The Bengals and Dolphins come into Thursday Night Football in surprisingly different positions three weeks into the NFL season. Tonight’s battle should be a good one nonetheless, as both rosters are bursting with offensive talent.
The Teams
For the Dolphins, it’s been a perfect start. They come into tonight with one of just two unblemished records left in the league after beating the Patriots, Ravens and Bills. Tua Tagovailoa has been great, but the story of this offence is their two-headed monster at the wide receiver position. Both Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are averaging over 100 yards per game with three and two touchdowns scored. Their speed has been something that defenses can barely keep up with, and both Waddle and Hill are averaging over 15 yards per catch. Tonight, the concern for Miami is health. Tua and Waddle have been dealing with lingering injuries all week and although they probably will play, they may not be at 100%.
The defending AFC Champs have not had the start they were looking for but could grab some serious momentum with a win tonight in prime time. After losses to the Steelers and Cowboys in the first two games of the season, the Bengals did bounce back in a must-win game versus the Jets last Sunday. Although the running game didn’t really get going, Joe Burrow had his best performance of the season by far and the Bengals were able to cruise to victory. Even though it was a rocky start, the Bengals are still a great team with tons of potential. Unfortunately, the AFC is about as tough as a conference can get, so every bad loss will sting that much more.
Tonight, the team needs to find a way to protect Burrow. In the first two games, he was sacked thirteen times. In the win, however, he was only brought down in the backfield twice. Giving him time to work is clearly the difference-maker for this offence.
The Prediction
The Dolphins are hot, and the Bengals are not, but Cincy badly needs a win tonight. Look for Burrow to have a great game at home in prime time and lead the Bengals back to 2-2 while giving Miami its first loss of the 2022 NFL season.
