There are no moral victories when your team has a 2-6 record. The Miami Dolphins played tough against the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills on Sunday – something that doesn't always happen when these two teams meet. However, they couldn't emerge victorious and lost in the way it felt like the Dolphins could.

With their season on the line late in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins offense marched down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown on a pass from Tua Tagovailoa to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Unfortunately, for the second week in a row, the Dolphins defense failed to make the plays it needed to make at the right time – I'm looking at you, Jordan Poyer – and after a brutal, unnecessary roughness penalty, they allowed Bills kickers To do so, Tyler Bass hit a miraculous 61-yard field goal to secure the win.

If the team hadn't collapsed when Tagovailoa missed four games due to injury earlier in the year, we might be able to take something positive from Miami's Week 9 performance against the Bills, albeit with little to no wiggle room for the rest of the season, Looking for silver linings after loss has become incredibly old and tiring.

And yet we carry on…

GOOD

Tua Tagovailoa has a surgical performance against Bills

Tua Tagovailoa has put together back-to-back impressive performances since returning from his last concussion.

Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, he had 234 passing yards and a touchdown.

Against the Bills, Tagovailoa surpassed last week's performance, completing an impressive 25 of 28 passes (89% completion rate) for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He added three rushing yards on two carries – but had a crucial first down on a fourth down run late in the game. With a passer rating of 124.9, Tagovailoa did everything he could to bring a win to the Miami fan base.

If the young quarterback hadn't suffered a troubling concussion, fans would be praising the organization for extending Tagovailoa to a massive new contract this offseason. Regardless, when healthy, Miami's quarterback continues to prove he is the right man to lead head coach Mike McDaniel's offense.

BAD

Raheem Mostert's costly fumble changed the momentum of the game in the second half

The Dolphins took a 10-6 halftime lead against the Bills on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York.

However, no fan who saw this team play this year expected them to walk away with an easy win after the first two quarters, as Miami took the kickoff in the second half and immediately began marching down the field, to some extent Due to a dominant rush On offense, it appeared the Dolphins were on track to take a double-digit lead with less than a half of the game left to play.

Well, that didn't happen. Why not? Because once again, Miami's fumble problems reared their ugly head when running back Raheem Mostert delivered the football with a solid run in Buffalo territory. The home team rallied to give the Bills a deficit of just four points. Buffalo would score a touchdown on the ensuing drive, taking the lead and setting off the offensive explosion that would occur in the final two quarters for both teams.

UGLY

Jordan Poyer calls a tough penalty on Bills' final drive; enables Buffalo's first down and ultimately the decisive field goal

The Dolphins' defense held the Bills to a 3rd-and-9 attempt with less than a minute to play, and the score was tied 27-27. It felt like if Miami got the stop and the punt – given the way the team's offense had been playing – that the Dolphins would have a pretty good chance of getting into field goal range and to make a game-winning attempt.

What happened next was a microcosm of Miami's 2024 season.

Safety Jordan Poyer — a former Buffalo Bills star but a hugely disappointing signing for the Dolphins — pounced on Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman after a deep attempt by quarterback Josh Allen. Coleman was already covered by a Dolphins defender, but Poyer lowered his helmet when the hit occurred and made violent contact with the receiver's helmet. This penalty will apply 100% regardless of the situation. As a result, the Bills automatically scored a first down and kicked the game-winning 61-yard field goal just a few plays later.

After the game, Poyer spoke to the media and told them he thought the hit was legal – but anyone with the internet (I'm assuming you are if you're reading this), can find several stills of Poyer's helmet violently hitting Coleman's helmet.

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Thanks to two late field goals in consecutive weeks, the Dolphins fell to 2-6 this season. With this in mind, I ask you again: What do you hope for the future of the team? Is now finally the time to trade stars to stockpile draft picks? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up!