ORCHARD PARK - All night the snow had held off, and the Miami Dolphins certainly were thankful for that.

But then came the fourth quarter, and the lake effect machine started churning just when the Bills needed it most, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s right when everything finally turned in Buffalo’s direction.

“Almost like it was all supposed to happen, right?” safety Jordan Poyer said with a smile and a nod to the opened heavens. “We didn't see much snow. We thought we were going to see a lot more snow than we did. But yeah, Josh takes the offense down and scores and snow starts just coming down. It was actually kind of surreal. It was a fun, fun atmosphere, though."

Bills report card: Bills report card: Josh Allen's brilliant comeback over Dolphins leaves teammates in awe

Having played so poorly on both sides of the ball in the third quarter, turning a 21-13 halftime lead into a 29-21 deficit, Josh Allen put together two world-class fourth-quarter drives amid a just-shaken snow globe and pulled out a thrilling 32-29 victory over the Dolphins which clinched a fourth consecutive playoff berth and put a hammerlock on a third straight AFC East title.

“Just coincidence,” Allen said of the timing of the snow’s arrival.

OK, that’s probably true, but you know Bills fans and the crazy pride they take in Buffalo weather, so “just coincidence” isn’t going to fly with the masses. Talk to any Bills fan who isn’t still stuck in traffic and they’ll say “when it was too tough for them, it was just right for us.”

Allen got things rolling with just under 11 minutes remaining when he broke a ridiculous 44-yard run to the Miami 13 of which said, “Quarterback draw there and just trusted the angle that I was running on and found a way to scoot by. That’s really all it was, just like Forrest Gump.”

A few plays later he found Dawson Knox for a five-yard TD on third down with 9:02 left to play.

The Bills had to go for two to tie, and on the conversion, Allen lined up in shotgun and had a running start before he leaped to the goal line. After originally being called short, instant replay confirmed that he got the ball over the plane by about an inch to make it 29-29, a huge play that cannot be overlooked.

Buffalo’s defense, which had also done its share of bumbling and stumbling in the second half, came up with a big stop and after the Dolphins pinned the Bills back at their 7, Allen put together a wondrous game-winning drive.

The big play came on third-and-6 from the Miami 34 when undrafted Dolphins rookie cornerback Kader Kohou, who was otherwise excellent in this game, was called for pass interference on Isaiah McKenzie at the 17 with 44 seconds to go.

From there, the Bills positioned the ball for Tyler Bass, and he kicked a 25-yard field goal to walk it off and start the snowy celebration.

“I thought it was, obviously, a great drive to go win it,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Well executed. Great environment tonight in Orchard Park. A little bit of snow in the fourth quarter to add to it which was just a typical Buffalo signature right there.”

Playing in near perfect conditions for a December night in Orchard Park - cold but no snow, no wind - both teams moved the ball well on offense in the first half, but the difference was that Buffalo produced three touchdowns while Miami managed just one along with two field goals. Add that up and the Bills had a 21-13 lead at the break.

After an exchange of punts to start the night, the Dolphins opened the scoring when Jason Sanders kicked a 39-yard field goal after a promising 14-play drive that consumed 7:45 of the first quarter stalled.

The Bills had quite an answer, four plays, 75 yards including a 45-yard catch and run by Knox, ending with a 14-yard Allen TD pass to Quintin Morris, the first of his NFL career.

On the first play after the kickoff, Raheem Mostert broke five tackles on a 68-yard run to the Bills 4, but the Buffalo defense came up with a great stand by forcing two incomplete passes. Sanders kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut the Miami deficit to 7-6.

Allen responded with a well-oiled machine of a 12-play, 75-yard drive that was keyed by his 21-yard strike to Gabe Davis that converted a third-and-17 before Nyheim Hines caught a swing pass from Allen and scooted 10 yards for his first touchdown with the Bills.

Here, Miami made it perfectly clear it wasn’t going to shiver into oblivion. Tua Tagovailoa made some clutch throws to convert three third downs leading to Salvon Ahmed bursting up the middle for an 11-yard TD to make it 14-13 with 2:59 remaining.

Buffalo then used every second of that final 2:59 to march 82 yards and stretch its lead to 21-13 when Allen threw a four-yard TD pass to James Cook with the clock reading zero.

“Run it down to zeros on the clock and throw a touchdown, right?” McDermott said with a smile. “He's lucky he threw a touchdown pass right there, or else he and I; I would have probably flattened his tires, maybe, after the game. He'll learn from that one. And maybe I'll learn a little bit from it, too.”

Just as spectacularly as the first half ended, that’s how badly the second half began as the Bills went three-and-out and three plays later, Jaylen Waddle was running through the secondary untouched on a 67-yard catch and run touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Bills ahead 21-19.

A little later, Cam Lewis’ bone-headed roughing the punter penalty gave Miami a first down at the Bills 35 and led to Tagovailoa’s go-ahead 20-yard TD pass to Hill.

Miami extended its lead to 29-21 when Sanders kicked a 47-yard field goal with 11:56 left after Jaelen Phillips strip-sacked Allen and recovered the fumble at the Buffalo 49, setting the stage for the drama that followed.

“I know a lot of people would like to make it about the weather, but our team never did,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said. “It’s cool for you guys to talk about, but it was more about the football players on the football field. Any competitor worth their weight, they can play in the same elements.

“We do play football in a warm weather city. But I think we can put that to rest. For the guys that haven’t played in a cold-weather or snow game, they can put that under their belt.”

Good point, what with one win in the next three weeks, or one Dolphins loss, the Bills’ belt will for emblazoned with a third straight AFC East division title.

By the numbers

∎ 3 - Games in Allen’s career where he passed for at least 300 yards and rushed for at least 75, making him the third player in NFL history to do that, joining Michael Vick and Russell Wilson.

∎ 10 - That’s how many multiple-TD games Allen has in his career against the Dolphins, tying ex-Dolphin Dan Marino (10 straight vs. the Jets from 1991–1997) for the longest streak of games with multiple TD passes versus an opponent.

∎ 11 - Coaches in NFL history who have made the playoffs in at least five of their first six seasons. McDermott joins a list that includes the likes of Paul Brown, John Madden, Andy Reid and Bill Cowher.

Game balls

∎ Josh Allen: His trophy case is filling fast with these, but how could he be denied after producing 381 yards of offense, throwing four TD passes, and scoring a critical two-point conversion?

∎ Dawson Knox: He caught six passes including a touchdown, and his 98 yards were the second-highest of his 54-game NFL career.

∎ Tre’Davious White: He finally started looking like his Pro Bowl self as he broke up three passes and helped limit Tyreek Hill to just 69 yards on his nine catches.

∎ Tyler Bass, Sam Martin, Reid Ferguson: The operation on the winning kick was flawless despite the conditions. Yeah, it was a chip shot, but anything is possible on a slick, snowy field.

What’s next for the Bills

The Bills have another Saturday game, this time a 1 p.m. start at Solider Field against the lowly Chicago Bears. If they win that game, they will clinch the AFC East and once again maintain a grip on the No. 1 seed in the AFC for another week before they have to head to Cincinnati for a game that may ultimately decide that race.

Chicago is enduring a rough season, but there may be hope in the Windy City due to the ascension this season of second-year QB Justin Fields who has injected life into a usually lifeless team.

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 thrilling win over Dolphins clinches playoffs in snow globe game