Dolphins vs Bengals Preview

The Dolphins host the Cincinnati Bengals this week at 1 PM. Both teams have had their fair share of drama recently, and both teams are eliminated from playoff contention.

The Bengals’ drama is all about Joe Burrow. The generational talent has been sparking much controversy with his recent interviews, insinuating (according to many) that he wants out of Cincy because he’s not enjoying the game that he loves there—only to then clarify that his statements were about his injuries and not the organization he plays for. Nobody knows what to believe, but the trade proposals have already begun to whirl in the media. I, for one, never really look too deeply into these comments, as you just never know what the meaning behind them is, and especially with a comment so obscure, I won’t put much time into dissecting it. I’ll just play the old “wait-and-see” game.

On the Dolphins front, the drama is also at the QB position, but is of a different nature entirely. This week, as I’m sure everyone’s heard by now, the Dolphins decided to bench Tua for Quinn Ewers for Week 16 (and probably for the rest of the season), and other than Tua and Zach Wilson, everyone is ecstatic! We all love the idea. The logic is quite simple: the Dolphins aren’t making the playoffs anyway and Tua isn’t the franchise QB we all hoped he would be. Why not see what the Dolphins have in Quinn Ewers for the rest of the season? Worst comes to worst, he doesn’t pan out and the Dolphins start their new QB search after the season.

It’s a win-win scenario: if he plays well and shows promise, he will be the QB going forward next year. If not, the Dolphins move up in the draft with each additional loss and can look for someone there—and even if they aren’t high enough to draft a good QB, they can either use that pick for another need (CB, OL, S, WR) or trade up and use that high pick as a trading-chip.

For the first time in over a year (besides Week 1), I am super excited for this game on Sunday. I have a lot of hope for Ewers. When he had time in the pocket, he looked very good in college. He can also use his legs (better than Tua, anyway), which is imperative in the new-age NFL that we are in. He possesses a strong arm and has a super quick release (not quite as quick as Tua), which should play well into the style of offense that the Dolphins have been running for years now.

I know that he fell to the 7th round for a reason. Coming out of high school, he was projected to be the number one overall pick, so there’s obviously some stuff there. The question is if it can translate to the NFL. I’ll be watching with a lot of anticipation.

The good news for Ewers is that the Bengals have one of the worst defenses in the league. They give up the most YPG (over 400) and PPG (31.2). Their true weakness is against the rush, as they sit dead last in that statistic, too. Their pass defense isn’t all that much better either, as they sit fifth-worst in the league in pass YPG. They also have an underwhelming 25 sacks on the season, so hopefully the O-line will have an easy time giving Ewers some time in the pocket.

I still think the Dolphins should play a run-first offense given the defensive numbers and Ewers’ inexperience, but there will be plenty of opportunity for Ewers to show us what he’s got regardless. We all know that a good run game opens up the passing game.

I hope for this franchise, for Ewers, and most of all for us fans, that Ewers shows some promise and ends up being the true franchise QB the Dolphins have been desperately seeking since the 80’s. I know it’s a long shot, but crazier things have happened, right?

The meaning behind this game should not be about winning or losing. It’s all about giving Ewers the best chance to succeed and seeing if there’s potential to hang our hopes on.

My prediction: Bengals 31, Dolphins 21