Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
1 2 3 4 FINAL
MIAMI 0 3 0 6 9
BUFFALO 3 0 10 0 13
BUFFALO – The Buffalo Bills (15-2) will be moving on to their first AFC Championship Game since Jim Kelly led the team with their 13-9 victory over the Miami Dolphins (15-3) Saturday in Buffalo.
In a game played in miserable, blizzard-like conditions, the Bills refused to buckle under the pressure as they did just enough to put away the uncharacteristically mistake-prone Dolphins.
"Not the prettiest game you'll see, but the outcome was nice," Todd Gurley said. "You survive and advance in the playoffs, that's it."
Both teams were content to run the football throughout the first half leading to an uninspiring 3-3 draw at the half.
Last year's champions from Miami came out in the second half with a chance to finish off a game that seemed to fit into their well-documented DNA.
But the team finished with a flurry of mistakes and controversial decisions.
The team opted for an onside kick to open the 2nd half.
Miami nearly recovered, but the good field position gifted Buffalo 3-points.
The typically stoic Justin Tucker then missed a 51-yard field goal that would have tied the game at six apiece.
Each of these errors paled in comparison to a pair of plays near the end of the 3rd.
Trailing 3-6, Chris Ivory broke off what would have been a 68-yard TD run.
All Pro guard David DeCastro was flagged for holding on the play, negating the go-ahead score.
On the very next play, Thomas Rawls fumbled the ball after a brutal hit from rookie linebacker Preston Brown as Rawls was heading out of bounds for a Buffalo scoop-and-score putting the Bills up 13-3.
"Devastated," DeCastro said. "The fact that my penalty took points off the board kills me."
The team responded, driving 75-yards on the following possession to put six points on the board.
Tucker then missed the PAT - leaving the deficit at 4-points.
"I sucked man," Tucker said. "Don't feel sorry for me, I need to make those kicks."
With three minutes left to play, Ivory took his nervy teammates on his back, getting the team to 1st-and-goal at the Buffalo 4-yard line.
The Bills defense stiffened, setting up a 4th-and-Goal.
Miami, true to their nature, opted to go for the lead on the ground, but failed as Ivory was tackled short of the goalline.
"It came down to that last play, and we were fortunate enough to keep them out," Luke Kuechly said. "I'm proud of our guys fighting until the end."
Buffalo will face the winner of tomorrow's Cincinnati/Kansas City matchup in the AFC Championship Game.
