Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills take advantage of this Miami Dolphins' costly penalty for Thursday Night Football win

The Miami Dolphins had just managed to bottle up the Buffalo Bills’ high-powered offense for a third consecutive drive in the second half.

But an inexplicable roughing the kicker penalty on the third punt extended the Bills’ drive and dangerously gifted Josh Allen another chance with the game tied in the fourth quarter.

The reigning league MVP handled the rest by finding Khalil Shakir for a 15-yard touchdown as Buffalo regained the lead. The Bills then intercepted Tua Tagovailoa on the very next drive and won 31-21 on Thursday Night Football at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

Allen completed 22-of-28 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns in improving the Bills to 3-0 as the class of the AFC so far this season.

The Dolphins, who fell to 0-3, started off well by taking advantage of a 54-yard kickoff return and building a 10-play drive culminating in a goal-line touchdown rush by rookie running back Ollie Gordon II.

The Bills stormed right back, with Allen manufacturing back-to-back scores, finding Dalton Kincaid for a 20-yard touchdown connection in the first quarter and using a sweet, no-look shovel pass to Jackson Hawes for a five-yard TD early in the second quarter.

Despite trailing 14-7, the Dolphins hung tough, building a 16-play, 71-yard drive in just under six minutes, ending the sequence with a three-yard TD from Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle to knot the game at 14 entering halftime.

Even when Bills running back James Cook punched in a goal-line score in the third quarter, the Dolphins answered with a five-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill in the fourth to force another tie.

After baiting Allen into an incomplete pass on a crucial third down later in the quarter, the Dolphins were ready to get the ball back when defensive tackle Zach Sieler was whistled for the roughing the kicker penalty of 15 yards.

The costly error put Allen and the Bills back on the field from Miami’s 36-yard line — the break they needed to deliver the decisive score with 7:17 left. That followed by Tagovailoa being intercepted by Terrel Bernard with 3:06 left essentially sealed the Bills’ win.

They’d tack on a 48-yard field goal for good measure with 22 seconds left.

The Bills, certainly looking like the team to beat in the AFC and arguably entire NFL, will host the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, while the winless Dolphins will face the New York Jets on Monday Night Football on September 29.