A rough night for the Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa got tougher.
Down 31-10 in the second half, Tagovailoa picked up a first down on a fourth-and-4 scramble and took a hard shot to the head as the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin tackled him. He will not return to the game.
The Bills have won 11 of their past 12 games against the Dolphins. This week’s “Thursday Night Football” opener is looking like it will be more of the same.
Bills running back James Cook scored three first-half touchdowns to help Buffalo build a 24-10 halftime lead in an important early-season matchup. Both teams made the playoffs last season, and both were knocked out by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs — Miami lost in Kansas City in one of the coldest games in NFL history in the wild-card round and Buffalo lost at home the following week.
The Dolphins are without running back Raheem Mosert (chest), while De’Von Achane is active despite missing multiple days of practice with an ankle injury. Achane scored the Dolphins’ first touchdown, a five-yard catch from Tua Tagovailoa.
On the Bills’ side, cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm) and defensive end Dawuane Smoot (toe) have been ruled out for the game.
Live49 updates
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The Dolphins got the ball back and reached 4th-and-4 in their own territory, got called for a false start, then Skylar Thompson got stopped on a scramble. It remains all Bills with just under a quarter to go.
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The hit that knocked Tua out of the game.
Tua committed to this run to pick up the first down and got carried away and didn’t know how to protect himself
Literally just ran right into Damar Hamlin who didn’t look like he was set to deliver a hard hit
Tua hit Damar more than Damar hit Tua pic.twitter.com/cS2aXEIE9H
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 13, 2024
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Injury Update | Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out with a concussion.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 13, 2024
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Dolphins fans streaming for the exits.#Bills D made the fourth-down stop (Miller sack). Even better for Bills, Dolphins used up nearly seven minutes of clock.
— Ryan O’Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 13, 2024
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Dolphins go for it one 4th-and-goal and Thompson slips on the dropback, then takes a sack from Von Miller. We’re about done here in every conceivable way.
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Skylar Thompson takes over for the Dolphins, on the Bills’ 7-yard line.
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Tagovailoa is up and walking off the field without assistance, but with a slight limp.
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Uh oh. Dolphins go for it on 4th-and-4 and Tagovailoa gets the first down on a scramble up the middle, but now he’s down and clutching his helmet after running into, of all people, Damar Hamlin
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Injury Update | Terron Armstead has a shoulder injury and is questionable to return.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 13, 2024
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INTERCEPTION: Tua Tagovailoa gifts the Bills an awful pick-six, his third INT of the game
OH NO. That might be the worst pick of Tagovailoa’s career, which is saying something. He gets pressured in his face and tries to throw it away, but gets just enough air under it for Ja’Marcus Ingram to get his second interception of the game … and his first touchdown. It’s 31-10 Bills and it looks like it’s going to be a long week in Miami.
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Dolphins open the second half by getting a stop at midfield. Josh Allen was off-target on a deep third-down pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Miami will take over on its own 11.
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Not great for the Bills. We’ll see if it matters.
Injury Update: LB Terrel Bernard (pectoral) is now out for the game.
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 13, 2024
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The Bills attempt the first kick return of the game, a 25-yarder, and no one is happier than Amazon’s Al Michaels. Second half is underway.
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FIELD GOAL: Jason Sanders makes chip shot for Dolphins with 4 seconds left
Tagovailoa throws it away and the Dolphins opt to kick a 34-yard field goal on 3rd-and-3. They’ll go into the locker room down two touchdowns, with the Bills getting the ball back out of halftime.
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The Miami crowd doesn’t seem happy with the Dolphins’ run-heavy playcalling in this two-minute drill, but the team still has all three timeouts. It should also have very little interest in giving the Bills the ball back with any time remaining, as Buffalo will get the ball to open the second half.
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James Cook’s previous career high in rushing yards through two seasons: two. He has matched that in one half here.
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The Dolphins can’t hang on the line of scrimmage with playoff-caliber opponents. It’s really that simple.
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) September 13, 2024
