Bills made to pay by Miami star Williams
Williams wore down the Bills in the second half, when he carried 25 times for 108 yards. He sealed the victory by ploughing into the end zone from one yard with 1:52 remaining to give the Dolphins a winning 17-7 lead.
Sparked by Williams and a dominating defence that intercepted Drew Bledsoe three times and limited the Bills to 118 total yards and eight first downs, the Dolphins (2-1) controlled the ball for 40:50.
Jay Fiedler threw a 12-yard touchdown to Chris Chambers late in the second quarter for the Dolphins, who have won back-to-back following a stunning season-opening loss to the Houston Texans.
Bledsoe had a forgettable night, completing 10-of-25 passes for 98 yards while getting sacked four times. He was held to 58 yards through the air before picking up 40 on the Bills' final drive.
Cornerback Nate Clements returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter for the Bills (2-1), who failed in their bid to start 3-0 for the first time since 1991.
Elsewhere in the AFC East, the New England Patriots ended a dismal home losing streak against division rivals the New York Jets thanks in part to rookie Asante Samuel.
Samuel moved to cornerback to fill in for injured Ty Law and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to lead the Patriots to a 23-16 victory.
The Patriots had lost their last five home games against the Jets, including a critical 30-17 defeat last December that cost them the AFC East title.
In another of the nine division match-ups on this week's slate, the New York Giants rebounded from an overtime defeat to Dallas last week to grab an overtime win themselves, 24-21 over NFC East foes Washington.
Matt Bryant's 29-yard field goal 4:15 into overtime lifted the Giants, who had blown a 21-3 half-time lead.
Defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay turned in another dominant performance, intercepting Doug Johnson three times en route to a 31-10 victory over Atlanta.
This was supposed to be a match-up of Michael Vick against the NFL's best defence.
But the league's fastest quarterback is recovering from a broken leg suffered in pre-season, leaving Johnson to deal with the Buccaneers and, as expected, the fourth-year back-up quarterback fared poorly against Tampa Bay's vaunted defence.
All three of Johnson's interceptions came in the second quarter, including a pair by Dwight Smith, and he threw for just 95 yards before coach Dan Reeves benched him in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers (2-1) did not give up a touchdown in either of their first two games of the season and probably would not have given one up Sunday if not for a turnover by running back Thomas Jones that was returned 37 yards by Falcons linebacker Sam Rogers to the Tampa Bay 2 in the third quarter.
Warren Sapp, a six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, has also been used as a tight end and he caught a six-yard touchdown pass with two minutes left in the second quarter.
Minnesota took their record to 3-0 - and stretched their winning streak to six games dating back to last season - with a 23-13 victory over NFC North rivals Detroit.
Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper suffered a lower back contusion diving for the end zone in the second quarter and had to leave the game.
Gus Frerotte came in and made an immediate impact, throwing a 72-yard pass to Randy Moss on his second play.
Frerotte finished 8-of-19 for 154 yards and a touchdown with an interception, but was steady enough to hold the lead.
In other division battles, Indianapolis defeated Jacksonville 23-13, Indianapolis remaining unbeaten and AFC South foes Jacksonville remaining without a win. Pittsburgh held off Cincinnati 17-10 to post their sixth win in their last seven meetings with their AFC North rivals.
Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Koren Robinson with 60 seconds left to lift the Seahawks to a 24-23 victory over St Louis Rams, who lost star running back Marshall Faulk to a suspected broken left hand.
In the final division clash scheduled this week, Oakland visited AFC West leaders Denver last night.
In other action on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1996 with a 42-14 victory over the Texans in Houston.
Tennessee defeated New Orleans 27-12 while in Arizona, Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson intercepted Brett Favre with two seconds left to seal the Cardinals' first win of the season, 20-13 over Green Bay.
Baltimore beat San Diego 24-10 and Cleveland edged San Francisco 13-12.
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