ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Tyler Bass tuned out the doubts, the ongoing questions about his consistency and the most recent challenge to his job.
Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott showed faith in Bass by sending him out to try a 61-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, and the kick was good to give Buffalo a 30-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
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“It means everything. Very emotional,” the 27-year-old Bass said of a field goal that was the longest of his career and broke the franchise record by 2 yards. Steve Christie had the previous mark, a 59-yarder in 1993.
“Just reminding myself that I love this, I love the sport. This is what I’ve dreamed of and when I was out there,” he added. “I honestly wasn’t thinking about anything. Just went through my process and trusted my preparation. And that was it.”
The kick capped a thrilling, back-and-forth duel between Buffalo's Josh Allen, who threw three touchdown passes after halftime, and Miami's Tua Tagovailoa. The teams traded leads four times and combined for seven consecutive scoring drives in the second half.
The Bills continued their domination of the Dolphins by sweeping the season series. Buffalo (7-2) has won six straight, 13 of 14 and nine in a row at home over Miami.
And with their best nine-game start since 2020, the Bills have built a commanding, four game lead in the AFC East over the New York Jets as they seek a fifth consecutive division title.
The Dolphins (2-6), meantime, played what they considered their most complete outing of the season only to drop their third straight. They lost on a field goal in the final seconds for the second straight week following a 28-27 loss to Arizona on Chad Ryland 34-yarder as time expired.
“There’s no moral victories in this game,” defensive tackle Calais Campbell said. “It wasn’t enough. ... It’s heartbreaking but we’ve just got to use this to galvanize us and keep preparing this week and find a way to win one next week.”
Tagovailoa lost his second straight start after missing four games with a concussion.
“Hats off to Tyler Bass for making that. Hats off to their team, they did a great job. It was a great game,” said Tagovailoa, who finished 25 of 28 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. “There’s things that we could fix on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, but I think we’re taking a step in the right direction as a team.”
Miami tied the game one last time when Tagovailoa threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle with 1:38 remaining to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive.
The Bills took over at the 30 and had their drive extended by back-to-back penalties. Chop Robinson jumped offside on third-and-14 from the Buffalo 26. On the next snap, former Bills safety Jordan Poyer was flagged for unnecessary roughness for his helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Keon Coleman on Allen’s deep attempt up the left sideline.
Buffalo’s drive stalled at the Miami 43 following a spike and two incompletions with 10 seconds remaining. Bass not only split the uprights, but had enough length to reach the first row of fans in the end zone.
“So proud of him. So happy for him. I got emotional in my little postgame speech out there, just the trials and tribulations that he’s been in throughout this year,” Allen said. “It’s what stories are made of. And I love him.”
Bass missed an extra point in the third quarter, his third missed PAT of the season, and the Bills signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to their practice squad two weeks ago before releasing him this week. Questions about Bass’ job security dated to last season, when he missed a 44-yard attempt wide right in the final minutes of a 27-24 loss to Kansas City in the divisional playoff round.
“He did it. I didn’t do it,” McDermott said when asked if he felt vindicated for sending out Bass, who has also missed 3 of 15 field goal attempts this year.
“I think it’s a great example of mental toughness. I think it’s a great example of perseverance, resilience, And for young kids out there,” McDermott added. “Here’s a player that was under the microscope pretty darn hard. And we brought a player in here to compete with him midseason and he didn’t back down. ... And I couldn’t be more proud of him and what he did today.”
Allen shook off an inconsistent first half. The Bills settled for field goals on two drives inside the Dolphins 20, and on their other trip to the red zone, Allen was intercepted.
He was nearly perfect after halftime, though. Allen capped three touchdown drives with a 1-yard pass to Mack Hollins, a 63-yard catch-and-run to rookie running back Ray Davis and a 2-yard TD to Quinton Morris, which the quarterback lobbed up as he was being tackled by two defenders.
He summed up the outing a one-word answer as he stood at the postgame lectern: “Exhale.”
Miami’s De’Von Achane finished with 12 rushes for 63 yards and a touchdown and had eight receptions for 58 yards and a score. Tyreek Hill had 80 yards receiving for the Dolphins, his most since Week 1 of a frustrating season.
Khalil Shakir had six catches for 50 yards for the Bills, who had little running game to speak of and relied on Allen distributing the ball to eight receivers with Amari Cooper sidelined by a hand injury.
Up next
Dolphins: At the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, Nov. 11.
Bills: At Indianapolis next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl