Ryan Tannehill, 'Fins handle Kyle Orton's listless Bills

Ryan Tannehill shook off a series of first-half mistakes to lead the game's only two touchdown drives in the Miami Dolphins' 22-9 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. Our takeaways:

1. Tannehill took a bad sack on the opening series, fumbled in the red zone on his second possession and passed up an opportunity for a scrambling first down late in the second quarter, costing his team scoring opportunities in the first half. Aided by two questionable calls, Tannehill bounced back in the second half, leading touchdown drives of 80 and 63 yards while the Bills' offense stalled. Tannehill finished with the third-highest single-game completion percentage (76.5) of his career and a respectable 114.8 passer rating.

2. Buffalo hasn't scored a touchdown since the first quarter of last week's loss to the Chiefs. Kyle Orton has missed too many throws and settled for too many check downs after exceeding expectations in his first month as EJ Manuel's replacement. The bottom line is the Bills are stuck with a pair of backup quarterbacks, no 2015 first-round draft pick -- thanks to the Sammy Watkins trade -- and an uphill battle to make the playoffs in a crowded AFC wildcard picture.

3. Three of the Bills' final four games are against the Broncos, Packers and Patriots. The Dolphins still have daunting road matchups at Denver and New England, but are in much better shape with a one-game advantage over Buffalo in the standings.

4. Both teams featured one-read, quick-pass aerial attacks to combat two of the best defensive fronts in the league. The Dolphins' fearsome foursome failed to get heat on Kyle Orton until the fourth quarter, when Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake took over the game.

5. A pair of defensive ends in this game are going to get big contracts in the offseason. Impending free agents Jared Odrick of the Dolphins and Jerry Hughes of the Bills have been bonafide stars through 11 weeks.

6. Former Dolphinstraining camp sensationChris Hogan has caught at least five passes in four of the past five games with the Bills. He has overtaken Robert Woods and Mike Williams as the second option behind Watkins in the Bills' dink-and-dunk passing game. Drawing Brent Grimes in coverage, Watkins was essentially a non-factor. He did burn Grimes deep in the fourth quarter, only to see Orton overthrow him.

7. Mike Wallace got open deep a few times. Tannehill overthrew him twice and didn't look his way on another opportunity for a big play. The two continue to have problems connecting beyond 10 yards. Rookie Jarvis Landry, on the other hand, has looked like the Dolphins' best playmaker for awhile now.

8. Kicked outside from left guard to right tackle following Branden Albert's season-ending knee injury, Dallas Thomas got worked over by a maniacal, red-eyedMario Williams, who racked up 3.5 sacks. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor is going to have to scheme protect because Thomas is a liability.

The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews every Week 11 game and recaps the Dolphins' key victory over the Bills. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.