MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. _ Apparently all the Dolphins needed to do this season was give the ball to running back Jay Ajayi and get out of the way. Ajayi, the 2015 fifth-round pick from Boise State, rushed for a career-best 214 yards Sunday against Buffalo to lead the resurgent Dolphins to a rousing 28-25 victory.
Ajayi, who had a then career-best 204 yards rushing against Pittsburgh in last week's 30-15 victory, became only the fourth player in NFL to rush for 200 or more yards in consecutive games. Ajayi joins O.J. Simpson (1973 and 1976), Earl Campbell (1980) and Ricky Williams (2002) on that select list.
And the Dolphins (3-4), who were 2-6 against Buffalo since 2012, revived their hopes of getting to .500 by midseason with Sunday's victory.
Buffalo (4-3), which entered on a four-game win streak, made things interesting late, whittling its deficit to 28-25 with 14 seconds left. Running back Reggie Bush scored on a 1-yard run to cap a 75-yard, 13-play drive that consumed two minutes, 10 seconds, and then had a reception on the two-point conversion.
Buffalo's ensuing onside kick was recovered by Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
But this game was about Ajayi, who also had a career-best 29 carries, one week after having 25 carries.
Ajayi, who broke loose for a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter, had 12 carries for 99 yards in the first half and seemed well on his way to the unthinkable _ another 200-yard game. He hit that mark with that 53-yard run that started at the Dolphins' 3-yard line.
Ajayi's success topped off an amazing reversal of fortune for the Dolphins.
Buffalo entered the game No. 1 in the NFL in rushing at 166 yards. The Dolphins entered No. 31 at 147 yards allowed per game. Yet the Dolphins held Buffalo to 66 rushing yards on 21 carries.
The Dolphins rushed for a season-best 256 yards one week after rushing for 222 yards.
It's been an interesting season for Ajayi. He was the de facto starter after Lamar Miller departed for Houston in free agency. The after fumbling against Tennessee in the preseason finale he was demoted and Arian Foster became the starter. Ajayi was left home for the opener in Seattle, presumably because he didn't take his demotion well.
He then stayed low key, sharing carries with Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake until breaking out last week against Pittsburgh.
The Dolphins entered this game struggling against Buffalo more than any other opponent over the previous four years.
The Dolphins were 2-6 (.250) against the Bills since 2012. Meanwhile, the Bills entered the season 6-2 against the Dolphins in that span and 23-33 (.411) against the rest of the NFL.
Both teams had injury concerns. Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy (hamstring) entered second in the NFL in rushing yards (587) and yards per carry (5.6). He left the game in the fourth quarter after aggravating that injury. He ended with 11 yards on eight carries.
The Dolphins took the lead at 21-17 on Williams' 12-yard run and extended to it 28-17 on a 66-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill to wide receiver Kenny Stills.
The Dolphins got within striking distance at 17-14 when they drove 75 yards in 10 plays and scored on a 4-yard run by Ajayi and added a two-point conversion on a pass from Tannehill to wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
Buffalo took a commanding 17-6 lead in the third quarter when quarterback Tyrod Taylor found speedster Marquise Goodwin for a 67-yard touchdown against cornerback Byron Maxwell. It appeared safety Michael Thomas was late getting over to help.
The Bills led 10-6 at halftime after Taylor scored on a 10-yard option run to cap a seven-play, 40-yard drive.
Buffalo evened the game at 3 after a 29-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter to finish a six-play, 20-yard drive. That was after kicker Andrew Franks gave the Dolphins a 3-0 lead.
The Dolphins scored first for the second consecutive game and the third time overall on Franks' 36-yard field goal on the game's first possession.
The Dolphins' 3-0 lead joined their previous victories _ Cleveland and Pittsburgh _ as games in which they scored first.
Sunday's game marked the third of the four-game homestand. This 44-day homestand, by the way, is the longest in the NFL since the 1970 merger (excluding 1982 work stoppage season).
The Dolphins have a bye next week before hosting the New York Jets on Nov. 6 for the final game of the four-game homestand.
