Why the Miami Dolphins should be worried about the Bengals
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins will host the Bengals on Sunday and it’s a game they should win.
Nothing in the NFL comes easy and the Miami Dolphins should know that. This week, they face the Bengals, and it’s not easy.
The Bengals are a paltry 2-8-1 in 2020 after finishing dead last in the league last year. That was good enough to get them the Joe Burrow lottery ticket and while Burrow is now sidelined until sometime next year, the Bengals are not a team that the Dolphins should overlook.
The Bengals are in the middle of the NFL in passing yardage, they are better than the Dolphins. They will face a tough Dolphins secondary but Miami can’t sit back and let the Bengals pick them apart. They have to play aggressive for 60 minutes and force the Bengals QB into making mistakes.
Where the Dolphins need to feed is on the defensive line. Joe Mixon, the Bengals top running back is out and Giovani Bernard is getting up in years. The Bengals have given up 38 sacks on the season, good enough for 2nd place in the NFL. This is where Miami needs to make a statement.
The Dolphins’ biggest opponent on Sunday is themselves. They may have overlooked our underestimated the Broncos, a game they should have won. This time around, they can’t let up or allow the Bengals to hang around.
Defensively, the Bengals have only 13 sacks on the season and the Dolphins offensive line should be able to handle the Bengals front seven but we have seen Miami face great lines and play well and average ones and look bad. Miami has to keep Ryan Fitzpatrick clean in the pocket and give him time, or if Tua Tagovailoa is back, he needs the time. It shouldn’t be a big deal but Miami has to play with a maulers mentality and take the game over early.
This is a game that the Dolphins should absolutely win but they can’t look beyond this game. Mainstream media outlets have already begun pointing to the following weekend when the Dolphins will face the Chiefs. It might be easy to do so but for this Dolphins team, that is the real enemy. Take care of this week and worry about what comes next, later.