The Buffalo Bills secured a convincing 31-10 victory against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, but the game was marred by an injury to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who left with a concussion in the third quarter.
Tagovailoa was attempting to convert a fourth down while the Dolphins were down by 21 points when he collided head-first with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. His teammates quickly summoned trainers as he remained on the field. Although he managed to walk off without assistance, he was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The Dolphins were struggling before the injury occurred. Buffalo quickly took control of the game, primarily aided by three interceptions thrown by Tagovailoa. Bills running back James Cook was a standout performer, scoring three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving. Quarterback Josh Allen had a relatively easy outing, completing 13 of his 19 passes for 139 yards, while Cook added 78 rushing yards on 11 carries.
The focus will shift to Tagovailoa, who has a prior history of concussions. He suffered two in the 2022 season and was previously suspected of another concussion prior to those incidents, which prompted the NFL and the NFL Players Association to revise the league’s concussion protocols during the season.
With this victory, the Bills improved their record to 2-0 and are set to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. Meanwhile, the Dolphins dropped to 1-1 and will take on Seattle on September 22.