Dolphins vs. Bills 2012: 'Dolphins haven't looked good the past 3 weeks'

The Miami Dolphins managed a single score from its offense in an attempt to get back to .500 on Thursday night, falling 19-14 to the Buffalo Bills for their third straight loss.

Staunch defense kept Miami in the game: Buffalo's only touchdown was on a Leodis McKelvin punt return. Although they had several scoring drives into Miami territory, the Bills' offense was limited to four field goals. The Dolphins shut them out in the second half, but it wouldn't be enough after digging themselves a double-digit hole in the first, as Ryan Tannehill's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Davone Bess put them in position to pull out a comeback win with another score but wasn't enough. For Kevin Nogle of Dolphins blog The Phinsider, the loss came down to fundamentals:

Ultimately, the game came down to the basics for the Dolphins. They lost the turnover battle three to none. They gave up too many yards on penalties (6 for 69 yards), with four of those penalties for 56 yards on cornerback Nolan Carroll. The Dolphins were actually less penalized than the Bills (11 for 100 yards), but it seemed like every time the Dolphins were able to stop the Bills, a penalty would give Buffalo new life - and ultimately the four field goals pushed the lead out past where Miami could reach tonight.

Three games ago, this team was riding a three-game win streak and possibly contending for the top spot in the AFC East. Now, after a tough loss to the Colts, a stomping at the hands of the Tennessee Titans and Thursday night's game against Buffalo, they're even with the Bills in the standings and a real long-shot for a playoff berth with momentum working against them.