Full disclosure, I'm a Bills fan. Ban me if you will, whatever. Miami has always been one of my other preferred teams though with Dolphin fans in the family (plus Dolphin fans are generally a treat to deal with compared to generally toxic Jets and Patriots fans). So no ire or bravado here.
This notion that Buffalo ran up the score on Miami, and the outrage being expressed by some as a result, is so laughably wrong I couldn't help but address it.
1. Buffalo wasn't even at full strength for the first half. They rested their All Pro CB, top two pass rushers, starting returner, slot receiver with injury, and were out their starting TE with a false positive Covid test.
2. Only one of their eight touchdowns was a true "starter touchdown". That being Allen with a pass to #2 WR John Brown, who was in his first game off IR. The other seven were...
- 2 receiving touchdowns from their #5 WR, getting snaps outside of his usual "The Jet Sweep Guy" role.
- 1 punt return TD from the backup returner (said Jet Sweep Guy).
- 1 pick six from a backup CB.
- 2 rushing TDs from an undrafted rookie practice squad RB, just called up the day before.
- 1 passing TD from the backup QB (widely regarded as one of the worst backups around, even by Bills fans) to the #4 WR (a fourth round rookie).
3. You simply cannot tell backups/practice squad players to not give their all in that situation. They are playing for their jobs, and trying to secure a roster spot for the playoffs/following season. Not only do injuries happen, so you have to know your backups can be competitive at any given time, but COVID IS ALSO A THING. We've already seen Denver have to play without QBs, and New Orleans play without RBs, as well as QBs go down throughout the season. Buffalo was already playing without their starting TE due to a Covid test. You don't want to go into the playoffs with zero meaningful snaps for your backups.
4. I don't even have to address the "if you don't like getting beat by backups, stop them" thing, enough of you have already acknowledged that. Same goes for timeouts thing.
5. I don't believe McDermott was trying to humiliate you, or push for COTY, but could you really blame Buffalo for maybe trying to make a bit of a statement? Buffalo was HUGELY criticized all season, even back to last season, about being conservative and trying to protect leads, not "putting foot on throat". Also criticized for lack of "statement wins" and not dominating. There was also still a chance of a wild card rematch between Buffalo and Miami the following week, so I would think most coaches would go for the jugular and put some fear into them (and even then only did so accidentally with backups).
6. I have to address the few posters you have who clearly just don't know what they are talking about, who make you look bad.
- Buffalo did not keep their "top receivers" in the second half, as one poster claimed. I'm sorry your defense played so poorly that Buffalo's #4 and #5 WRs looked like top receivers by comparison. That #4 had all of TWO receptions, and the #5 did all his damage in the FIRST half. The backup QB throwing to them had 13 pass attempts in the half, hardly enough to qualify as going for the throat, and barely enough to qualify as meaningful action for practice. Would you consider 26 pass attempts through a full game to be a lot?
- To the poster complaining that Buffalo still had a few starting O-linemen playing the second half, that's because THEY LITERALLY HAD TO PLAY (at least subbing in and out) because you can only dress so many O-linemen. They didn't have enough backups to field a full second line.
- One poster alleged that McDermott clearly had an angry grudge against Miami and was out to get them. ARE YOU KIDDING? He is widely regarded as one of the most congenial and likeable coaches in the league, why the hell would he have some petty grudge against your team? Don't project your frustration and bitterness onto him.
- To the poster still harping on about how Miami dominated Buffalo in the early 70s, insinuating that Bills fans are somehow still bitter about that? I couldn't give a flying rat's arse about what happened between teams over a decade before I was born. It's fine to be nostalgic and proud of a franchise's achievements, but to try to cling to that as means to lord over another team's fans is truly pathetic.
- Buffalo fans showing up out of the blue now is not negatively telling about THEM. A selection of YOUR fans were being so hilariously and pathetically wrong about the game with the whining that someone posted a "check out these guys, funny" thread on the Bills forum and you can't blame them for being compelled to respond to such ridiculousness (as I said, hence why I'm here). News flash, fans from every team check out the forums of every other team they play. Don't try to deny Miami fans do the same. In this case one of Buffalo's visitors just stumbled across something so silly it went a bit "viral".
You guys actually have a good team, but you're in a similar situation to the Bills from just a few seasons ago. New coach, highly drafted QB, good defense with struggling offense, just needing some development time and a couple more pieces to raise from being merely competitive to a contender. Go get that stud OT with Houston's pick, grab a couple more WRs, and come for our title next year when Tua isn't so gun shy about throwing downfield. The way he played this year he had no chance to come from behind against Buffalo, but I'm sure with an ACTUAL OFFSEASON he'll be great next year (I've been on record as saying the lack of offseason is a big reason for why Buffalo traded for Diggs, rather than draft a WR).
*edit*
Also want to add that you coughed up four turnovers in the second half, which naturally is going to lead to a big swing in points even against backups. Buffalo also rested their #3 RB from the start, who was their special teams ace gunner. This was anything but an intentional running up of points.