Dolphins survive Bills' offensive push, own 'butt-punt' to move to 3-0

MIAMI GARDENS – The Buffalo Bills ran out of time.

And the Miami Dolphins are 3-0.

The Dolphins edged out a 21-19 win over the Bills on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, ending a seven-game losing streak in the series.

Allen and the Bills' offense had completed their 90th offensive play of the game, but could not get to the line of scrimmage fast enough in the closing seconds of the game to run another play or set up a field goal.

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The Dolphins' defense withstood Allen, who tossed for 400 yards with two touchdowns, and the Bills, who dominated time of possession by more than double (40:40 to 19:20). Buffalo finished with 497 yards of offense compared to 212 for Miami.

It was an unforgiving game with the heat index reaching triple digits and several players leaving the game to deal with heat issues.

Before the closing drive, the Bills were at the 2-yard line with a touchdown, a hard-fought win and a 3-0 start well within their grasp.

But Allen’s pass to receiver Isaiah McKenzie sailed short and bounced on the turf.

The Dolphins got the football back, but failed to get out of their own end zone. They nearly ended this game in embarrassing fashion as punter Thomas Morstead’s kick hit receiver Trent Sherfield’s backside for a safety.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was 13 of 18 for 186 yards and a touchdown in the game. He left the game briefly before half time with what the team described then as a head injury, but returned for the start of the second half. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters after the game that Tagovailoa went out with a lower back injury.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dolphins-Bills score: Miami survives Bills, own 'butt-punt'