8:15 PM EST, Prime Video – Line: Bengals -4, Over/Under: 47
Week Four kicks off with a bang, as the reigning AFC Champion, Cincinnati Bengals look to keep things moving in the right direction as they welcome the surging Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night football from Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. After advancing to 3-0 for the first time since 2002, could it be that the Dolphins (3-0,1st in AFC East) have FINALLY figured it all out? This century hasn’t been particularly kind to Miami, who have made the playoffs just twice that season, piling up a whopping ELEVEN losing campaigns along the way. This current run of form couldn’t have more welcomed for the faithful down on South beach, for the offseason was anything but smooth for the organization, as (Principal Owner) Stephen Ross was fined heavily by the NFL after (former Head Coach) Brian Flores went postal with accusations of tampering and tanking, which Ross allegedly incentivized back in 2019 with hopes that the ‘Fins would draft early enough to select the Franchise Quarterback that they’ve been searching for since… well, since Dan Marino retired over two decades ago. Picking fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, the organization passed on Justin Herbert (yikes!!!) in favor of choosing Tua Tagovailoa (pictured below), who struggled mightily throughout his first two seasons in South Florida, with injuries and a poor supporting cast making things rather difficult for the lefty, leading to an icy relationship with Flores, who benched him at one point in 2021. However, while Ross was making headlines for all the wrong reasons, (General Manager) Chris Grier was hard at work bolstering the roster, with this past offseason looking like a transformative one. First and foremost, the Dolphins appear to have made an excellent hire in the form of new Head Coach, Mike McDaniel, whose offensive prowess has been a hit in the early goings of the campaign. The latest graduate from the ever-growing Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay coaching tree, the 39-year-old has revolutionized a stagnant attack, that has no doubt been boosted by a slew of reinforcements. Grier spent a fortune to obtain the services of (All-Pro Receiver) Tyreek Hill, shipping picks in the first, second, and fourth rounds of last Spring’s NFL Draft, along with a fourth and sixth next year in exchange for the league’s premier vertical threat, whom they inked to a four-year, $120 million contract. Furthermore, they improved the Offensive Line with (Left Tackle) Terron Armstead and (Left Guard) Connor Williams to keep Tua clean and upright, which has led to an attack that has surprised many around the league; Miami has averaged 27.7 points per game (8th Overall) on 372.3 total yards (13th Overall), thanks in large part to 308.3 yards through the air (4th Overall) on a healthy 8.32 net yards per attempt (2nd Overall). Of course, the bulk of that production came in a wild 42-38 shootout against the Ravens, in which Tagovailoa erupted for 469 yards and SIX touchdowns, a pair of which went to Hill, who accounted for 190 of those yards. However, as impressive as that performance was from a statistical standpoint, last weekend’s showdown with the Bills may have served as the turning point for a franchise that has been searching for one for ages…
Indeed, this matchup of unbeaten division rivals absolutely lived to the hype, as the Dolphins gutted out a 21-19 victory, giving them an early leg up in what should be a tight race for the AFC East crown. Buffalo kicked things early, marching seventy-five yards downfield in ten plays, as Josh Allen found Devin Singletary for a short two-yard touchdown. Miami would punt after a brief series, though would manage to flip the field as (Sophomore Safety) Jevon Holland stripped Allen of the football with (veteran Linebacker) Melvin Ingram recovering it at the visitors seven-yard line. Three plays later, it would be (Backup Tailback) Chase Edmonds who opened their ledger with a rushing score. After conceding another touchdown to Allen on the ensuing drive, Tagovailoa struck back with an 11-yard dart to (tight End) River Cracraft to tie the score once more as the two sides headed into intermission. After a three and out for the ‘Fins, Buffalo drove all the down to the home side’s eleven-yard line but were forced to settle for a field goal. The reigning AFC East Champions had a shot to extend their lead with another field goal, but (Place Kicker) Tyler Bass missed the 38-yard attempt. From there, McDaniel’s troops once again took it the distance, with Edmonds finishing off a 72-yard drive with just over ten minutes left to play. (Defensive Coordinator) josh Boyer’s unit would hold once more, stopping Allen on a fourth and two from the two-yard line. Unfortunately, things got a bit crazy for there, with the Dolphins’ attempted punt from within their own end zone resulting in a safety, giving the football back to the Bills on a short field. Allen would push the drive to midfield, but ultimately ran out of time without any timeouts to stop the clock or even spike the football to set up what would have been a very long field goal attempt. In the end, Miami found a way to win a game in which they only possessed the football for a mere 19:20, amassing 212 total yards on fifteen first downs and rushing for a scant forty-one yards on seventeen attempts. However, this one was all about the Defense, who bent, and bent, and bent, and then bent some more, yet refused to break no matter how relentless Allen & Co were. Consider this: their rivals to the north racked up 497 total yards on thirty-one first downs, converted 11-of-18 third downs and held the rock for a whopping 40:40 of game time. That turnover proved costly though, while that missed field goal from Bass was equally detrimental to their success. Despite suffering a back injury shortly before halftime, Tua returned to manage the game as well as anyone could have asked, completing 13-of-18 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, and though Hill was relatively quiet with thirty-three yards on two catches, his partner in crime, Jaylen Waddle piled up 102 yards on four receptions. Looking ahead to this meeting with the Bengals, Tagovailoa will be matched opposite of the man who was selected first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, and as Flores so plainly stated, was the object of the franchise’s attempt to tank. This is the first meeting between these two young passers since their collegiate days at Alabama and LSU respectively. The Dolphins are 4-6 straight-up in their last ten games away from Hard Rock Stadium and a middling 5-5 against the spread, though have covered seven of their last ten encounters with the Bengals. While Joe Burrow (more on him shortly) missed their only professional clash recovering from torn ligaments in his knee, Tua performed well in completing 26-of-39 passes for 296 yards with a touchdown in a 19-7 victory over the cats in early December of 2020. On the injury front, (Offensive Tackles) Austin Jackson and the aforementioned Armstead have been limited throughout practice due to various maladies, while the same can be said about Waddle, Tagovailoa, and (Pro-Bowl Cornerback) Xavien Howard.
