Cincinnati Bengals: Keys to victory vs. Dolphins in Week 5
By Kenn Korb
Previewing the Week 5 contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins, looking at the players to watch, keys to the game and more.
A climatic finishing drive gave the Cincinnati Bengals the win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4 to the tune of a 37-36 offensive flurry. With that victory, Cincinnati sits at 3-1 after the first quarter of the season. They sit in as good of a perch as any AFC team not based in Missouri, and are getting back one of their best defenders (and easily their best linebacker) in Vontaze Burfict.
Their opponent this week — the Miami Dolphins — sits on the same level record-wise, but enters feeling much more deflated than these Bengals because of how poorly Week 4 went for them. Miami had a strong 3-0 start, but a road trip to New England brought them down a few notches.
Which team will win this matchup? Here’s some keys factors to consider when determining that answer.
Can Cincinnati’s DL Talent Shine Through?
If you didn’t know it yet, the Cincinnati defensive line is absolutely stacked with talent. Even with Ryan Glasgow being sent to IR, they still run with at least a half-dozen guys who can make high-level impact plays.
Here’s the problem: though the team has been successful, the talents on their line haven’t quite shone as brightly as they probably should by now.
Right now, there are two players who stand out above the rest — and it is exactly who you would expect: Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. Both should be expected to be as good as they’ve been, but one would’ve thought that the others around them would be adding more to the table than they seem to be doing to this point.
Among the other defensive linemen, they share just two of Cincinnati’s 10 total team sacks and two of the team’s nine total tackles for loss. Only one one the team’s turnovers (a fumble recovery by Jordan Willis) has been provided by them.
It isn’t all bad, of course, as the Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grades are on the positive end of the spectrum for Andrew Billings, Carl Lawson, Josh Tupou and Adolphus Washington. But based on the high expectations and loaded depth on the unit we should be seeing more of it bear out on the stat sheet.
This week is the perfect time to fill the box score. Miami entered the year with plenty of blocking questions, and their unit has gotten worse in recent weeks. Their interior line will be missing two opening day starters, left guard Josh Sitton and center Daniel Kilgore.
Neither is elite at this point in their respective careers (Kilgore never was, but Sitton had some excellent years in Green Bay), but the two helped give Miami maybe the most solid, cohesive blocking unit the team has had under head coach Adam Gase.
Without their first choice starters, an already-exploitable unit has even shallower depths of talent to rely upon — something Cincinnati should take advantage of throughout the game. Atkins and Dunlap could be expected to play well regardless of opponent, but the rest of the group has a prime opportunity to shine against Miami’s weakened blocking unit. If the group plays up to their collective potential, this could get ugly for the Dolphins.
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