There were a lot of reasons for the Buffalo Bills' embarrassing 38-10 loss at Miami on Sunday. Chief among them was their run defense.

As if giving up 222 yards against the New Orleans Saints the previous week wasn't bad

enough, the Bills' performance reached a new low in yielding 250 yards to the Dolphins.

Running backs Ronnie Brown (20 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns) and Ricky Williams

(16 carries for 85 yards and one TD) led the way as Miami put up the third most rushing yards

allowed by the Bills this decade. The New York Giants trampled the Bills for 291 yards in 2007

and the Dolphins put up 270 in 2002 (Williams had 228 of those yards).

This is the first time the Bills have given up more than 200 rushing yards in back-to-back

games since 1979 (245 at San Diego and 265 against the New York Jets).

The Bills' defense could have used some help from the offense, which can't stay on the

field long enough to give the defense a rest. The Dolphins had more than a 15-minute advantage

in time of possession.

However, the Bills' defense was still relatively fresh in the first half when the Dolphins

tallied 123 of their rushing yards.

"I don't feel like they were blowing us off the ball," Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell

said of the Dolphins. "They found some cracks and they hit them. When they do that, somebody

is not doing their job. It just comes down to playing solid football."

Maybe the Bills didn't get blown off the ball, but they had trouble getting off blocks.

Brown and Williams benefited from outstanding work by fullback Lousaka Polite and the

offensive line.

The Bills had mixed results against the Dolphins' wildcat formation, which totaled 56 yards

on eight snaps. Williams was held to a 1-yard gain and stopped for a 3-yard loss on the first

two plays, but Brown ripped off a 38-yard run.

From the Bills' 44-yard line, Williams motioned to the right and Brown faked the handoff to

him. Brown headed up the middle where the right side of the offensive line pushed the Bills'

defensive line out of the play. Strong safety George Wilson came up to the point of attack,

but got picked off by Polite.

Middle linebacker Marcus Buggs overran the hole that Brown sprinted through and couldn't

recover to make the tackle. Brown then ran through a diving tackle attempt by free safety

Jairus Byrd and was off to the races until cornerback Terrence McGee tracked down Brown at the

Bills' 6. Brown scored from a yard out on fourth-and-goal.

Late in the first half, Williams blasted up the middle on a draw play for 12 yards. The

Bills got a sack by Stroud on the previous play to set up third and 10 at Miami's 12. The

defensive line was clearly thinking pass as they rushed the quarterback.

Stroud and Williams were ridden outside to create a huge hole up the middle. Left defensive

end Chris Kelsay ran a stunt to the inside, but got blocked by right guard Donald Thomas.

Williams burst through the opening, blew past outside linebacker Kawika Mitchell and finally

got dragged down by nickel cornerback Reggie Corner.

The Dolphins came out of halftime and attacked the edges of the Bills' defense. On first

down at Buffalo's 15, Polite took out cornerback Drayton Florence with a lead block and tight

end Joey Haynos turned defensive end Aaron Schobel inside to seal the corner and allowed Brown

to get outside on a 7-yard run. Miami finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to

uncovered rookie receiver Brian Hartline.

The outside runs worked so well, the Dolphins decided to test the interior again with a

draw to Williams on their next possession. The Bills blitzed Mitchell and Buggs up the middle,

but Mitchell got cut off by Polite and Buggs was taken down by center Jake Grove.

When Stroud stunted to the outside, there was no one there to stop Williams. Once through

the hole, Williams cut outside off Thomas' block on Kelsay. McGee had to fight off a block by

wide receiver Davone Bess to cut down Williams after a 10-yard gain.

Williams and Brown ripped off consecutive long runs late in the fourth quarter. The Bills'

defense was worn down by then and it showed.

On Williams' 28-yard run from the Dolphins' 42, left guard Justin Smiley pulled to the

right side and helped Polite drive Wilson out of the way while Thomas and right tackle Vernon

Carey got a neutralizing double team on Stroud. Williams followed Haynos, who took out

Mitchell, through the hole. Williams ran through safety John Wendling's tackle attempt and had

to be pushed out of bounds by McGee at the Bills' 30.

That play was followed by Brown's 26-yard sprint off the right side. Polite provided

another lead block, blasting Wilson. Tight end Anthony Fasano cut down defensive end Aaron

Maybin, Thomas locked onto Stroud and Carey got a kick-out block on outside linebacker Keith

Ellison to spring Brown into the secondary. Wendling got just enough of Brown to get him out

of bounds at the Bills' 4. Brown scored on the next play.

Forty-five carries and 250 yards later, the carnage was over. In assessing what happened to

the Bills' defense, Schobel put it better than anyone.

"It was embarrassing," he said.