Photo courtesy of Miami Dolphins
The losing streak for the Miami Dolphins hit seven on Sunday.
Miami kept things interesting for most of the day, but in the end, the Buffalo Bills were just too much. The victory in Orchard Park was the seventh straight over the Dolphins.
With the 26-11 loss, the Dolphins fall to 1-7. Miami will return home on Sunday to take on the Houston Texans.
Before it does, here are five “Fin”teresting Facts from Sunday’s defeat:
1. Two for Tua
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa accounted for the Dolphins’ only touchdown on Sunday, but it didn’t come with his arm. Tagovailoa scored on a sneak for a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The rushing score was the second this season for Tagovailoa, giving him the team lead in that category. With five rushing touchdowns for his career, Tagovailoa is sixth all-time among Miami quarterbacks.
2. “Coach Flo” Remains 0-for-Buffalo
The Miami Dolphins have three AFC East rivals. Head coach Brian Flores has a winning record against two of them. The other, he has still yet to beat. With Sunday’s loss, Flores fell to 0-6 in his career against the Buffalo Bills. Flores owns a 3-1 record against the New York Jets and a 3-2 record against the New Patriots, with whom he formerly served as an assistant.
3. Sackless in Buffalo
The Miami Dolphins played very well defensively in the first half. One thing that unit did not do on Sunday was record a sack. It marked the first time this season that the Dolphins failed to get to the opposing quarterback. Miami failed to register a sack just once all of last season and that came in a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos.
4. 11 is Hardly Heaven
After getting shut out in the first meeting between the teams this season, the Dolphins managed just 11 points against the Bills on Sunday. The 11 total points is the fewest for Miami in a season series against a division rival since 2006. That year, the Dolphins managed just six points in two games against Buffalo. After falling 16-6 early to Buffalo early in the 2006 season, the Dolphins were blanked 21-0 in their December trip that year.
5. Sanders’ Struggles Continues
In 2020, Miami kicker Jason Sanders was one of the NFL’s best. The 2021 season however, has not brought a repeat performance. After missing just three field goals in 39 tries last season, Sanders has already missed four in 11 attempts this season. On the opening drive Sunday, Sanders hooked a 36-yard attempt to the right. It marked just the second time in his career that he missed a field from inside of 40 yards. His first such miss came from 34 yards away on a day where he hit seven field goals in a 22-21 loss to the New York Jets in 2019.
Mike Ferguson is the managing editor for Fifth Quarter. Be sure to follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeWFerguson. Follow all of Mike’s work by liking his Facebook page.