Now 0-3, Dolphins battle but refuse moral victories

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Miami Dolphins take no pride in a loss, no matter how close the game is.

The Dolphins were 12½-point underdogs entering Thursday night's game against the Buffalo Bills but hung with the five-time reigning AFC East champions for three-and-a-half quarters before a pair of critical mistakes cost them in a 31-21 loss.

"No moral victories, that's for sure," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after the game. "There's definitely some things that we can take away that are good and up to par with our standard of how we operate within our offense. ... Never good to lose, regardless of how a certain individual may have felt they performed. This is a team sport. We win together, we lose together."

The Dolphins fell to 0-3 this season and have lost seven straight games against Buffalo. The loss comes after a week of speculation regarding coach Mike McDaniel's job security, but for most of the game, Miami did not play like a team whose coach is on his way out.

After a 52-yard opening kick return from Dee Eskridge, the Dolphins scored on their opening drive for the first time this season but allowed 14 straight points to Buffalo immediately after. The Bills appeared ready to stretch their lead even further midway through the second quarter, but Matt Prater missed a 39-yard field goal and the Dolphins tied the score with a 16-play drive just before halftime.

Miami tied the score again with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and forced a punt on the Bills' ensuing drive; defensive tackle Zach Sieler was flagged for roughing the punter, however, paving the way for the Bills' game-winning touchdown.

"I've got to be better," Sieler said after the game. "I can't be making stupid errors like that."

Tagovailoa threw an interception on the following drive to effectively seal the game.

The Dolphins' quarterback said there was no added emphasis this week to prove anything to outside critics, but that the team wanted to "get this thing right for each other."

He said there were some positives to take away from the game; Miami converted 10-of-15 third down attempts and set a new season high with 130 rushing yards.

But McDaniel said that a loss is a loss, and he didn't feel any pride seeing his team compete in a game it ultimately lost.

"I'm never proud of a loss. We came here to win," he said. "I refuse to take moral victories as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins."

Dolphins fans flew a banner over Hard Rock Stadium before last week's loss to the New England Patriots calling for the team to fire both McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. McDaniel said he didn't believe the gesture was "personal" and that he wasn't spending time worrying about his job security.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who caught his first touchdown of the season Thursday, said the Dolphins "did something a lot of people didn't expect us to do" by playing a close game in Buffalo. He said he believes the team is "moving in the right direction."

He also spoke to his head coach's fiery demeanor after the game and praised him for his leadership and playcalling.

"I love Coach McDaniel. I love him to death, man," Hill said. "Obviously, he gave me a chance to come to Miami and play, and I don't take that for granted. To see how he coached and to see how he led me today, it was a beautiful thing to see. So can't wait until next week."

This marks the Dolphins first 0-3 start to a season since 2019, when they finished 5-11. Of the 117 NFL teams since 2000 to start a season 0-3, only the Houston Texans in 2018 made the playoffs.

Miami isn't focused on history as it prepares for its Week 4 game against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football, but Hill said the Dolphins aren't ready to quit on this season.

"It's all about how do you want to be remembered?" he said. "Do you want to be the 0-3 team that just was like, 'hey, we just going to throw in the towel and just say hey, it's over with,' or are we going to be remembered as the team that started off 0-3 and found a way to turn it around going into the fourth game?

"We got great captains, great leadership who do a great job of setting the standard every day at practice and also in the locker room. So we got a beautiful thing going right now."