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James Cook scores 3 TDs as Bills rout Dolphins; Tua Tagovailoa leaves with concussion

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DailyNews.com 

By ALANIS THAMES and TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writers

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Buffalo fans cheered so loudly in Hard Rock Stadium that Bills coach Sean McDermott was asked if it was a home game.

It wasn’t. But Buffalo certainly gave fans who made the trip to South Florida plenty to celebrate Thursday night.

James Cook caught a touchdown pass and ran for two scores and the Bills routed the Miami Dolphins, 31-10, with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa leaving early because of a concussion.

Tagovailoa left in the third quarter after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf. Tagovailoa was quickly ruled out with the concussion, casting doubt on his season after a history of dealing with head injuries.

“Very sad. It’s the worst part of the game,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “Nothing but love and prayers to him and his family, and hopefully everyone is sending those because he’s going to need them.”

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel did not specify if the team will place Tagovailoa on injured reserve, saying Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.

“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”

Allen, playing with a glove on his left non-throwing hand after hurting it in Buffalo’s opener, completed 13 of 19 passes for 139 yards. He’s 12-2 against the Dolphins, and the Bills are 14-2 against Miami since McDermott’s first year as head coach in 2017.

McDermott praised the outing from his defense, which had three turnovers and held Miami’s high-flying offense to a touchdown and field goal despite missing several starters.

“Next man up. The guys did a great job,” McDermott said. “These guys work hard. Good things happen when you work hard, and sometimes the ball finds you like that.”

Cook caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Allen and scored on runs of 1 and 49 yards in the first half, flipping into the end zone when he gave the Bills a 24-7 lead. The three first-half touchdowns tied a team record.

“As long as they trust me, I’m going to get in the end zone,” said Cook, who was a high school star in Miami.

Allen didn’t appear limited by the left hand that he hurt after hurdling safety Budda Baker in Buffalo’s opener against the Arizona Cardinals. He had his hand heavily wrapped before returning to finish that game and practiced all week with a glove to protect it.

After the game and before leaving the field, Allen held up his hand and flexed it in front of fans as if to display that it’s not broken.

“Feels great,” Allen said later.

Backup Mitchell Trubisky replaced Allen late in the fourth Thursday with Buffalo leading by 21.

Miami’s star receiver Tyreek Hill was held to three catches for 24 yards during a week in which he dominated national headlines. Hill was pulled from his sports car by Miami-Dade County police officers, pushed face-first onto a street and handcuffed during a traffic stop outside the Dolphins’ home stadium hours before their season opener.

Officer Danny Torres was placed on administrative duty as the department’s director launched an internal affairs investigation. Hill said he wants the officer fired, but the 30-year-old also acknowledged he could have handled the interaction better in the moment.

Buffalo scored 10 points off two first-half turnovers by Tagovailoa. Ja’Marcus Ingram intercepted Tagovailoa’s pass on a tipped ball intended for receiver Grant DuBose on Miami’s opening drive.

Then Christian Benford picked off a pass on what appeared to be miscommunication between the quarterback and receiver Robbie Chosen. Both DuBose and Chosen arrived to the team after the preseason.

Tagovailoa thew another interception to Ingram while trying to toss the ball out of bounds on Miami’s opening drive of the third. Ingram returned the ball 31 yards for a score that put Buffalo up 31-10. It was Tagovailoa’s third career game with three interceptions.

Late in the third quarter, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle for a first down did not slide, lowering his right shoulder to initiate contact with Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s helmet made hard contact with Hamlin’s body, and the quarterback ended up lying on the turf.

Bills players, as well as Tagovailoa’s teammates, immediately waved for trainers to come to the field. The fifth-year quarterback was helped to his feet after a few minutes and walked under his own power to the locker room with trainers after throwing for 145 yards and a 5-yard touchdown to De’Von Achane.

Tagovailoa was diagnosed with two concussions during the 2023 season and another when he was a college player at Alabama.

Third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson replaced him Thursday.

“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being. He’ll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information.”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) lies on the field after suffering a concussion during a hard collision in the second half of their game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.

“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” Thompson said. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”

Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season – a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL – and was the league’s leading passer in Week 1 this season.

“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows – and this is one of the lows.”

Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.

When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.

McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.

Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air, following the collision with Hamlin and Bills players immediately pointed at Tagovailoa as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.

Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.

McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed.

“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge rusher Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”

Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 in Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.

Tagovailoa’s history with concussions – and how he has since worked to avoid them – is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.

He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.

The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms – including a lack of balance or stability – he must sit out the rest of the game.

Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.

His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways in which he might be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury – including studying jiu-jitsu.

“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”

OTHER INJURIES

Bills: Middle linebacker and captain Terrel Bernard left with a pectoral injury in the first quarter and did not return.

Dolphins: Starting offensive linemen Terron Armstead and Rob Jones both left with shoulder injuries. … Jeff Wilson Jr. left with an oblique injury and did not return.

UP NEXT

The Bills host Jacksonville on Monday, Sept. 23.

The Dolphins play at Seattle on Sunday, Sept. 22.

Buffalo Bills cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram celebrates as he returns an interception 31 yards for a touchdown during the second half of their game against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)