The Miami Dolphins’ injury woes appeared to strike again in Week 9 when wide receiver Jaylen Waddle left the game in the final quarter with a leg injury. However, just minutes later, Waddle returned to the game to catch a touchdown from Tua Tagovailoa with under two minutes remaining to even the scores against the Buffalo Bills.
The 25-year-old returned to the game after the team was able to stop his bleeding, per sideline reporter Melanie Collins via David Furones. Waddle was left wide open in a coverage breakdown while crossing the middle of the end zone.
The Dolphins’ receiving corps as a whole struggled against the Bills’ stingy pass defense nearly the entire game. Waddle did not record his first reception until the fourth quarter when he hauled in a key third-down pass from Tagovailoa to keep the drive alive.
Following Waddle’s touchdown, an ensuing extra point from Jason Sanders knotted the game at 27 apiece, giving the Bills one final chance to win the game.
Bills respond to Jaylen Waddle’s touchdown with game-winning field goal to beat Dolphins
Unfortunately for Waddle and the Dolphins, Josh Allen and the Bills would steal the show on their last drive of the game. Allen launched a deep pass to rookie Keon Coleman on third down with 54 seconds remaining, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty on former teammate Jordan Poyer. The penalty placed Buffalo on the edge of field goal range.
Seven plays later, Tyler Bass nailed a 61-yard field goal to put the Bills ahead with five seconds remaining. Bass, who has been struggling with his accuracy all year long, was 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts but missed an extra point earlier in the game. The 61-yarder set a new career-long for Bass, whose previous record of 58 yards was set in his rookie season.
The Dolphins would run one final desperation play that ended in Waddle getting taken down well behind the line of scrimmage. The last play of the game led to Waddle ending the game with negative four receiving yards.
The loss dropped the Dolphins to 2-6 on the year and 0-2 since Tagovailoa returned from injured reserve in Week 8. Miami is now third in the AFC East, only above the 2-7 New England Patriots, who fell to the Tennessee Titans in overtime in Week 9.
