MIAMI GARDENS – The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 3-2 and will head into their bye week feeling good after beating the winless Miami Dolphins 31-24 on Oct. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium. It was the hottest game Hard Rock Stadium has ever seen in the month of October with a temperature of 90 degrees at kickoff.
After an abysmal performance running the ball in Week 4, the Bengals bounced back in a big way. Cincinnati was able to find success with running back Samaje Perine.
The Bengals finished with 117 yards on the ground, 94 more than they had last week in their loss to the Jaguars. Perine led the Bengals with 68 rushing yards on 14 carries, with Chase Brown adding 39 on 13 carries.
All week, Bengals coach Zac Taylor stressed the need for his team to
run the ball more efficiently. It was the run game that opened up the Bengals’ offense in the first half at Miami.
After having just 15 rushing attempts – only 12 by running backs – against Jacksonville last week, Cincinnati had 16 first-half rushing attempts against Miami, 14 by Brown and Perine. It finished with a season-high 31 rushing attempts (two were kneels by quarterback Joe Burrow at the end of the game).
Prior to Cincinnati’s Week 5 win, Brown was the featured back in Cincinnati’s offense. Perine came in with 13 carries for 42 yards over the first four games. He had seven carries for 43 yards in the first half against the Dolphins. Miami entered the game ranked No. 15 against the run, giving up an average of 109 yards per game.
It was clear that Taylor and his staff knew they could have success running the ball. But they needed to prove they could do it. And they did.
The running game, of course, helped Burrow, who threw four touchdown passes and was not sacked. He faced little pressure all day.
The Bengals now have a week off when Taylor and his coaching staff will take a deeper dive into the run game. It wouldn’t be surprising when the Bengals take the field Oct. 25 in Baltimore if Perine becomes their top choice at running back.
Brown will still have a role, but right now, the Bengals’ run game has a different feel to it when Perine gets the bulk of the snaps. There’s also the ball security element with Perine. Brown had a costly fumble against the Dolphins, who dropped to 0-5.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals get back in W column on the backs of their run game vs. Miami
