MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - The mere fact that the Buffalo Bills were even competitive in the game Sunday afternoon against the Miami Dolphins given their almost unfathomable injury situation was a victory all by itself.

That they nearly won it using players you would normally only see in a preseason game speaks volumes for not only how deep and talented the Bills are, but the rather enormous amount of grit and guts that they have.

“Just real proud of the guys,” coach Sean McDermott said after the Bills dropped a thrilling, down-to-the-very-last-second 21-19 decision to a Miami team that is now 3-0 and alone in first place in the AFC East.

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“I know we didn’t get the result that we all came down here for,” McDermott continued, “but I think we learned something about our team today, that’s for sure, and I’m proud of the guys. We came down here to win the game … I’m proud of the way the guys battled, the effort they gave. We used about everybody we could on the sideline there.”

The Bills were already in a precarious situation before kickoff without safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, cornerback Dane Jackson, center Mitch Morse, and defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips.

And then the bloodbath began, and the combination of a very physical game between division rivals and the oppressive heat that several players said they’d never experienced before had the effect of a bowling ball on pins as Bills just kept crumbling.

The Bills lost cornerback Christian Benford, offensive linemen Spencer Brown, Greg Van Roten and Ryan Bates, wide receivers Jake Kumerow and Isaiah McKenzie, and tight end Dawson Knox, though McKenzie and Knox were able to return.

“That’s top two or three,” said edge rusher Greg Rousseau, who played at the University of Miami, when asked if this was the hottest game he’d ever played in. “Even when I was at Miami we’d get lucky and have some 4 o’clock games or night games, but that was hot out there.

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of fighters in our locker room. We were down a friggin’ million people and kept on fighting. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but there’s some things you can’t teach. You can fix blocking, tackling, catching, the fundamentals, but it’s hard to teach the heart we have in our locker room.”

By midway through the second quarter, the secondary consisted of Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Damar Hamlin and JaQuan Johnson.

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In the third quarter, the offensive line had Van Roten at center, David Quessenberry at right tackle, and Tommy Doyle at right guard, and when Van Roten went down, Greg Mancz - just called up from the practice squad - had to finish at center.

And they had players like running back James Cook, fullback Reggie Gilliam and tight end Quintin Morris lining up at wide receiver spots. It was absurd, the personnel combinations the Bills had to use, and still, if they had a few extra seconds, Tyler Bass would have had the chance to attempt a game-winning field goal, albeit from 68 yards.

“I thought our guys did a good job,” said quarterback Josh Allen, who set new career-highs of 42 completions and 63 attempts, totaling 400 yards. “They stepped up. I couldn’t tell you who went out or who went down. When guys went in, the communication was pretty good. I thought they did a good job up there.

“Again, that’s going to happen in this game. Guys are going to go down. It’s a physical game that we play. Yeah, that’s how it goes sometimes and we’ve got to be prepared for that.”

He’s wrong. No team could possibly be prepared for a roster decimation like this, and ultimately, the Bills proved that by falling short.

Here’s my recap of the game:

Bills offense killed itself with mistakes

It’s not often that this happens, but the Bills offense - despite their gaudy statistics which included 497 yards, 31 first downs, and 40 minutes of possession time - simply didn’t get the job in key moments.

In the second quarter, backed up at the 12, the line caved in on a Miami blitz and safety Jevon Holland forced a fumble which Melvin Ingram recovered at the 7, and the Dolphins scored the tying TD three plays later on a Chase Edmonds run.

At the end of the first half, Allen bobbled a snap from center which meant he couldn’t spike the ball to kill the clock and instead threw a pass out to the sideline to Stefon Diggs who instinctively caught it. Once he did, the clock ran out, costing the Bills the chance for a Bass field goal attempt.

Early in the third quarter, the Bills embarked on an epic 20-play drive that consumed 9:22, but after making six first downs, it died when Gabe Davis dropped what would have been a touchdown pass and the Bills had to settle for a field goal and a 17-14 lead. “I left a touchdown out there on the field,” said a disconsolate Davis, who did not look right playing on a sore ankle.

Early in the fourth quarter, after a 43-yard run by Zack Moss got the Bills rolling, the drive died at the 20 and rather than go for it on fourth-and-4, McDermott sent Bass out. However, he mishit a 38-yard attempt which was partially blocked, so another wasted scoring opportunity.

