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A mere look at the final score might suggest some progress for the Miami Dolphins in their Week 5 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, but it actually was the opposite.
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The Dolphins did set a new season high with their 24 points, almost doubling their previous high of 13, but the final score of 31-24 didn’t do justice to what we saw at Hard Rock Stadium.
The biggest disappointment of all was the play of quarterback Malik Willis, who turned the ball over three times on a day when the margin for error against Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
Willis is in a tough spot with a young wide receiver corps that could be good in time but certainly isn’t there yet and with consistent pressure, but it never justified all the miscues and it certainly wasn’t the case on this day. And Willis repeated a mistake he had made earlier this season when on a second-and-goal from the 3 he took an unnecessary and ridiculous 8-yard sack when he rolled out of the pocket and just didn’t chuck the ball out of bounds for an incompletion before he was taken down.
Pressure or not, regardless of wide receiver play, that’s the kind of mistake that Willis has got to stop making.
The Dolphins don’t have to make any determination about their quarterback situation until the next offseason, but all the folks calling for the team to spend their first-round pick on that position sure got some good arguments for their case on this day.
OTHER THOUGHTS ABOUT THE OFFENSE
— If we’re discussing the wide receiver corps, it was great to see Chris Bell gain 26 yards on an end-around (props to good blocks by Aaron Brewer and Kadyn Proctor), but it’s disappointing to not see him be more of a factor in the passing game. Bell still should become a productive NFL wide receiver, but he’s not creating a ton of separation at this time.
— And we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Malik Washington easily is the best and most dependable wide receiver at this time, and it’s not ideal when he’s really like he should be a third wide receiver on a contending team.
— For his troubles in the passing game, Willis showed again what he can do as a scrambler with 74 yards, including a long of 39. Willis has been reluctant to take off too early so far this season, but for the best results in 2026 maybe that’s the way he needs to start operating.
— Ollie Gordon II had another solid performance with 88 yards on 18 carries, and he’s very obviously established himself as the top running back with De’Von Achane gone.
THE TROUBLE WITH THE DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS
— The kick coverage units set a bad tone with that long kickoff return allowed on the first play of the game, and this is where maybe the bottom of the roster needs to be churned some more if those players can’t get the job done in the kicking game.
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— It didn’t matter in the end, but at some point there’ll need to be a conversation about Riley Patterson, who just can’t be missing extra-point attempts.
— Bradley Pinion, on the other hand, had a big game punting the ball and his floppy drop of the punt against San Francisco probably has been forgotten by now.
— By yards alone, the defense did a good job of holding Cincinnati to only 307 total yards, but allowed a 9-for-13 third-down rate was a killer.
— The pass defense didn’t give up the big play, with one exception, but again gave up way too many easy completions underneath.
— Even on that long touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, Jason Marshall Jr. had great coverage but Chase made a great catch on the 50-50 ball and was victimized by bad luck as the ball hit Chase’s shoulder pad first but bounded softly enough to allow him to still make what became an incredible catch.
— After being a factor against Minnesota, Chop Robinson again was a complete non-factor, though it’s not like Burrow was holding the ball very long. And then there was that bad offside penalty in the fourth quarter.
— Jacob Rodriguez again piled up the tackle numbers in this game, but the reality is this wasn’t a great game for the rookie linebacker. He was beaten in coverage for Cincinnati’s first two touchdowns, though he did take a really accurate throw by Burrow on the TD pass to Samaje Perine.
— So now the Dolphins are 0-5 heading into their bye with the New York Jets next in Week 7, and if it wasn’t early obvious, the wins are going to be difficult to come by.
Today’s best reads
- Dolphins-Bengals Week 5 Halftime Observations
- Four Winners And Four Losers From Week 4 Dolphins Loss
- Five Dolphins Players Who Have To Deliver in Week 5
- Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-Bengals Week 5 Matchup
- Breaking Down Five Key Plays in the Dolphins’ Week 4 Loss
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 1:48 PM.