NEXT FOR BENGALS
Bengals (3-2) at Browns (0-5)
1 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
The Cincinnati Bengals entered October on a three-game winning streak mainly because the offense has been able to come up with enough big plays to mask its deficiencies in the running game, ball security and third downs.
Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, the Miami Dolphins tore off the mask.
The visitors limited the Bengals to two plays of more than 20 yards and further exposed the trio of flaws for a 17-13 victory in front of a frustrated crowd of 61,162 at Paul Brown Stadium.
“We let a good opportunity get away from us today,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said after watching his team slip to 3-2 and fall one game behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
“We knew they were a good football defensively and that they were going to play well,” Lewis said. “We needed to put more points on the board today, and we had plenty of opportunities to do so.”
Miami rebounded from back-to-back overtime losses to improve to 2-3.
Facing a defense under the direction of former Cincinnati defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle, the Bengals ran for 80 yards, 29 of which came on one carry by Bernard Scott. They also turned the ball over three times, upping their season total to 10. And they converted 2-of-14 third downs, making them an AFC-worst 15-of-61 (24.6 percent).
“The offense didn’t play well today, across the board,” said quarterback Andy Dalton, who completed 26 of 43 passes for 234 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, the last of which was the game-sealer at midfield with 1:22 left.
“I have to play a lot better,” Dalton added. “We didn’t execute today. We didn’t do enough.”
That was a popular refrain even when the Bengals did score.
Rookie linebacker Vontaze Burfict gave the offense the ball at the Miami 33 early in the first quarter after recovering a muffed punt, but Cincinnati wasn’t able to do anything and had to settle for a Mike Nugent 42-yard field goal.
One series later, after recovering another Miami fumble, the Bengals drove 75 yards for a first-and-goal at the Dolphins 4. But the offense went backward, and Nugent was called on for a 24-yard field goal that made it 6-0 with 13 seconds left in the opening quarter.
“You have to put the ball in the end zone when you get the chance, and we didn’t do that,” Lewis said.
The Dolphins did.
Led by poised rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17-of-26 for 223 yards), Miami finished two of its three scoring drives with touchdowns – a 1-yard run by Daniel Thomas and a 13-yarder from Reggie Bush – to take a 17-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We got off to a rocky start,” Miami coach Joe Philbin said. “But (Tannehill) managed the game well and made good decisions. I’m really proud of how our guys hung together and played tough.”
Cincinnati finally finished a drive in the end zone in the fourth quarter when A.J. Green hauled in a 2-yard TD pass, marking the fourth consecutive game in which he has found the end zone. But instead of going for two to try to cut the deficit to three, Lewis elected to kick the PAT, making it 17-13 with 14:15 left in the game.
A third-down sack on their next possesion took the Bengals out of field-goal range. And a third-and-5 incompletion at the Miami 23 on the following drive prompted Lewis to try to cut the deficit to one with a field goal, but Nugent, who was a perfect 9-of-9 this year, missed a 41-yarder.
The Cincinnati defense, which held Miami to 279 yards, gave the ball back to the offense one final time at the 20 with no timeouts and 1:45 to go. But four plays later Dalton sailed a pass over the head of Andrew Hawkins and into the arms of Reshad Jones, who fell to the ground to clinch the win.
“It’s tough sitting here where we are,” Dalton said. “We had our chances, but we couldn’t get it done.”
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