ORCHARD PARK — It turns out that all isn’t as rosy for the Dolphins as Jimmy Johnson’s cheeks. Glowing from three hours in a gale, pumped up a few more shades by humiliating 30-plus-mile-an-hour gusts of Bruce Smith and Phil Hansen, the Dolphins’ coach came before the media yesterday with a look that told you he was not going to prolong his agony by being any windbag.

“We obviously weren’t ready to play,” Johnson said after his team was pounded 23-3 by the Bills. “Buffalo blocked us. We didn’t block them. We couldn’t tackle them.

“We had a lot of things going on, talking about how good we were, quarterback controversies and everything in the world except talking about our opponent, an opponent that beat us pretty good before.

“The only thing I will say is that this week we’re talking about New England. We aren’t talking about a bunch of other [stuff]. Questions?”

Jimmy, what did they do to stop your offense?

“They beat the hell out of us.”

With that he was gone, along with any illusions that his team, with Dan Marino or without, was good enough to run away with football’s best division. Miami’s second loss of the season was also its second to the Bills, who appear to have more than just the Dolphins’ number, but actually made them look outnumbered on practically every play.

Johnson’s team was held to 101 net yards and six first downs. And the Dolphins lost rookie running back Cecil Collins (414 yards rushing this season), who suffered a broken leg in the second quarter on a hit by Hansen.

Yesterday’s game brought the beginning of Bills’ weather, and it’s beginning to look like the Bills are more than just an outside threat to get to the AFC championship game.

Buffalo (7-3) moved within one-half game of Miami (7-2) and Indianapolis (7-2) in the AFC East, and New England (6-2) can pull into a three-way tie for first by beating the Jets tonight in Foxboro.

“Miami had a great start, Indianapolis has all that great young talent, people are talking about New England and in the meantime, here we are hanging in the shadows,” said Bills’ center Jerry Ostroski. “I kind of like that.”

Or, he used to like that. Oh, Buffalo coach Wade Phillips tried to lay a little of that laying-in-the-weeds stuff on reporters afterward — “I’ve said all along we’re the fourth-best team in the division,” he said — but his team’s cover had just been blown like the flags at the top of Ralph Wilson Stadium. By the end, they were starched stiffer than Johnson’s hair after spraying. The Dolphins coach had no Marino, no field position, and without a lead in these conditions, no chance.

On the third play from scrimmage, Damon Huard threw behind O.J. McDuffie, through the arms of Bills’ safety Henry Jones and into the hands of his teammate, Antoine Winfield. The game, effectively, was over. Steve Christie nailed a 31-yard field goal, then Buffalo turned three consecutive Dolphin three-and-outs into points.

Christie nailed two more field goals off drives of 43 and 23 yards, then Doug Flutie found Jay Riemersma outrunning safety Brock Marion. The pass-and-run went to the Dolphins’ 9, setting up consecutive Jonathan Linton bashes. On the second, the fullback followed Andre Reed’s block into the end zone and the Bills had a 16-0 lead before the Dolphins had a first down.

A 25-yard punt return by Nate Jacquet and a completion to Tony Martin got Miami into range for Olindo Mare, who hit a 30-yard field goal late in the first half to get the Dolphins on the board. But on a third-quarter third-and-2 at the Buffalo 47, safety Shawn Wooden took a big bite on play action, leaving Eric Moulds wide open on a 53-yard scoring pass. And it was all over but the shouting by giddy Bills’ fans for Marino.

“It felt strange playing the Dolphins without him,” Smith said. “It was like facing Batman without Robin.”

The Patriots likely will know the same pleasure next Sunday, with Marino likely still two weeks away. The Bills cried for him yesterday, of course.

“I feel like I had the day off,” said Flutie, who went 10-for-20 for 157 yards.

The Bills rushed for 177 yards — a lot of it behind the blocks of dominating tackles Daryl Gardener and Tim Bowens — and did not turn over the ball once.

“I’d say we are contenders now,” said Phillips, whose Bills play the Jets next Sunday at the Meadowlands. “Our defense is awfully good and they played tremendous today.”

What’s more, the Bills made it look easy, breezy.

“Their plan was to run,” said Buffalo nose tackle Ted Washington. “We got the lead and didn’t let them. No surprise. We did the same thing to them the first time.”

Which should have been the last time the ascending Bills sneaked up on anybody, exactly Jimmy Johnson’s point.