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The Miami Dolphins will head into their Week 5 matchup at Hard Rock Stadium with a 17-9 all-time regular season record against the Cincinnati Bengals, but looking to snap a two-game losing streak in the series.
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The series has featured its share of memorable games, including the one playoff matchup at the end of the 1973 season when the Dolphins defeated the Bengals on their way to a second consecutive Super Bowl title.
THE TOP FIVE DOLPHINS WINS AGAINST CINCINNATI
5. 2000 at Cincinnati – Dolphins 31, Bengals 16
One crazy play turned the game around and may have saved the Dolphins from an embarrassing loss early in what became a playoff season. The 3-1 Dolphins were sleepwalking against the 0-3 Bengals and down 13-3 in the final seconds when the Bengals had the brilliant idea of having Akili Smith drop back to pass from their 37-yard line with 8 seconds left. Jason Taylor made them pay, sprinting around the left tackle, nailed Smith from behind, and producing a sack-strip-score that made it 13-10 at the half. The Dolphins never looked back, outscoring Cincinnati 21-3 in the second half.
4. 1980 at Miami – Dolphins 17, Bengals 16
This early-season game at the Orange Bowl also turned around on one play, and this was a very, very rare play. An onside punt. Not the kind we see nowadays when teams have to declare their intentions because of safety rules, but rather a surprise onside punt that came after the Dolphins gave up a safety and were forced to kick off (or punt) from their 20-yard line trailing 16-7 with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins caught Cincinnati off guard, recovered the fumble and drove to a touchdown before a punt block set up the game-winning field goal.
3. 1994 at Cincinnati – Dolphins 23, Bengals 7
There really was nothing particularly interesting about this game itself, which the Dolphins dominated on the strength of three interceptions by the defense and two touchdown passes by Dan Marino, but it was memorable nonetheless because of the head coach matchup between Don and David Shula. It was the first time a father had coached against his son in the history of the major North American sports league. The two would face each other again the next season, with the Dolphins again winning, that time by the score of 26-23.
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2. 1973 at Miami – Dolphins 34, Bengals 16
The Dolphins’ first playoff game as defending champions set the stage for a second Super Bowl run that actually was a lot more dominating than the perfect season of 1972. The Dolphins rushed for 241 yards, including 105 by Mercury Morris, and got two touchdown passes from Bob Griese. Cincinnati scored the last 13 points of the first half to make it a 21-16 game, but Miami ran away in the second half.
1. 2013 at Miami – Dolphins 22, Bengals 20 (OT)
The Wake-Off game. Need we say more? Even before Cameron Wake sacked Andy Dalton in the end zone to win the Halloween night game for the Dolphins, this game had produced its share of big plays, including a 94-yard pick-six by Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes and a dazzling 35-yard touchdown run by Cincinnati running back Gio Bernard. But Wake provided the fireworks with one of the greatest defensive plays in Dolphins history.
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 7:30 AM.