Don’t look at the final score. The Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) were in control against the Miami Dolphins (0-5) from start to finish, despite giving up some garbage time points.
Here’s what we learned from the 31-24 win.
The running game has hope
The loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars was a heartbreaker in a lot of ways, but one of the biggest issues was the complete absence of a running game.
Against the Dolphins, though, the Bengals rushed for a season-high 117 yards.
A big reason was the performance of Samaje Perine, the ultimate
team player, always ready to step in when called upon.
Perine got 68 yards on 14 carries and also had a receiving touchdown.
What’s really encouraging is that the run game was pretty consistent, as those 117 yards came on 31 carries, with neither Perine nor Chase Brown nor Joe Burrow having a run longer than 11 yards. The Bengals just steadily wore down Miami’s front seven.
Jordan Battle has a lot of pride
Say what you want about his tackling or revealing Malik Willis’ tells before the game, but Battle backed it up with interceptions on back-to-back drives, the first such performance since Dre Kirkpatrick back in 2014.
Battle also had a couple of big open-field stops in the run game. He’s showing what he can do in spurts. Now he just needs to be more consistent.
Yes, the run defense against Miami was very bad (allowing 217 yards on 34 carries), but, to be fair, they were playing in brutal weather conditions- the hottest road game in Bengals franchise history. Players were reportedly getting IVs on the sidelines.
So there’s hope that Battle and the rest of the run defense will be even better after the bye.
Special teams are going to be the focus of the bye
This is not acceptable anymore. The muffed punt and roughing-the-punter penalty in Week 3, then a roughing call that turned a Miami field goal into a touchdown on Sunday.
Special teams mistakes are really hurting this team.
These are simple fixes, so expect Darrin Simmons, the longest-tenured coach on the Bengals, to get his unit in order over the bye week.
