Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel put his own spin on the Dolphins’ loss to the Patriots on Sunday that put his team in an 0-2 hole.
“To win games, you have to win the game and not lose the game, honestly. And that is how you lose the game,” the Miami bench boss said.
Those words rang true once again on Thursday night in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The Dolphins found a way to lose with some self-inflicted wounds in Buffalo after Tua Tagovailoa threw a game-sealing interception on a late fourth-quarter drive — minutes after the team took a roughing the kicker penalty — that all but sealed Miami’s fate in a 31-21 defeat to the Bills.
With just over three minutes to go and Miami down by seven, the team drove down to the Buffalo 27-yard line. On second-and-6, Tagovailoa looked to pass short to the right to Jaylen Waddle but was picked off by linebacker Terrel Bernard, who returned the ball the other way 24 yards to set up a Bills field goal.
It was earlier in the fourth quarter, though, where Miami’s first back-breaking mistake occurred.
The Dolphins forced a punt with 10:20 to play, but Zach Sieler ran into and knocked punter Cameron Johnston to the turf, getting a 15-yard penalty and letting the Bills hang onto the ball.
Buffalo did not fail to capitalize.
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Five plays later, quarterback Josh Allen found Khalil Shakir for a 15-yard touchdown, the score that put the Bills up for good and moved them to a 3-0 record.
The Dolphins will next host the Jets on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 29 in hopes of getting their season on track before it slips away further.