The Buffalo Bills hosted the Miami Dolphins in Week 9 and on the surface it looked like a good day for the Flags. While that is true when it comes to traditional measures, you all know that we do not adhere to traditional measures in this area.

The small volume allows us to delve into the details of each flag and even go into the vault for a talking point or two.

Standard and advanced metrics

Punishment counts

This is all pretty normal. This is strange because the Bills have struggled to stay close to average in the past. But this year, it's normal – or at least more normal than the two games where they played “YOLO” and collected flags like Pokemon.

The Dolphins are technically above league average, but close enough to be considered average. Speaking of averages: The league has been pretty stable for a few weeks. We're still slightly higher than last year, but with almost half a season to go there's still scope for a slight decline – but it's worth looking at.

Penal courts

Looking at the numbers above, the group of bars on the left is largely in line with expectations. On the right we have our first glimpse into a deeper story. The Bills added over 50% more yards to their total when factoring in negated yards, while the Dolphins negated zero yards.

Punitive damages

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins had a total damage of 10.7, which is barely above the bad day limit of 10.0 damage. I generally don't dissect a lot of opposing flags because they are all evil, evil people who deserve to be called out for their evil deeds. However, sometimes there are some that are worth discussing.

Cornerback Cam Smith had two flags on one drive, both of which resulted in free first downs. However, only one actually gave up a down (the defense came on second down). Both helped the Bills take the field. It's worth noting that Smith's was on the same ride as the Bills' holding calls discussed below. Ultimately, Smith's flags didn't result in a touchdown, but they certainly didn't help the Dolphins.

The two most effective of these came from former Buffalo Bills. Cornerback Siran Neal was called for a defensive hold on 3rd-and-6 where quarterback Josh Allen's pass to wide receiver Keon Coleman was incomplete. The flag continued Buffalo's drive, but it ended in a touchdown. Thank you Siran Neal!

Safety Jordan Poyer's unnecessary roughness became widely known and I won't show it to you again. Poyer's flag allowed two free downs and continued Buffalo's game-winning drive, so thanks except for hurting Keon Coleman. Fun fact; The first time the Bills played the Dolphins, Poyer was charged with unnecessary roughness when he went downfield and hit wide receiver Khalil Shakir helmet to helmet while making a catch. This was a little more gaudy than Coleman's, but it's a fact worth pointing out.

Because, um, for no particular reason, here's a GIF of 2021 quarterback Matt Ryan initiating a head-first slide and failing to score a touchdown. Since we just mentioned him, Ryan taunted Jordan Poyer and pushed the Falcons back, costing his team even more.

Here's a potentially relevant move from a recent game to discuss.

OK, good. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa likely reached the line before the shin touched him. However, this is meant to be a reminder that giving in headfirst is still giving yourself up.

Buffalo Bills

Buffalo had a total loss of 15.1, well above the bad day limit. The graphic makes it clear where the main culprit lies. Since there are only four of them in total and none of them were false starts, let's take a look at each one and analyze them. We'll do this chronologically, because that's as good an order as anything else. That said, we start with safety Taylor Rapp's unnecessary roughness call.

As the site's official referee apologist, what do I think about this call? I fucking hate it. Stop me if you've heard this before, but there is NO helmet-to-helmet rule in the NFL. Helmet to helmet may be a flag, but it is always accompanied by other conditions as part of another rule. A common condition is a defenseless player, such as a receiver, trying to make a catch. Am I right, Jordan Poyer? Up top, running back Raheem Mostert had caught the ball and clearly established himself as a runner, so he doesn't receive any special protection.

What makes it worse: I know the GIF loses some resolution, but Rapp was trying to slow down because of the impact, and more importantly, you can tell by the logo on his helmet that he was closing his eyes had above. Rapp literally engaged in the “heads-up” tackling form that the league has championed for years. Mostert, on the other hand, moves forward at full speed, his eyes lowered and his back flat and parallel to the ground. This is a flag by rule, but it should be aimed at Mostert and referred to as lowering the head to make contact.

This was marked for yards only, with Mostert already in first place. It's fair to say that Miami would still score a field goal without that flag, but it still makes me angry.

Before we look at left tackle Dion Dawkins' holding call, it was only counted for yards. The call on the field was an incomplete pass, so there are no canceled yards, points, or anything of that nature for the official tally.

This call is also nonsense. There is no indication that Dawkins pulled his man to the ground. Offensive holding prohibits spins, pushes, or tackles, but it does not prohibit letting your opponent lean way too far forward and then pulling his arms back and watching him fall on his face and laughing out loud at his expense. This is a fantastic move from Dawkins and the referee sees things that just aren't there. What makes this bullshit, and not just bad, is the fact that the rulebook specifically says you do this not Throw the flag unless you clearly see all elements of the penalty.

Right guard O'Cyrus Torrence's effort was the most impactful of the day, as he canceled out 21 yards of Josh Allen's run and, of course, the old touchdown scored on that play. Was that valid?

That's even worse. To invoke hold, there must be a significant constraint. A twist, a jerk, anything that points to the lineman has a direct and significant impact on the other person's trajectory. There is no sign of this and the touchdown should have counted.

We still have one more point to go, but before we get to the offside penalty against edge rusher Von Miller, let's talk about the implications. Miller's five scored yards came on third-and-3 and an incomplete pass by the Dolphins. Without that flag, it's entirely possible that the Bills could get a stop and prevent a field goal.

Hey, one out of four isn't so bad for the referees, right?