Bills impose nightmare on Tagovailoa, Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium

The Buffalo Bills crushed the Miami Dolphins 31-10 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, claiming their second straight win to start the new National Football League (NFL) regular season.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown, after connecting with running back James Cook from 17 yards out to score on the visiting side's first possession of the game.

Cook, in his third NFL season, also added two rushing touchdowns for the Bills, including running the ball 49 yards into the end zone and extending their lead to 24-7 on the first play from scrimmage with three and a half minutes left before halftime.

Buffalo's fourth touchdown came from cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram, who intercepted a pass from Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter before running the ball back into the open end zone. That was the third interception thrown by Tagovailoa in the game. Ingram was responsible for two of those picks and cornerback Christian Benford snatched the other.

Tagovailoa completed 17 of 25 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown to running back De'Von Achane on Miami's second possession in the first quarter after the first drive by the Dolphins ended with an interception. Tagovailoa left the game in the third quarter with concussion after colliding with Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

Although Tagovaila's final play saw him convert a 4th-and-4 into a first down in the red zone, the hosts blew the opportunity. Backup quarterback Skylar Thompson was sacked by linebacker Von Miller on 4th-and-goal. Miller posted four pressures and averaged 2.1 seconds per pressure, his fastest rate in a game since 2021.

Miami failed to score on any of their offensive possessions after Tagovailoa's exit. Thompson connected with his passing targets on eight of 13 passes for 80 yards.