Cincinnati Bengals to target win versus Miami Dolphins to extend division lead – NFL Preview
The Cincinnati Bengals hold an edge over visiting Miami Dolphins this Sunday (Oct. 07) while riding on their impressive wins in last three games after having made a miserable start to the season on a humiliating defeat to American Football Conference (AFC)
North rivals the Baltimore Ravens.
A convincing victory versus the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend was particularly highest performance point for the Bengals given they played the game without key defensive players.
The win was also notable because the Bengals defied a tactically well-thought scheme of their opposition to exploit their weakness and went on to beat them comprehensively.
The team stands a better chance of a win this weekend than the visitors Dolphins. Dolphins are coming into the game with their rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has been struggling to give a match-winning performance, while his backup Matt Moore is
a time-tested horse, failing them once again.
Dolphins probably took a big gamble by releasing a better offence leader QB David Garrard just before the start of the season and now are feeling the pinch of the untimely decision.
Garrard had topped the team’s QB competition depth chart before being required to undergo a minor procedure on his knee. He could have been back with the side hundred percent in two weeks’ time and probably help their victory chances, but the decision of
letting him go at the crucial moment has now created some real challenges for the first-year coach Joe Philbin.
The coach has recently been ruing some of avoidable mistakes by his side, especially in their game versus the New York Jets. While noting these mistakes as a sheer disappointment, the coach said:
"That's just not a good recipe to win games in the National Football League or high school or Pop Warner. It's disappointing. The turnover margin, for every statistical guru, is the No. 1 measurement in winning or losing games."
Further, Dolphins’ offence line is no match to Cincinnati Benglas’ star offence leader QB Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.G. Green. Both players have put some closely coordinated strong performances during the season with Green speaking high of Dalton.
He said:
"I said it from Day 1, Andy is going to be one of the best ones. Once he gets into rhythm, he's one of the best in the league. I'm just fortunate and blessed to have a quarterback like that."
The visitors are coming into the game with the record of 1-3, while the hosts in their division are tied 3-1 atop with Baltimore Ravens. A win will further consolidate their lead this weekend.
As earlier said, performance of Tannehill and running back Reggie Bush stands crucial to Dolphins' chances of giving some competition to the hosts, and may be register a miraculous win.
Tags: