Dolphins dominate NFL's regular season debut in Canada
Buffalo's lowly offence keeps Toronto crowd out of game
Last Updated: Monday, December 8, 2008 | 12:41 AM ET
CBC Sports
Chad Pennington completed 23 passes on the day, including his final 11, as the Miami Dolphins beat the Bills 16-3 in Toronto, the first of five annual regular season games Buffalo will be playing north of the border.
Pennington threw to Anthony Fasano in the first quarter for the game's only touchdown, but the story of the day was the Dolphins defence.
Miami limited Buffalo to 163 yards of total offence. The Dolphins sacked Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman four times and the secondary generally blanketed the Bills receivers. 
Joey Porter of Miami drags Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman to the ground. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)
When they didn't, Losman was overthrowing or his teammates were dropping the ball.
Buffalo had possession of the ball for just over 22 of the game's 60 minutes.
"We weren't on offence very much," said Bills coach Dick Jauron. "We couldn't stay on the field; we couldn't convert on third down; we couldn't score points.
Losman accounted for three of the team's six fumbles, although they were fortunate to lose just one of them. Running back Marshawn Lynch, usually reliable, dropped at least two catchable balls, with tight end Robert Royal also botching what should have been a reception.
Miami improved to 8-5 and moved into a tie for first place in the AFC East with New England and New York, as the Jets lost on Sunday. The Dolphins were just 1-15 last season, which included a game in London, England.
"The story does keep getting better," said safety Yeremiah Bell. "This is something that's definitely sweet, going from one win to being in every game this year and having a legitimate chance to win. It's a great feeling."
Buffalo's playoff hopes for bleak at best heading into Sunday and are essentially over with a 6-7 record in the competitive conference.
The best chance for the Bills came in late in the third quarter, trailing 13-3. On the doorstep of the end zone, Losman underthrew Lee Evans, with Will Allen intercepting for the Dolphins.
"It's a run-pass option, if you get [a receiver] singled up outside you can throw the fade … he just underthrew it," said Jauron.
Williams returns to Toronto
Ronnie Brown ran for 70 yards on 16 carries for Miami. Ricky Williams carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards in his return to the building where he played as a member of the Toronto Argonauts two years ago.
Williams ran into the end zone for an apparent touchdown in the second, but it was nullified by a Miami penalty.
Pennington threw to Fasano for a 20-yard score, with the kickers accounting for the rest of the points as both defences were impressive.
"I thought our defence played hard and kept them out of the end zone to keep it a 13-point game," the Buffalo coach said, looking for the silver lining. 
Buffalo Bills fans cheer before the team's regular season debut in Toronto on Sunday afternoon. (David Duprey/Associated Press)
Dan Carpenter made three field goals for Miami, including a 50-yarder.
Rian Lindell made his only kick for Buffalo after enduring a dreadful 1-of-3 outing last week.
Losman completed 13 of 27 passes for 123 yards.
After scoring 54 points two weeks ago in Kansas City, the Bills have scored but a single field goal in each of the last two games.
The attendance was 52,134, with the only remaining seats in the upper level. At least 25,000 shy of a typical Ralph Wilson Stadium crowd, and set back farther from the sideline, the noise of the fans often seemed muffled.
The notable exception was for the Canadian national anthem —midway through the crowd spontaneously erupted in song to drown out a lamentable version.
