For the first time this season, the Bengals took the field officially having nothing to play for. Their shutout loss to the Ravens last week knocked them out of playoff contention. But the Miami Dolphins also entered in the same spot. Their loss last week to the Steelers also knocked them out, and they are clearly now in evaluation mode, having turned to rookie Quinn Ewers at QB. For the Bengals, it can also be an important evaluational period, but Zac Taylor also stressed that the team is very much still focused on winning games.
The game started off with some back and forth action. They first traded punts, before trading TD’s on their next drives. For the Bengals, it was an impressive 91 yard drive, with Ja’Marr Chase getting involved for a couple of good plays. Tee Higgins capped it off with a 9 yard TD catch, with Burrow throwing up the fade. Miami only needed 3 plays to get their TD. Achane did most of the work, ripping off a 48 yard TD run.
7-7.
After McPherson kicked a 45 yard field goal, the Dolphins took the lead. Ewers found Waller for 11 yards, before then hitting Waddle for a couple of big passes. But it was Washington who ended up finding the end zone off the jet sweep.
14-10 Dolphins.
With the 2 minute drill working well, the Bengals managed to find the end zone one more time before the break. The big play was a 3rd & 10 scramble where Burrow went across the grain to find a wide open Drew Sample. He had a lot of space in front of him, and ended up taking it to the Dolphins 11 yard line, good for a 27 yard pickup. A couple of plays later, Samaje Perine ran it in from 4 yards out.
17-14 Bengals.
In the 3rd quarter, the Bengals really took over. A fumble led to a 9 yard Chase Brown rushing TD. Then, Barrett Carter’s interception led to a 12 yard Chase Brown receiving TD. Shortly after, the Dolphins turned it over on downs, which led to – you guessed it – a Chase Brown TD. It was another one in the passing game.
Very quickly, the Bengals ended up with a 38-14 lead.
On the first play after Brown’s third TD, the Bengals defence came up with another pick. It was Jalen Davis, who did well to get his body turned around in time to make the play. Off of this, Burrow led another methodical drive, which ended in a flashy 17 yard TD pass down the seam to Mike Gesicki.
45-14 Bengals.
In garbage time, the Dolphins would add one more to their tally. Funny enough, it was a 97 yard drive, after they had failed to get much going after their initial 1st quarter success. A 29 yard reception by Dulcic was a big part of it, as well as plays made by Waddle and Washington. Wright, one of their backup RB’s, was the one who eventually punched it in from 3 yards out.
45-21, final.
The Bengals record now sits at 5-10. They will finish off the year with two home games, the first of which comes against the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday.
