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Bills complete sweep of Dolphins, strengthen AFC East lead with 30-27 win

After a back-and-forth game, the Buffalo Bills delivered the final blow with a dramatic 61-yard field goal to move to 7-2 on the season.

David Faux

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The Buffalo Bills emerge victorious in an exciting, pulse-pounding finish against the Miami Dolphins, winning their Week 9 bout by the score of 30-27. The Bills made it difficult on themselves, but despite the Dolphins giving their best shot and Buffalo giving its worst, the Bills found just enough plays to come out of this game with a season sweep of their rival and continue their undefeated streak in the division.

Below we’ll take a look at the most inspiring players from Sunday, the player that has us inquiring a bit, the side of the ball that requires a better performance, and a side of the ball that delivered a truly irksome outing.

Inspire - James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson:

Ray Davi
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A clear positive that the Bills have this season is the fact that they can genuinely rely on all three of their running backs. Reigning Pro Bowler James Cook is clearly the lead guy, and when he is decisive and accelerating downhill, he is hard to stop. Rookie back Ray Davis’ aggressive, attacking style of running makes it hard for defenses to stay with throughout the entire game, and his pass-catching ability is underrated. Ty Johnson has been a great utility player to have for his ability to do everything adequately, if not spectacularly. All three of these players being contributors both on the ground and through the air allows the Bills to use them at any time without tipping their hand as to whether it’s a run or a pass. It’s incredibly valuable to be able to use all three however needed while also knowing how to maximize their individual strengths.

Related: Studs and duds from Bills' nail-biting 30-27 win over Dolphins

Inquire - Tyler Bass: 

Tyler Bas
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wow. 

Let’s break down what happened here. Tyler Bass made his first two field goals from 40-plus yards but shanked his first extra point. He doinked another PAT in off the upright later and was then asked to bail out the Bills on a 61-yard field goal with minimal time remaining. Not only did Bass make the seemingly impossibly long field goal, he cleared the goalposts by a solid five extra yards. It has been a difficult season for Bass, and it has been documented in these recaps plenty of times. The Bills felt the pressure of Bass’ struggles, bringing in Lucas Havrisik on the practice squad and others in tryouts. Ultimately, the Bills went with Bass, hoping he’d find his confidence again sometime during the season. Frankly, if a game-winning, 61-yard field goal doesn’t do it, I’m not sure anything will. The question is simply, will it continue? Will Bass use this as a springboard for the rest of this season? Will the Bills feel more confident in him, particularly in clutch situations? Time will tell, but this particular writer feels pretty confident in saying that Bass is back on the menu. 

Require - Bills’ passing game:

Josh Alle
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

After a few weeks where the Bills’ passing attack looked to be in order, they struggled quite a bit in Sunday's outing against the Dolphins. Josh Allen struggled to get the ball to his playmakers consistently, and when he did, those playmakers didn’t do enough with the ball. James Cook struggled to make defenders miss in space and dropped a pass that could have scored as well. Keon Coleman had a major gaffe in the red zone, letting a ball go through his hands and ultimately wind up in the breadbasket of Jalen Ramsey. After that, no one else (sans Khalil Shakir, who finished the day with six catches for 50 yards) was able to consistently open up against the Dolphins' coverage. The capper of it all was the Bills’ offensive line struggling to get their protections correct, allowing too many pressures simply based on mental lapses. After taking steps forward the last few weeks, this felt like a step back. The absence of Amari Cooper likely plays into this somewhat, but there were plenty of issues beyond that, and Buffalo needs to iron these issues out sooner rather than later.

Irk - Bills’ Defensive Line: 

Ed Olive
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The Bills' defense was lackluster against Miami, to say the least. There are certainly various reasons for it, but the clearest, most egregious reason is the inability of the Bills’ defensive line to do anything on Sunday. They failed to get off blocks, failed to make tackles when they had a chance, couldn’t generate pressure, and couldn’t set the edge at any point in the game. It was an extremely rough game for this defensive line, and it’s been a difficult season for the unit as a whole. Many of the problems against Miami have shown up in other games, but never to this degree, and never all at once. For a team that has invested and paid a lot of money into the defensive line, it has gotten very little in return this season.

DaQuan Jones is starting to show his age, Ed Oliver has not been impactful for most of the season, and Von Miller's first game back from injury was disappointing. Only Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa have provided any consistent play for the Bills' defensive line this season. Many Bills fans during the offseason seemed to celebrate the departure of defensive line coach Eric Washington, who took a job as a defensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears... the same Chicago Bears who are currently top 10 in the league with sacks, while the Bills are struggling to simply set the edge against a two-win Dolphins team. While the Bills could make a move at the deadline for a defensive lineman like Sebastian Joseph-Day from the Titans or Za’Darius Smith from the Browns, it will only be a band-aid if the rest of the unit is unable to pick up their play for the rest of the season.

Related: WATCH: Bills K Tyler Bass receives game ball after game-winning kick vs. Dolphins

What’s Next for the Buffalo Bills?

Buffalo Bill
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The Bills will be traveling to Indianapolis to face the Colts, who may still be choosing to go with an aged Joe Flacco at quarterback. At 7-2 and having firm control over the AFC East, the Bills should be able to feel very good about where they’re at this season despite some stumbles and mistakes along the way. A win against the Colts to get themselves to 8-2 would be an incredible accomplishment for this team at this point in the season.

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