The Bills Get In The Playoffs With 22-16 Win Over Miami Bills beat Miami for 2nd time in three weeks to get into the postseason. by Steve Saslow
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Week 17
Bills
22
Dolphins
16
The Skinny:
The drought is over! The Bills held on to defeat the Dolphins 22-16 and a short time later Andy Dalton found Tyler Boyd for an incredible 49 yard touchdown to give the Bengals a win over the Ravens and put the Bills into the playoffs. The Bills took care of their own business first as they opened up a 22-3 lead as Tyrod Taylor found Nick O'Leary for a 26 yard touchdown on the Bills opening drive. They also got a one yard touchdown plunge from Kyle Williams who was lined up at fullback midway through the third quarter. The Bills opened up a 22-3 lead and held on after Miami recovered an onside kick against them for the 2nd time in three weeks. They clinched the victory with a Jordan Poyer interception.
The Turning Point:
The Boyd TD: For the first time the turning point wasn' in their game. Boyd catching that 49 yard touchdown pass in the final minutes to lead the Bengals to a win after the Bills had already won was a thing of beauty.
The Big Drive:
The Opening Drive: The Bills went 72 yards in 7 plays in just 3:12 to get the lead that they would not relinquish. Taylor found Charles Clay for a 15 yard gain to convert a third down on the drive. Clay caught a 17 yard pass on the drive as well and Marcus Murphy had a 25 yard run.
Scene Setters: - The Bills flew to Miami in the last 747 to ever fly from Buffalo. - The Bills wore their white throwback jerseys for this game. - The game at Hard Rock Stadium was played on the same field that was used for the Orange Bowl that ended 17 hours earlier. The field was in pretty good shape though with just some extra divots. - Inactive for the Bills in this game were Shareece Wright, Brandon Reilly, John Miller, Breon Borders, Logan Thomas, Malachi Dupre, and Conor McDermott.
Key Matchup Results:
The winners of the battles highlighted in our preview article: RT Jordan Mills vs. DE Cameron Wake: Winner: Wake. He had 1½ sacks in the game. RG Vlad Ducasse vs. DT Ndamukong Suh: Winner: Ducasse. You didn't even hear from Suh in the game. RB LeSean McCoy vs. LB Kiko Alonso: Winner: Alonso. Shady only had 10 yards on 11 carries before leaving with an injury. DT Kyle Williams vs. RB Kenyan Drake: Winner: Drake. He averaged 5.4 yards on 14 carries.
Keys To The Game Results:
How the keys highlighted in our preview article turned out: 1. Stay Focused: Success! They were focused on the task at hand and took care of their own business. 2. Get Second Half Touchdowns: Success! They got one and that ended up being the difference. 3. Take Chances: Failure! They played a normal game and didn't really need to take chances.
My Take:
Wow! This article is a day late because I was celebrating at a New Year's Eve party. It has been a long 17 years and after the Bengals beat the Ravens I was jumping around like a little kid. This is why you have to love sports.
What's Ahead:
The Bills travel to Jacksonville for their first playoff game almost 18 years to the day since their last playoff game. Adding intrigue is the fact that Doug Marrone is on the other sideline.
Gameballs
Sean McDermott - Everyone was talking about tanking before the season and now the rookie head coach has led them to the playoffs.
The 12th Man - Nobody deserves this playoff berth more than the fans.
Goats
LeSean McCoy - His worst day was the team's best day.
Player Of The Week
Sean McDermott - Congratulations to the rookie coach.
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