Dolphins-Bills: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins 30-27 loss against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) is hit in the helmet by Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer (21) resulting in a personal foul penalty on Poyer in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins lost for the sixth time in seven games Sunday, dropping a 30-27 decision to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

We rank and analyze the game's five biggest, most important plays.

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1) THE PERSONAL FOUL ON POYER

Safety Jordan Poyer said after the game he thought he had a clean hit against Keon Coleman on the third-down incompletion that became a first down when he was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the replays clearly showed helmet-to-helmet contact. While that sometimes is missed by the officials or not called — as was done in the Seattle-Rams game when a similar flag against the Seahawks was picked up when the replay showed helmet-to-helmet contact — it's also going to draw a flag more often than not. And this was a crusher because instead of Buffalo having to punt from its 31 and the Dolphins getting the ball back with a chance to win. The drive was kept alive. Poyer said he was just trying to make a play on the ball, but he was off target, and the intent didn't matter anymore.

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2) THE GAME-WINNING FIELD GOAL

This may deserve to be the top play because you just don't see 61-yard field goals very often, especially from kickers who have been as inconsistent as Tyler Bass has performed this season. But in what could be viewed as evidenced that whatever can go wrong for Miami will go wrong, Bass absolutely crushed the kick, making it with plenty of room to spare.

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3) THE MOSTERT FUMBLE

The Dolphins had very little margin for error going against a team that's simply better than them, and they lost that margin when Raheem Mostert fumbled for the second time in three weeks, this time when Taron Johnson punched the ball out of his grasp. The Dolphins led 10-6 and were in Buffalo territory on that first drive of the second half before the fumble occurred, and the game became a back-and-forth from that point instead of them maybe being able to continue playing with a lead.

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4) THE HOLDING CALL ON NEAL

The Dolphins gave up three touchdowns in the second half, but the second one came after they appeared to have made a stop on third-and-goal from the seven-yard line, only to watch cornerback Siran Neal flagged for defensive holding. The replay clearly showed Neal tugging on Khalil Shakir's jersey, though DBs sometimes get away with that. Neal didn't on that play, and Buffalo scored two plays later to take a 27-20 lead.

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5) THE FOURTH-DOWN TOUCHDOWN

The first touchdown of the second half came on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line when a stop clearly would have made a huge difference at the time and maybe in the outcome. Cornerback Kendall Fuller had former Dolphins wide receiver Mack Hollins in coverage but found himself a couple of steps behind after Hollins ran across the field in the end zone.