Meanwhile, could it be that the dreaded Super Bowl curse is alive and well in Cincinnati? The Bengals (1-2, 4th in AFC North) have been slow to get out of the opening blocks this season after capturing their first AFC Championship since 1988. Not that we believe in hexes, curses, or any of form of tangible bad luck, but there may indeed be something to this, folks; since the turn of the century, the team that lost in the Super Bowl has failed to return to the playoffs in the following campaign on ten occasions. Of course, (Head Coach) Zac Taylor’s troops came oh, so close to earning the franchise’s first Lombardi trophy, collapsing down the stretch thanks in large part to outrageously poor pass-protection, which proved to be a limitation that they could no longer overcome against the Rams’ fierce defensive front. During the regular season, (reigning Comeback Player of the Year) Joe Burrow was sacked a league high FIFTY-ONE times, including another NINETEEN times in the playoffs, SEVEN of which occurred in Super Bowl LVI. As a result, Taylor and (Director of Player Personnel) Duke Tobin went about bolstering his protection this past Summer, adding a number of new starters into the mix, including (veterans) Alex Kappa, Ted Karras, and La ‘el Collins, with hopes that their Quarterback would avoid the catastrophic injury that cut his rookie campaign short two years ago. Unfortunately, that turnover has yet to have the desired effects for a unit that was very much feast or famine in 2021. Through three games, Cincy has averaged just 21.3 points per game (10th Overall) on 367.3 total yards (20th Overall), including 270.3 yards through the air (14th Overall) on just 5.18 net yards per attempt (28th Overall), with another 97.0 yards rushing (20th Overall) in support on a paltry 3.3 yards per carry (30th Overall). For his troubles, Burrow (pictured below) has already been sacked FIFTEEN times thus far, which equates to nearly 2.0% more than he was last season. Perhaps it’s a matter of a lack of chemistry, or maybe it’s unbalanced play calling, but whatever the issue is, it’s had an adverse effect on these Cats. That pressure has led to a number of mistakes, including a miserable FOUR in their stunning 20-17 loss to the Steelers in the season opener, with their six giveaways ranking twenty-fifth through three contests. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Defense has maintained its form from the postseason, as (Defensive Coordinator) Lou Anarumo’s troops have gotten after the opposition on a weekly basis. The Bengals have yielded 18.3 points (9th Overall) on just 310.7 total yards (8th Overall), ranking eighth against the run (86.0) and seventh in yards per carry (3.7), along with tenth on third down (32.6%). However, they will be tested for the first time in this matchup against Miami, who possess a number of threats in the passing game, which isn’t something that can be said about any of their previous three opponents, the Steelers, Cowboys, or Jets.
Speaking of Gang Green, the Bengals snapped out of their malaise last weekend with a 27-12 victory in East Rutherford. Taylor & Co were looking to make a statement, and they did with an 11-play, 75-yard drive downfield as Burrow found (Backup Tailback) Samaje Perine for a 12-yard score to take the early lead. After a Jets field goal, Cincinnati marched right back downfield, only to turn it over as (reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year) Ja’Marr Chase lost the football, with the hosts recovering it and kicking another field goal. Undeterred, Burrow led another advancement, this time finding (veteran Receiver) Tyler Boyd for a 56-yard touchdown right before the halftime whistle. From there, (Sophomore Place Kicker) Evan McPherson drilled a pair of field goals in the third quarter, before Burrow put the game on ice with his third scoring strike of the afternoon, this one to Chase for a short five yards. In the end, it was a much better performance from Cincy, who totaled 33 yards on twenty first downs, converting 7-of-14 third downs, and holding the football for 32:24. The biggest takeaway from this one was that after giving up thirteen sacks in their first two outings, Burrow was laid low just twice, which must seem like a marked improvement for an Offensive Line that was in dire need of a confidence boost. The signal-caller completed 23-of-336 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, with Boyd accounting for 105 yards and that score on four receptions, while Tee Higgins returned from suffering a concussion the previous week, with ninety-three yards on five catches. On the opposite side of the football, the Defense forced four turnovers and sacked Joe Flacco on four occasions, picking him off twice to boot. (Safety) Jessie Bates and (Linebacker) Logan Wilson each logged a pick, while (Defensive End) Trey Hendrickson racked up 2.5 sacks and four hits of Flacco. Looking towards tonight’s showdown with the Dolphins, the Bengals have 6-4 straight-up in their last ten games, though are a stellar 8-2 against the spread. With that said, they’re just 3-7 against the spread in their last ten games as a favorite against Miami. As we stated earlier, this will serve as the first proper meeting between Burrow and Tagovailoa since they were drafted first and fifth overall back in the 2020 NFL Draft, and their first since a titanic clash back in Tuscaloosa three years ago; the two Quarterbacks combined for 811 passing yards and seven touchdowns in a wild affair that Burrow’s Tigers would win 46-41, setting the table for his Heisman run and LSU’s triumphant National Championship in New Orleans. Coming out of that victory over the Jets, Taylor’s charges did not come out clean, with a number of injuries that could affect them on this short week; (Defensive Tackle) D.J. Reader twisted his knee and will miss a few weeks, while (Cornerback) Eli Apple, Collins, and Higgins were all limited throughout the week of practice due to various ailments.