaniel or the Dolphins during the drive; they wasted time and gained little to no yardage on every play. They took 13 plays to go 54 yards, essentially taking up the remainder of the quarter, only to settle for a field goal.

Dolphins' offensive line still a work in progress

There’s no other way to put it: the Dolphins' offensive line was nowhere near good enough to compete against the Bills' defensive front. Miami's line gave up two sacks for 13 yards and allowed pressure on the quarterback most of the evening. But where they really struggled was in the running game, especially on third down.

When the Dolphins faced third-and-short situations needing to make a first down, a run play would often result in a loss of yards, usually ending the drive because the line was getting penetrated. The Dolphins had one drive in the second quarter where they were in a third-and-1, and then later a third-and-3 in the third quarter but couldn’t convert either, instead losing yards.

Overall, third down was bad for Miami all night. They were 7-for-15, and when they were in fourth-down situations, they were just 1-for-5.