With Tyreek Hill held in check, Dolphins’ Waddle steps up as top target for Tagovailoa

Jaylen Waddle made several explosive plays in the Dolphins’ 21-19 win over the Bills and none bigger than a possibly game-saving catch on third-and-22 in the fourth quarter.

With Miami back at its own 48-yard line and stuck in a third-and-long situation, Waddle went deep and pulled in a 45-yard catch to move the Dolphins into the red zone. Running back Chase Edmonds scored the game-winning touchdown three plays later with 10:08 remaining.

“Just playing with great players, I feel like, opened up everything,” Waddle said. “Not just for me, but for the whole offense. I credit that to the O-line holding up, Tua throwing a good ball and having great players around me.”

Tua Tagovailoa said he saw Buffalo “really deep” in quarters coverage, so he tried to hold the safety on star wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s side of the field, hoping it would open up Waddle.

“I came back to Waddle, trusting that Waddle would beat his guy,” the quarterback said, “which he did.”

Waddle ended the day with four catches for 102 of the Dolphins’ 186 receiving yards. He stepped up in place of Hill, who didn’t see a ball thrown his way in the first or fourth quarters and was targeted only four times.

Hill caught 11 of 14 targets against the Ravens last Sunday and 8 of 12 against the Patriots in Week 1.

Even with Hill held to just two catches for 33 yards Sunday, the Dolphins managed to take down the early-season Super Bowl favorite. Waddle made it possible.

“We’re powerhouses in this league,” Waddle said. “Buffalo is a great team, great organization. It’s gonna be a long season. We see ‘em again. Most of ‘em gonna say it was lucky. We get to play ‘em up there in Buffalo’s second game. So yeah, man, it’s a great win.”