Revisiting Great Dolphins Victories Against Buffalo

The Miami Dolphins will be looking to end their seven-game losing streak against the Buffalo Bills when the teams battle at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 3.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) fumbles after getting hit by Jevon Holland (8) of the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter of an NFL game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Sept. 25, 2022. / JIM RASSOL/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Miami Dolphins face a tough task against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. They'll try to end their drought at Buffalo while keeping themselves in a realistic position to at least have a chance to make a late-season push for the playoffs.

If Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and company are successful in pulling off the upset, we will likely look back on the game along with some of the great Dolphins victories against Buffalo through the years.

We look back at some of the most noteworthy ones, listed in chronological order.

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December 20, 1970 at Miami — Dolphins 45, Bills 7

The Dolphins clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history in style. Jim Kiick had three rushing touchdowns in the game, Dick Anderson returned one of the Dolphins' three interceptions 86 yards (though he did not score), and Larry Csonka had a run of 53 yards and a reception of 54 yards. Miami led 31-0 at halftime.

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October 26, 1975 at Buffalo — Dolphins 35, Bills 30

Don Nottingham scored three 1-yard rushing TDs, and the Dolphins overcame a 13-0 deficit to win this battle of 4-1 teams at Rich Stadium. The game featured a wild finish after Miami trailed 30-21 in the fourth quarter. After Bob Griese's touchdown pass to Jim Mandich made it 30-28 with 3:18 remaining in regulation, Jake Scott intercepted Joe Ferguson on Buffalo's next snap to set up Nottingham's game-winning touchdown. But the Bills drove to the Miami 38 in the final minute before Vern Den Herder recovered a Ferguson fumble.

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September 16, 1990 at Miami — Dolphins 30, Bills 7

The Dolphins ended a six-game losing streak against Buffalo by shutting down the "K-Gun" offense in Week 2 at Joe Robbie Stadium. And remember, this rout happened against the first and best of the four Buffalo Super Bowl teams. And the Dolphins were in control from start to finish after they stuffed Buffalo on a fourth-and-1 run on the game's opening possession. 

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October 4, 1992 at Buffalo — Dolphins 37, Bills 10

This was an early showdown in the AFC East between the 3-0 Dolphins and the 4-0 Bills, marked by tight end Keith Jackson's debut after he gained free agency and signed with Miami. Louis Oliver's 103-yard pick-six punctuated this victory. It was a monstrous game all around for Oliver, who had three interceptions and 170 return yards. Jackson was a factor in the passing game with four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.

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January 2, 1999 at Miami — Dolphins 24, Bills 17

Besides Bills wide receiver Eric Moulds' epic performance, there really was nothing special about this AFC playoff game until the final minutes. But the ending was awesome. The Dolphins led 24-14 at the two-minute warning before the Bills kicked a field goal and then recovered an onside kick. Things got particularly tense after the Bills drove to a first-and-goal at the Miami 5 with 17 seconds left. But Trace Armstrong settled matters when he nailed Doug Flutie from the side, causing a fumble that Dolphins defensive end Shane Burton recovered.

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December 4, 2005 at Miami — Dolphins 24, Bills 23

Until the Dolphins' epic victory at Baltimore in 2022, this game featured the franchise's largest fourth-quarter comeback. Backup QB Sage Rosenfels came off the bench after starter Gus Frerotte was injured while being sacked for a safety that gave Buffalo a 23-3 lead. It remained 23-3 until Rosenfels threw three fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Chris Chambers, the last one coming on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 6 seconds left. Chambers finished the game with 15 catches for 238 yards — both were team records, though Brian Hartline topped the yardage record with 253 in a game at Arizona in 2012.

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December 24, 2016 at Buffalo — Dolphins 34, Bills 31 (OT)

This was the most exciting game of the Dolphins' playoff run of '16. The game featured brilliant performances by Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi and Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, and it came down to Andrew Franks hitting a clutch 55-yard field goal at the end of regulation and a 27-yarder in overtime for the victory that ultimately put Miami in the playoffs. Ajayi's 57-yard run in overtime, which set up the game-winning field goal, helped him finish with 206 rushing yards, his third 200-yard performance of the season. In a game filled with big plays, the Dolphins also got a 45-yard touchdown run by Kenyan Drake, a 56-yard touchdown pass from Matt Moore to DeVante Parker, and a 44-yard reception by running back Damien Williams.

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September 25, 2022 at Miami — Dolphins 21, Bills 19

This is the Dolphins' lone victory against Josh Allen since his first start against Miami in 2018, and it was spurred by a defense that did a lot of bending (497 yards) but not a ton of breaking. Oh, and the defense set up the first touchdown when Jevon Holland sacked and stripped Allen on a safety blitz to force a fumble that set the stage for a 6-yard touchdown drive. The big play on offense was a long completion from Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle that set up the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.