Despite fancy colors and friendly mascot; the Miami Dolphins are a pod of no-nonsense, jumbo-sized aquatic mammals that show up to bruise the other team and giggle about it later. The Bengals toughness and physical strength will be tested, especially on defense.

For Cincinnati, this game is the last gasp of playoff aspirations. A loser of three in a row, they have to get things back on track or else his team falls back into the "bad team" ranks once more like last couple years. Injuries are beginning to mount in the secondary and the rest of the defense has gone from underwhelming to flat out poor during that losing streak.

The only bright side left is that the offense in Atlanta, the Bengals passing game put up big points in a hurry and showcased the explosive potential this team has for at least the second half. This week, Cincinnati will push down on that pedal right away and try and get the same kind of rhythm again, only earlier in the game this time. If the defense can stop the run and put Miami in obvious passing situations, it will alleviate the increased pressure on a depleted secondary, and hopefully keep the score low enough to give the new-found offense a chance to play with a lead.

Cincy OL vs. Phins D#

What the Bengals should not do is try to first establish the running game. Please, Bengals coaching staff, don't wait to use the no-huddle offense; it's the only thing your offense can do well, THROW THE BALL. Feel free to mix in some runs once the passing attack has proven effective, but don't ease up because the defense isn't expecting a run. Nothing kills the rhythm more to this offense than no-gain rushing attempts; especially after just converting a third-down through the air.

This Miami secondary is not all that impressive. They lose containment easily—especially when quarterbacks move outside of the pocket, they aren't sure tacklers, and they aren't all that fast. The Bengal receivers have demonstrated a big play ability, and there's no reason to get shy against this group. The front seven of the Dolphins are above average and traditional running attacks play into their hands, so throwing makes even more sense.

For the Bengals to win this game, they will have to score at least 24 points and hopefully more. If it comes down to a time-of-possession and field-position battle, than I would favor Miami but if the Bengals can get some touchdowns earlier in the game, the Dolphins may not be able to manufacture an outburst of points that are needed.


On offense, Cincinnati should stick with the only thing that has appeared capable of winning games, and on defense, they have to compensate for a poor pass rush with more blitzing on passing downs. Here are my predict score at the half time and result for the whole game:

First half: Bengals 17 – 10 Dolphins
Game: Bengals 27 - Dolphins 20

Good luck to everyone!