ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard diagnosed the play as soon as Tua Tagovailoa dropped back in the pocket.

With the game on the line, and the Dolphins threatening to tie the score with three minutes left, Bernard bolted to his left and stepped in front of receiver Jaylen Waddle to intercept Tagovailoa’s pass in securing a 31-21 win and extend the Bills’ long run of dominance over their AFC East rival on Thursday night.

“It’s honestly something that we have seen on tape,” the middle linebacker said, crediting his position coach Al Holcomb for showing film of similar plays this past week. “That’s one of their top quick-game concepts. We’re in a three-deep zone and I just saw it and broke on it. So yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

And credit rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker — filling in for injured veteran Ed Oliver — for getting his arms up and deflecting Tagovailoa’s pass.

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 15-yarder to Khalil Shakir with 7:17 left. James Cook scored on a 2-yard run and had 108 yards rushing in becoming the first player to top 100 yards against Miami in 36 outings. And the Bills (3-0) have now won 14 of 15 meetings over the Dolphins, and seven straight, including playoffs.

“Good win, never easy,” coach Sean McDermott said of what was a one-score outing before Matt Prater hit a 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left.

“I thought the grit, the mental toughness of our football team was on display throughout the game, particularly in the fourth quarter there,” McDermott added.

Though the Dolphins were competitive, miscues and a lack of discipline have them opening 0-3 for the first time since 2019, and leading to further questions regarding coach Mike McDaniel’s job security.

“I’m never proud of a loss. We came here to win, and I refuse to take moral victories as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins,” McDaniel said. “It wasn’t good enough, so that’s where I’m at.”

After coaching the team to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, McDaniel’s record has dropped to 8-13 since a wild-card loss to Kansas City in 2023.

Tagovailoa’s interception — the game’s only turnover — came with Miami down 28-21 and facing first and 10 at Buffalo’s 21. That wasn’t the only miscue, however.

The momentum shifted with 10 minutes remaining and the score tied at 21.

With Buffalo punting from midfield on fourth-and-7, Miami defensive tackle Zach Sieler was flagged for roughing punter Cameron Johnston.

The 15-yard penalty put Buffalo at the Miami 36 with Shakir scoring five plays later.

“I’ve got to be better. I can’t make stupid errors like that,” Sieler said.

Tagovailoa didn’t second-guess his read on the interception — his 10th in 10 outings against Buffalo — by instead crediting Bernard for making a great play. The quarterback finished 23 of 34 for 146 yards with touchdown passes to Waddle and Tyreek Hill, while Ollie Gordon scored on a 2-yard run.

As for the Dolphins level of urgency to win, the quarterback said: “I wouldn’t say there was an emphasis to prove anything to anyone. I would say there was an emotion of wanting to get this thing right for each other.”

Allen finished 22 of 28 for 213 yards and improved his record to 14-2 over Miami, with 43 TD passes in those games. Buffalo has won 10 straight home meetings with the Dolphins in a run spanning McDermott’s nine-year career.

Bernard’s interception boosted a defense that had struggled to get Miami off the field; the Dolphins converted 10 of 15 third-down opportunities.

Buffalo’s Dalton Kincaid scored on a 20-yard catch, and rookie tight end Jackson Hawes scored his first career TD on a 5-yard pass that Allen released with a flick of the wrist while on the run.

Milestones

Cook extended his streak of scoring rushing TDs to seven straight regular season games, matching the team record shared by three players, including Cookie Gilchrist and O.J. Simpson. … Allen has now scored 301 touchdowns from scrimmage, and did so in his 127th outing, passing Patrick Mahomes, who reached the 300-touchdown plateau in 128 games. … Buffalo has won 13 straight regular-season home games dating to mid-November 2023, two short of the franchise record set spanning the 1990-91 seasons.

Up next

Dolphins: Host the AFC East rival New York Jets in a Monday night game on Sept. 29.

Bills: Continue their three-game homestand against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 28.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl