ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — It wasn’t simply one aspect of football that the Buffalo Bills had working for them in their latest convincing win over the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.
It was every single aspect.
Looking fresh despite a short week, and amid steamy, humid South Florida conditions, the Bills were efficient, assertive and opportunistic in a 31-10 win that was essentially over by halftime — and well before Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left with a concussion.
Quarterback Josh Allen, playing with a tender left hand, didn’t have to make any dramatic touchdown leaps as he did five days earlier in rallying Buffalo from a 14-point deficit in a season-opening win over Arizona. And a young defense didn’t flinch after losing yet another key starter — middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (pectoral muscle). It attacked and capitalized on nearly every Dolphins miscue.
“It’s not going to be eye-popping numbers on the stat sheet,” Allen said, with exception of the lopsided score. “But when you can put up those type of numbers on the scoreboard, that’s all you really care about.”
Allen didn’t have to do much with running back James Cook scoring three times in the first half to match a franchise record.
The Bills defense was keyed by third-year bit player Ja’Marcus Ingram, who had two interceptions — including one returned 31 yards for a touchdown in his seventh career game. And the few defensive veterans — Ed Oliver and Von Miller — the Bills had left stuffed Miami in an outing where the Dolphins went 1 of 5 on fourth down.
The Bills have a recent history of dominating the Dolphins, having now won 12 of 13 meetings, including playoffs.
But this year, and especially Thursday’s outing, was supposed to be different based on the talent level the Dolphins returned to their high-tempo offense, and following an offseason salary cap-influenced overhaul in Buffalo that led to the four-time defending AFC East champions parting ways with six of eight captains, including trading Stefon Diggs to Houston.
The Bills had no interest in following the script, and resembled a far more complete team than the one which opened the season sleepwalking through the first half against Arizona.
“It’s encouraging and important. And it goes back to the leadership on our football team and then guys doing it by example, right?” coach Sean McDermott said in labeling the outing a full team victory. “That’s just so important to groom those key essentials to being a good, strong, fundamentally sound football team early on.”
In two games, Buffalo’s retooled secondary has limited the Dolphins receiver tandem of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and Cardinals star rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. to a combined eight catches for 69 yards. Miller, meantime, who went 14 games including playoffs without a sack last season, has one in each outing this year.
On offense, Cook’s dynamic running ability took the load off of Allen. He finished 13 of 19 for 139 yards, and a carry for 2 yards. The 141 combined yards from scrimmage marked the second-fewest in a game Allen started and finished.
Buffalo won despite managing 13 first downs — its fewest in a win since beating the New York Jets on Nov. 12, 2015 — and a total time of possession of 23 minutes, 41 seconds.
“Josh is still Superman,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. "But it’s a beautiful thing that we could do it without him overexerting himself.”
Fourth-down defense. Though the Bills have allowed teams to go 14 of 28 on third down in two outings, they’ve limited opponents to 1 of 6 on fourth down.
Limiting plays on defense. Buffalo defenders have been on the field for a combined 135 snaps, including 75 against Miami — the most in a win since playing 79 snaps in beating Kansas City on Oct. 10, 2021.
Ingram. The 27-year-old is the first University of Buffalo product to have two interceptions in an NFL game. And Ingram was coming off a season-opening outing in which he broke up Kyler Murray’s fourth-down pass attempt to Greg Dortch near the goal line in the final minute.
WR Curtis Samuel. Signed to a three-year contract in free agency, the eighth-year player has been limited to three catches for 18 yards through two games.
Bernard is out indefinitely and a candidate to be placed on short-term IR. ... On the bright side, nickel cornerback Taron Johnson is listed week to week after hurting his right forearm against Arizona.
26-4 — Allen’s record when he doesn’t commit a turnover.
The Bills get an early-season extended break in being off until hosting Jacksonville in a Monday Night Football matchup on Sept. 23.
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Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Buffalo Bills cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram (46) reacts after scoring a touchdown after intercepting a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Buffalo Bills safety Cole Bishop (24) defends Miami Dolphins wide receiver Robbie Chosen (84) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) acknowledges cheers from fans at the end of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
IBADAN, Nigeria (AP) — In her cramped, dimly lit kitchen, Idowu Bello leans over a gas cooker while stirring a pot of eba, the thick starchy West African staple made from cassava root. Kidney problems and chronic exhaustion forced the 56-year-old Nigerian woman to retire from teaching, and she switches between cooking with gas or over a wood fire depending on the fuel she can afford.
Financial constraints also limit the food Bello has on hand even though doctors have recommended a nutrient-rich diet both to improve her weakening health and to help her teenage daughter, Fatima, grow. Along with eba, on the menu today is melon soup with ponmo, an inexpensive condiment made from dried cowhide.
“Fish, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables and even milk are costly these days,” Bello, 56, said, her lean face etched with worry.
If public health advocates and the Nigerian government have their way, malnourished households in the West African nation soon will have a simple ingredient available to improve their intake of key vitamins and minerals. Government regulators on Tuesday are launching a code of standards for adding iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 to bouillon cubes at minimum levels recommended by experts.
