By admin 
The Miami Dolphins showed enough fight late Sunday to make the final score respectable, but their 31-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was shaped long before the final onside kick drifted out of bounds. Miami outgained Cincinnati 331-307 and rushed for 217 yards, yet fell to 0-5 because of quarterback mistakes, protection breakdowns and costly special-teams errors that repeatedly handed the Bengals control.
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Jekyll and Hyde Willis
Malik Willis finished 15-of-27 passing for 137 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and three sacks for 23 yards lost. But it took an improved second half to better his game log. His legs kept Miami in the game — he ran eight times for 74 yards and a late 1-yard touchdown — but the passing game never found a steady rhythm. The Dolphins averaged only 3.8 yards per pass attempt, and Willis’ turnovers proved devastating. Cincinnati safety Jordan Battle intercepted him on back-to-back second-quarter drives, helping the Bengals turn a close game into a 21-7 halftime lead.
The contrast at quarterback was decisive. Joe Burrow did not produce gaudy yardage, but he was efficient and clean, completing 23 of 32 passes for 190 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not sacked, spread the ball to nine receivers and punished Miami whenever it gave Cincinnati a short field or a chance to extend a drive. The Bengals converted 9 of 13 third downs, while Burrow’s four scoring throws went to Mike Gesicki, Samaje Perine, Tanner Hudson and Ja’Marr Chase.
Miami’s offense had opportunities to climb back in, especially behind Ollie Gordon II, who carried 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. But the Dolphins stalled at key moments. Late in the third quarter, Miami moved inside the Cincinnati 1 after a 26-yard rush by Chris Bell and a series of Gordon runs. Instead of finishing the drive, Willis took an 8-yard sack and then forced an incompletion toward Greg Dulcich, leaving the Dolphins to settle for Riley Patterson’s 29-yard field goal.
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Special Teams Not So Special
Special teams were just as damaging. Cincinnati opened the game with an 81-yard kickoff return by Dohnte Meyers, setting up Burrow’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Gesicki after only three plays. That early breakdown immediately put Miami behind and erased any chance for the Dolphins to dictate tempo. Patterson later made a 29-yard field goal, but his missed extra point after Kevin Coleman Jr.’s 3-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter kept Miami from trimming the deficit as much as it could have. The failed point-after attempt made the comeback path tighter before the final onside kick went out of bounds.
The Dolphins’ fourth-quarter push showed resilience. Willis found Kevin Coleman Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown and added the two-point conversion pass to Dulcich, then led another fast scoring drive in the final minutes. But Miami’s earlier errors carried too much weight. Three turnovers, two interceptions, a lost fumble and a major special-teams lapse gave Cincinnati the separation it needed.
For a team searching for its first win, the Dolphins had the yardage profile of a contender Sunday. They had more first downs than Cincinnati, more total yards and a dominant rushing total. But Miami’s quarterback play lacked consistency, and its special teams created too much damage to overcome. Against a polished passer like Burrow, those mistakes were the difference between a comeback and another frustrating loss.
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 2:21 PM.