Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) runs with the football during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Rebecca Blackwell
Bengals Dolphins Football
Rebecca Blackwell
The Cincinnati Bengals emphasized all week the importance of going into the bye with a winning record, and they bounced back from two straight losses to achieve that.
Cincinnati took a lead over the winless Miami Dolphins less than a minute into the game and never trailed, en route to a 31-24 win Sunday, Oct. 11, at Hard Rock Stadium.
The defense got back to producing takeaways, Joe Burrow didn’t have any turnovers and the Bengals got their running game going to help ease the burden off the passing game, but the final score made the game seem much closer than it was.
Here are five takeaways from Cincinnati’s win:
It didn’t need to be pretty
The Bengals still didn’t look like the team they want to be, able to put bad opponents away early and finish strong, but the important thing was getting the win.
Miami won the second half, outscoring Cincinnati 17-10, but that included a touchdown with 45 seconds left. The game never felt in jeopardy for the Bengals.
Now they go into the bye 3-2 and have an extra week to recover and prepare for a big AFC North test at Baltimore on Oct. 25. Going into the Sunday Night game between the Ravens and Falcons, all four teams in the division were sitting on three wins. Cincinnati can really swing the momentum with a good showing in that Week 7 game before hosting the Titans on Nov. 1 and traveling to Madrid to play the Falcons on Nov. 8.
Winning the turnover battle
Bengals coach Zac Taylor had talked about the need to get back to winning the turnover battle after three straight weeks not being able to do so. His team responded.
Chase Brown fumbled in the red zone, which has been a struggle for the offense this season, but Burrow played a clean game, and the defense produced three takeaways. That included two interceptions from Jordan Battle, who was in need of a big game, and a sack-fumble by Jonathan Allen, which helped seal the win in the fourth quarter.
Battle was in the spotlight for a lot of negative reasons this past week after struggling in the Week 4 loss to the Jaguars and then making public that the defense hoped to take advantage of Malik Willis’ tipping passes by tapping the ball before he throws. His first pick came after Boye Mafe hit Willis, but Cincinnati turned the ball over in the red zone that ensuing drive.
The second pick came three plays later, and the Bengals capitalized with a touchdown drive.
Burrow cleans up mistakes
Burrow wasn’t happy with the critical turnovers he had the last two weeks, but he was turnover free on Sunday. He had a redzone fumble in the final minutes of a 30-27 loss at Pittsburgh and two interceptions in a 22-17 loss to Jacksonville last week, including one that could have given the Bengals a lead early in the fourth quarter.
At Miami, he only threw for 190 yards but had four touchdowns and completed 23 of 32 passes. Ja’Marr Chase, who was in concussion protocols this week and questionable before Sunday, led the receivers with six catches for 77 yards, including a crucial 45-yard touchdown grab to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 28-10 late in the third quarter.
Tee Higgins wasn’t as involved, coming off groin and neck injuries, but had two catches for 22 yards.
Running game back on track
The Bengals weren’t reliant on the passing game Sunday, as the running game looked much improved after only rushing for 23 yards against Jacksonville last week.
Samaje Perine played a key role in that, stepping up to lead Cincinnati’s ground attack with 14 carries for 68 yards, while Brown had 13 rushes for 39 yards. The Bengals finished with 117 yards on 31 carries.
Perine also had two catches for 10 yards and a touchdown and could be a bigger part of the plan moving forward.
Things to clean up
Burrow wasn’t satisfied with the win, expressing there is much to improve in his postgame press conference. The red zone turnovers are something to continue to address, as Cincinnati was 3-for-5 in the red zone as a result of Brown’s fumble and a missed opportunity after Allen’s fumble recovery at the Miami 9-yard, which resulted in a field goal.
The run defense wasn’t good Sunday, either. Miami managed 217 yards on the ground, including 88 yards from Ollie Gordon and another 74 from Willis, who otherwise was facing a lot of pressure and ended up with three sacks and just 137 yards passing.
Special teams had some highs with Evan McPherson making a franchise record 22nd-straight field goal and Dohnte Meyers opening the game with an 81-yard kickoff return. However, Meyers also stepped out of bounds at the 1-yard line on a punt return late in the fourth quarter to put the offense in bad field position.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’marr Chase (1) catches a pass for a touchdown as Miami Dolphins cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. (4) defends during the second half of an NFL football game in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026.
Rebecca Blackwell – AP