While the standards will be voluntary for manufacturers for now, their adoption could help accelerate progress against diets deficient in essential micronutrients, or what is known in nutrition and public health circles as “hidden hunger.” Fortified bouillon cubes could avert up to 16.6 million cases of anemia and up to 11,000 deaths from neural tube defects in Nigeria, according to a new report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Regardless of economic situation or income level, everyone uses seasoning cubes,” Bello said as she unwrapped and dropped one in her melon soup.
Making do with smaller portions and less nutritious foods is common among many Nigerian households, according to a recent government survey on dietary intake and micronutrients. The survey estimated that 79% of Nigerian households are food insecure.
The climate crisis, which has seen extreme heat and unpredictable rainfall patterns hobble agriculture in Africa's troubled Sahel region, will worsen the problem, with several million children expected to experience growth problems due to malnutrition between now and 2050, according to the Gates Foundation report released Tuesday.
“Farmlands are destroyed, you have a shortage of food, the system is strained, leading to inflation making it difficult for the people to access foods, including animal-based proteins,” Augustine Okoruwa, a regional program manager at Helen Keller Intl, said, highlighting the link between malnutrition and climate change.
Dietary deficiencies of the micronutrients the government wants added to bouillon cubes already have caused a public health crisis in Nigeria, including a high prevalence of anemia in women of child-bearing age, neural tube defects in newborn babies and stunted growth among children, according to Okoruwa.
Helen Keller Intl, a New York-based nonprofit that works to address the causes of blindness and malnutrition, has partnered with the Gates Foundation and businesses and government agencies in Africa to promote food fortification.
In Nigeria, recent economic policies such as the cancellation of gasoline subsidies are driving the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, further deepening food hardship for the low-income earners who form the majority of the country’s working population.
Globally, nearly 3 billion people are unable to access healthy diets, 71% of them in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.
The large-scale production of fortified foods would unlock a new way to “increase micronutrients in the food staples of low-income countries to create resilience for vulnerable families,” the Gates Foundation said.
Bouillon cubes - those small blocks of evaporated meat or vegetable extracts and seasonings that typically are used to flavor soups and stews - are widely consumed in many African countries, nearing 100% household penetration in countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon, according to a study by Helen Keller Intl.
That makes the cubes the “most cost-effective way” to add minerals and vitamins to the diets of millions of people, Okoruwa said.
No Nigerian manufacturers already include the four micronutrients at the recommended levels, but there is industry interest.
Sweet Nutrition, located in Ota, near Lagos in Nigeria's southwest, started adding iron to some of its products in 2017. Marketing manager Roop Kumar told The Associated Press it was a “voluntary exercise” to contribute to public health.
“But we are taking trials and looking at further fortification” with the launch of the new regulatory framework, Kumar said.
Although NASCON Allied Industries, a Nigerian company that produces table salt and seasoning cubes, currently does not make products with any of the four micronutrients, quality control manager Josephine Afolayan said fortification is a priority.
“If we’re successful, that would mean that the fortified bouillon seasoning cubes in so many Nigerian dishes would also contribute to improving the micronutrient content of the dishes in my country,” Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, the director of nutrition at Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, wrote in the Gates Foundation report.
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The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce and in statehouses from Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal Ventures.
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Despite the promise of enriching a product that most people have in their pantries, some challenges need to be addressed. One is the “campaign of calumny” in a region where science-led interventions in the food sector have sometimes faced resistance from interest groups, Okoruwa said.
Educating people about the benefits of fortified products may help counter any possible disinformation campaign, said Yunusa Mohammed, the head of the food group at the Standards Organization of Nigeria, the government regulator for consumer products.
There is also the need to make fortified cubes affordable for struggling households like Bello's, where a pile of firewood she uses to cook outdoors on an open flame is stacked against a wall.
“What we can do is to influence the government and industry on rebates on the importation of raw materials as a public health intervention,” Mohammed said.
Food fortification is not new in Nigeria. Most of the salt consumed in the country is iodized, and products such as wheat flour, cooking oil and sugar are fortified with vitamin A by law. But the requirement for adding the four vitamins and minerals to bouillon is the most comprehensive fortification regulation to date.
Although Nigerian companies do not have to enrich their seasoning cubes yet, experts think setting standards that producers must follow if they choose to will make a difference.
A working group involving representatives from companies, regulatory agencies, research groups and development organizations is in place to accelerate voluntary compliance.
“Ultimately, we will make the bouillon fortification mandatory after seeing the acceptance of the voluntary regulations in the industry,” Mohammed said.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Dr Augustine Okoruwa, a nutrition expert at Hellen Keller International, speaks during in an interview with The Associated Press in Ota, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Workers package bouillon cubes at the Sweet Nutrition factory in Ota, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
A worker checks bouillon cubes ahead of packaging at the Sweet Nutrition factory in Ota, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Workers collect bouillon cubes packages at the Sweet Nutrition factory in Otta, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Idowu Bello, 56, buys cowhide to prepare a pot of soup in Ibadan, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Idowu Bello, 56, buys onions to prepare a pot of soup at a market in Ibadan, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Idowu Bello, 56, poses for a photograph inside her house in Ibadan, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Idowu Bello, 56, prepares a meal in her kitchen in Ibadan, Nigeria, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