Later in the fourth, after Miami had gone ahead 21-17, the Bills used nearly eight minutes on another massive drive, but after getting into a first-and-goal at the 2, they inexplicably moved no further and did not score as two runs gained nothing, and Allen threw two incompletions.

Finally, after a huge break when Miami punter Thomas Morstead, in his own end zone, kicked the ball right into the rear end of a teammate resulting in a safety, the Bills could not get the winning score.

After the free kick, with no timeouts they moved from their 23 to the Miami 43, but then Quessenberry was called for a killer holding penalty with 18 seconds left. Allen was able to complete a 12-yard pass to Isaiah McKenzie, but he couldn’t get out of bounds and before the Bills could line up for a spike, the clock drained to zero.

Bills running game is problematic

Allen is the Bills running game. When he takes off on a scramble or on the designed runs that Ken Dorsey calls, that’s the extent of the run game, and Allen had 47 yards against Miami. As I’ve always said, the more Allen runs, the greater chance there is for injury to the one player the Bills absolutely can’t lose.

But the Bills don’t have a choice but to run Allen because the offensive line simply isn’t strong at the point of attack on traditional run calls. In this game, it certainly had an excuse with all the injuries and moving parts, but in general, this group has really struggled to open holes, and it dates back a couple seasons now.

They did get one huge play, Moss’ 43-yarder. Outside of that, Moss, Devin Singletary and James Cook gained 22 yards on 14 attempts.

Bills defense was on the field just 39 snaps

It was amazing how little the Miami offense was on the field, less than eight minutes in the second half, but all it took was one big drive to win the game.

Down 17-14 in the fourth, the Dolphins took possession at the 28 after Bass’ blocked field goal, and Tua Tagovailoa finally remembered that Jaylen Waddle was on his team.

The Bills had done a great job on Waddle and Tyreek Hill, but on this possession, Waddle got open down the right sideline for a 32-yard catch against Ingram. And then, on a third-and-22 play, the backbreaker of the day for the Bills, Waddle ran a deep post and caught a 45-yard pass that set up Edmonds’ three-yard TD run.

It was strange how Tagovailoa didn’t seem excited about attacking the Bills’ makeshift secondary. The biggest matchup nightmare for the Bills should have been Waddle and Hill going against all those backups, but Hill had only two catches for 33 yards, and Waddle had two for 25 until his two big plays on that drive.

“I’m just proud of them,” Taron Johnson said of the young DBs. “I feel like they came out and prepared well, they went out there ready to play. I feel like they did a really good job and I feel like they’re only going to get better.”

Matt Milano nearly had a second pick-six

Milano briefly knocked Tagovailoa out of the game late in the first half with a dumb personal foul penalty on which the quarterback’s head slammed to the ground. He went to the locker room and his return was questionable, but after passing the concussion test, he was back for the second half.

Milano then nearly made a much more important play as he read Tagovailoa’s intentions on a short route into the left flat. Milano broke on the ball which was intended for Hill and he dropped what would have been an easy interception return for a touchdown which would have given the Bills a 24-14 lead.

That was another potentially game-changing play that did not go Buffalo’s way.

Game balls

▶ QB Josh Allen: He was mostly outstanding, making so many big plays that helped the offense stay on the field. He also did a nice job in the face of a relentless blitz by the Dolphins, beating it several times with outstanding reads and throws.

▶ WR Isaiah McKenzie: He played through heat issues and cramping, even taking IVs at halftime to try to stay on the field and he managed seven catches for 76 yards. Actually, every offensive player deserves a game ball for playing 90 snaps in those conditions.

▶ DE Greg Rousseau: He continues to flash in his second season as he was in on both sacks of Tua Tagovailoa.

What’s next for the Bills

It doesn’t get any easier as Buffalo has to travel to Baltimore on Sunday to face the 2-1 Ravens who are fresh off a 37-26 pasting of New England Sunday at Foxborough.

Lamar Jackson ran for 107 yards and a touchdown, and he threw for 218 yards and four touchdowns, and if the Bills’ defense is as depleted as it was in Miami, you can imagine that things will be a whole lot more difficult defending Jackson than it was Tagovailoa.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills lose wild game to Dolphins 21-19 in oppressive heat