ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. _ For the third time in the last five years the Miami Dolphins were tasked with winning in Buffalo in December to extend their playoff hopes. And for the second time in the last five years Miami couldn't make it happen.
The Dolphins, who made the playoffs last season on the strength of a December victory in Buffalo, lost to the Bills, 24-16, Sunday, and in the process they did severe damage to their long-shot playoff hopes.
Miami (7-7), which hosts Buffalo in the Dec. 31 season finale, swept the Bills last season to improve to 4-4 against them since 2012. But Sunday's game was a throwback to the stretch during which Buffalo would manhandle Miami with its physicality.
The Dolphins had an outside chance late. Punter Matt Haack recovered an onside kick with 27 seconds left. But quarterback Jay Cutler (28 of 48, 274 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, 47.5 passer rating) threw his third interception of the game on the first play, ending any comeback hopes.
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor (17 of 29, 224 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, 94.6 passer rating) and running back LeSean McCoy (96 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns) did most of the heavy lifting for the Bills, who visit New England next week. The win gives Buffalo (8-6) a chance to take another step toward its first playoff appearance since 1999, the longest such drought in the NFL.
In the meantime, Cutler and running back Kenyan Drake (78 yards rushing, 25 yards rushing after first quarter) struggled to get anything going.
Miami, which entered the game averaging 24 points per game in its previous six games, didn't score a touchdown until midway through the fourth quarter.
That wasn't the only positive trend that came to an abrupt halt. Miami's defense held its previous two opponents _ New England and Denver _ to a combined 1 of 24 on third downs. Buffalo was 7 of 12 through three quarters.
Buffalo put the clamps on Drake (113 yards from scrimmage) in the second quarter. After rushing for 53 yards on five carries in the first quarter Drake had just one yard on five carries in the second quarter.
As for Cutler, it was a regrettable performance. A week after being so good against New England, Cutler turned in a terrible performance.
He overthrew open receivers, which was the case on his second interception, and even dropped the ball twice. The first time he dropped a shotgun snap, and the second time he dropped the ball on his dropback, right before throwing a pass.
That's pretty much the way it went the entire game for the Dolphins, who fell to 5-3 in December/January regular-season games under coach Adam Gase.
The turning point Sunday was a stretch late in the second quarter during which the Bills scored two touchdowns in span of less than six minutes. It was a crushing blow to absorb as Buffalo took a 21-6 halftime lead.
McCoy scored on a 16-yard pass from Taylor, capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive and giving the Bills a 14-6 lead.
The Dolphins punted and Buffalo, led by Taylor and McCoy, drove 80 yards in eight plays and scored on a 9-yard pass from Taylor to McCoy to go up, 21-6.
At that point the game was pretty much over.
But just to be sure, Buffalo added a 34-yard field goal with 5:40 left in the third quarter to extend its lead to 24-6.
The Dolphins, who can't finish better than 8-8, now need major help getting to the playoffs. That would start with Miami defeating Kansas City next week (8-6) and Buffalo in the finale and hoping an 8-8 record means wild-card contention.
Such a scenario likely must include Tennessee (8-5) losing at San Francisco later Sunday and also losing to the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville; Baltimore (8-6) losing to Indianapolis and Cincinnati; the Chargers (7-7) losing to the New York Jets; and Oakland (6-7) losing to Dallas on Sunday night and losing to Philadelphia and the Chargers. The Dolphins have head-to-head tiebreakers over the Chargers and Tennessee but lose the head-to-head tiebreakers with Oakland, and, right now, Buffalo.
