Ed Oliver couldn’t be on the field late in the fourth quarter Thursday night at Highmark Stadium.
An injury to his left ankle forced Oliver to miss a second consecutive game and thrust the Buffalo Bills’ younger defensive tackles into prominent roles against the Miami Dolphins.
There’s no way for the Bills to replace Oliver. He reminded the NFL in their season-opening win that he can wreck an opponent’s game plan. But the Bills needed someone to burst through the line on the final drive of the fourth quarter to force Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into a mistake.
Oliver thought Deone Walker could be one to come through for the Bills. Walker, a rookie drafted in the fourth round, proved to his teammates over the past four months he’s going to work tirelessly to make an impact in the NFL. Oliver reminded his 6-foot-7 teammate that he belongs, and he’s capable.
The Bills were holding a tenuous seven-point lead when the Dolphins got to their 21-yard line in eight plays, including three complete passes. Miami had the ball first-and-10 with 3:06 remaining when center Aaron Brewer snapped the ball.
Dolphins right guard Daniel Brunskill got pushed out of the way by Walker, who tipped Tagovailoa’s pass. Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard intercepted the ball and returned it 21 yards to help Buffalo hold on for a 31-21 win.
“He’s made a ton of plays,” Bernard said of Walker. “Even the plays that he’s not making, he’s causing. So shout-out to him, man. I know it’s tough to come in here as a rookie and to really play to the level that he’s played at. He’s a guy that constantly wants to get better. … So I’ve got all the respect in the world for him.”
Walker made mistakes in his third NFL regular-season game. He had a missed assignment on the Dolphins’ first drive.
Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich has demanded Walker show more effort and intensity every snap. Later in the game, Walker couldn’t take down Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon. But the game-changing play showed why Walker was considered a possible first-round draft pick following his sophomore season at Kentucky.
“Coach Babich has been on me a lot about running, showing effort, reading my keys, playing within our defense and playing our defensive-line technique,” said Walker. “Trying my hardest to key in on that and not let him down.”
Clutch catch
Josh Allen recognized the pressure when he approached the line with the Bills facing second-and-16 at their 35-yard line.
They were leading 28-21 with just 2:49 remaining, but they didn’t want to give the ball back to the Dolphins following Bernard’s interception.
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O’Cyrus Torrence, the Bills’ right guard, knew that Dolphins pass rusher Jaelan Phillips wanted to try to beat him inside to get to Allen. Torrence forced Phillips to the outside, which created a lane for Allen to step up in the pocket and throw to receiver Elijah Moore, who found an opening in Miami’s zone coverage and ran for a 30-yard gain to convert the first down.
The Dolphins used their final timeout following the two-minute warning, then Matt Prater made a 48-yard field goal to give the Bills a 10-point lead with 27 seconds left.
“That was unbelievable,” Allen said. “Smart play, finding a window in zone, giving me good body language. He made some good plays for us tonight.”
Quick answer
The Dolphins dropped seven in coverage to try to stop Allen from completing a pass when the Bills were at Miami’s 20-yard line.
Allen recognized that the Dolphins were using zone coverage. Khalil Shakir wasn’t open in the left flat. Allen’s second read on the play, tight end Dalton Kincaid, found a soft spot on a wheel route up the left sideline. Kincaid ran to the left of linebacker Tyrel Dodson and caught the ball at the 10-yard line
Dolphins safety Ashtyn Davis missed a tackle, allowing Kincaid to stumble into the end zone for a 20-yard, game-tying touchdown with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
Play-action pass
All but four Dolphins defenders bit on the play-action fake.
Allen rolled left after he acted like he was going to give the ball to Bills running back James Cook. Dawson Knox had separation in the back of the end zone, but Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas was close enough that it would have been a dangerous throw.
Keon Coleman was covered. Allen kept rolling to his left and acted like he may scramble, which caused Douglas to leave Bills rookie tight end Jackson Hawes open. Allen flipped the ball to Hawes, who whose 5-yard touchdown reception gave Buffalo a 14-7 lead with 11:54 left in the second quarter.
“Yeah, just extending the play, a little naked action,” Allen said. “He did a good job of just staying in concert with me and just got the corner there. I think it was just cool to just kind of commit one way, and he stayed alive for me and made a play.”
Star powerTyreek Hill is still difficult to cover.
The Dolphins’ star receiver caught just five passes on 10 targets for 49 yards Thursday night, but the route he ran to score the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter showed he isn’t the problem with their offense.
Hill ran an in-breaking route, then cut back outside to force Bills cornerback Christian Benford out of position. The Bills blitzed Tagovailoa on the play, but he lofted a pass to the back of the end zone for the 5-yard score that tied it 21-21 with 12:18 remaining.
”What I remember from the game was the quarterback extending some of the plays a little bit longer than he should be able to, and then finding an open receiver, which is gonna happen the longer receivers have time to move around,” McDermott said.
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Lance Lysowski
News Sports Reporter
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