NFL Game Recaps: Week 2, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Bills 31, Dolphins 10

The Dolphins signed Tua Tagovailoa to a 4-year, $212 million contract during the offseason, but it’s fair to wonder if they already have buyer’s remorse. Tagovailoa has a long history of disappointing in big games, but this matchup seemed different because the Bills were the weakest they had ever been during Tagovailoa’s tenure. The Bills lost Stefon Diggs, Matt Milano, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Gabe Davis, and Taron Johnson. All of those players are gone or injured. The Bills also lost key linebacker Terrel Bernard early in the evening, so Tagovailoa had a golden opportunity to win.

Instead, Tagovailoa wilted. He threw an early interception that wasn’t his fault, and then made up for it with a long touchdown drive, but the whole operation imploded after that. The disaster began when Tagovailoa was picked on a horrible overthrow that wasn’t even near his target. That seemed to destroy Tagovailoa’s confidence, as he took a sack on fourth down and then looked shell shocked during the 2-minute drill prior to halftime. Tagovailoa made a number of mistakes, ranging from turning the wrong way on a handoff, to failing to call a timeout to stop the clock. It didn’t get any better after halftime when Tagovailoa launched a helpless pass while under pressure that was easily pick-sixed. “Deer in the headlights” is a metaphor that is used far too often, but that can perfectly describe Tagovailoa in the second quarter and beginning stages of the third frame before he was knocked out with a concussion when he collided with Damar Hamlin.

Meanwhile, the Bills didn’t need Josh Allen to improve his chemistry with his receivers. Allen simply got the ball to James Cook, who did everything. Cook scored on a 17-yard receiving touchdown on the opening possession and then scored two more touchdowns, including a 49-yard burst in which he zoomed by the beleaguered Miami defenders. This gave the Bills a 24-7 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

This was a great victory for the Bills. Obviously, any divisional win is huge, but Buffalo still isn’t at full strength because of the injuries and lacking chemistry between Allen and the receivers. The Bills will be better in the second half of the year, so it’s great for them that they can rack up some wins now.

The Dolphins lost a couple of offensive linemen in this game, as Terron Armstead and Robert Jones were knocked out at the midway point of the game. The Dolphins were already down multiple scores when this occurred, so this is not the reason why the Dolphins struggled. If they don’t recover, however, Miami will continue to perform poorly, as Tagovailoa’s pick-six was the result of heavy pressure once Armstead was knocked out of the game. It’s also fair to wonder how long Tagovailoa will be sidelined, given his lengthy concussion history. Perhaps Miami will sign Ryan Tannehill.