| Dates: Saturday, February 14 – Monday, February 16 |
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The Buffalo Bills held on in a thrilling 34-31 victory over the Miami Dolphins to secure their spot in the second week of the NFL playoffs.
The preseason Super Bowl favorite and the second seed in the AFC, Buffalo went 17-0.
Miami lost five of its last six regular season games, but managed to grab a 24-20 halftime lead.
The Bills responded with two quick strikes, but another Miami touchdown left the hosts in a nervy finish.
“We were pretty sloppy, we tried to give it away there,” Bills running back Josh Allen said. “But it’s the play-offs and we found a way. That’s the only thing that matters.”
With Tua Tagovailoa and out-of-form Teddy Bridgewater injured, out-of-form Miami had to start its third quarterback, rookie Skylar Thompson, and the Bills soon looked poised for an improbable victory.
Allen found Dawson Knox for a nine-yard touchdown before James Cook ran into the end zone and Tyler Bass hit a field goal early in the second quarter.
A couple of Allen interceptions helped the Dolphins get back into the game, with three straight field goals before Thompson’s pass to Mike Gesick allowed Miami to tie things up.
A field goal gave the Bills the lead just before halftime, but on their first possession of the third quarter, Miami forced Allen to fumble and defensive end Zach Sieler recovered it to give the Dolphins a surprising lead.
But Miami nixed it as they opted to throw a third-and-19, and Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam threw an interception to give Allen a chance to pick off Cole Beasley for a six-yard score.
On Buffalo’s next drive, Gabe Davis kept his feet to catch a 23-yard touchdown to make it 34-24 for the Bills.
Miami still wasn’t done though, as Jeff Wilson went in from a yard out in the final quarter, meaning a field goal would have sent it into overtime.
However, they couldn’t get into range on their final possession.
The first round of the NFL playoffs, known as wildcard weekend, continues with two more games on Sunday and one more on Monday.