Jay Ajayi rushes for 200-plus yards again for Dolphins

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. – As the NFL's newest rushing star, Jay Ajayi is carrying Miami toward respectability.

Ajayi tied a league record by surpassing 200 yards rushing for the second game in a row, helping Miami rally past Buffalo 28-25 Sunday.

Ajayi rushed for 214 yards in 29 carries after totaling 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh. He scored on a 4-yard run, and busted a 53-yarder when the Dolphins were pinned at their 3 and trailing in the fourth quarter.

The Dolphins (3-4) used an extra lineman much of the time to clear big holes for Ajayi, who tied the record for consecutive 200-yard games held by O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.

"It's surreal to me," Ajayi said. "The backs I'm in company with — that's huge. Those are Hall of Fame guys, guys I look up to."

Two weeks ago the Dolphins appeared strong contenders for the No. 1 draft pick in 2017, and the discovery of a ground game has revived their season under first-year coach Adam Gase.

"I know this — every time No. 23 kept getting the ball, he was popping a run," Gase said. "I was leaning on him."

"We got outplayed, we got out-coached, we got out-everythinged," Buffalo coach Rex Ryan said. "They were the more physical team today, there's no doubt about that. They controlled the game."

Ajayi, a second-year pro from Boise State, is the only NFL rusher with a 200-yard game this year.

He ran for 187 yards as a rookie and totaled 117 in Miami's first five games this year before his breakout.