Deone Walker helps save the day as Bills escape the Dolphins

The Buffalo Bills got all they could handle on a short turnaround for a Thursday night game with the Miami Dolphins. Miami was (and is still) desperate for a win, and they played Buffalo tough until the final minutes, at least until good fortune found the home team. That’s when a late interception by linebacker Terrel Bernard sealed the deal, erasing a late surge by the Dolphins who were driving down the field in hopes of tying points.

One rookie in particular played a massive role on Thursday, his work clutch in allowing Bernard to seal the win. In retrospect, several rookies had their hand in a tightly contested win over a hungry Miami team. Let’s review…

CB Maxwell Hairston

The Bills’ first-round selection has one more game to sit as part of his Injured Reserve designation, which means we have almost no idea how Hairston will do when he does finally return. In his place, Tre’Davious White had a very up and down game on Thursday in a tough matchup against the Dolphins’ speed at receiver.

Hairston, the fastest player at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, may have been an asset against that kind of speed. We saw more of White’s blemishes in Week 3, which should keep the light on for Hairston to be a major contributor in 2025.

DT T.J. Sanders

There may be some cause for concern regarding Sanders’ performance against the Dolphins. Miami’s offensive line has been very beat up in recent weeks, yet the Bills’ defensive line as a unit struggled to generate negative plays in this game. Despite his efforts, Sanders felt like a complete non-factor throughout in playing 36 of 61 snaps. The truth is that he’s yet to make much of an impact in the regular season.

A short turnaround is new to Sanders, so let’s give him some grace (as well every other rookie). Still, Sanders was washed out of the play several times in Miami’s run game, and his pass rush presence was ineffective at best. Overall, Sanders was one of the worst performers on defense last Thursday.

EDGE Landon Jackson

Jackson was once again a healthy scratch for the Bills, having yet to to play through three weeks of action. Buffalo isn’t getting much from players like Javon Solomon right now, so Jackson might be worth a look at some point in the near future. At this point, the team may need to see what the third-round pick can do with opportunity before Michael Hoecht returns from suspension in a few weeks.

DT Deone Walker

In being honest here, it wasn’t a perfect performance from Walker, but he certainly made his presence felt more often as the game went on. Walker was moved off his spot in run support early in action, but he showed mental fortitude to take the challenge and flash big time when the moment mattered.

As mentioned to open, Walker came up with one of the key plays in the game, leveraging a slight tip of the football and flashing in the face of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as he threw to help force the key turnover that iced the game. Walker needs to continue working on his anchor and just keeping his gap in run fits.

He only played 19 snaps to Sanders’ 36, though based on what’s happened through three games, that needs to be flipped. Walker has been an overall positive on defense and an he’s ascending player who could blossom into a needle mover.

DB Jordan Hancock

Hancock was off the injury report and healthy going into the game, though he was a healthy scratch. Cole Bishop and Taylor Rapp have gotten their act together the past two weeks, which is doing some work to keep him off the field. Still, neither is a player making a difference. At some point, Hancock may earn a role, but clearly the team doesn’t view him in that light just yet despite some positive returns in the preseason.

TE Jackson Hawes

For everything Hawes provides, he has been one of the Bills’ best overall players through three weeks of the season. Hawes has been absolutely tremendous as a blocker throwing final spring blocks for James Cook. He has been absolutely everything the Bills could have ever wanted of a late-round tight end and more.

Hawes reached his own milestone on Thursday, catching his first NFL touchdown on a flip on the goal line from Josh Allen. Hawes already looks like one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, but it was awesome to see him rewarded with a touchdown on the team’s second drive.

CB Dorian Strong

After earning some late spot duty on defense a week ago, Strong didn’t register a single defensive snap Thursday night. He had two special teams tackles, and is still operating as the team’s punt gunner and jammer — a key role on the unit. Even when Hairston comes back, expect Strong to remain a mainstay as a special teams contributor for the Bills.

OL Chase Lundt

Lundt was a healthy inactive for the team for the third straight week. The offensive line hasn’t suffered any injuries to this point. Thus, Lundt’s status remains unchanged.