Cincinnati Bengals: Takeaways from Week 5 win vs. Dolphins

Exhibiting A Killer Instinct

On that same note, this team has started 2018 by showing off the sort of killer instinct teams dream of exhibiting in their championship dreams.

We are only a few weeks into this season, but it must be considered a good thing that this team continues to figure out ways to win. Put aside the loss to the Panthers, and the Bengals have done nothing but make the plays to take final leads and seal away victories through five weeks of this season.

Against Indianapolis a fumble was forced, recovered, then returned for a touchdown by Clayton Fejedelem with 24 seconds remaining to turn a potential game-winning drive for the Colts into a 34-23 win for Cincinnati. Versus Baltimore, two late field goals used up about seven minutes of clock time in the fourth quarter when the Ravens were trying to make a comeback, with a forced fumble by Shawn Williams all but ending their hopes in between.

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The game against Atlanta came down to who had the ball last; it was Cincinnati, who went on a 16 play, 75 yard drive that would end in a game-winning touchdown eat up all but seven seconds of clock time. The fourth quarter in all those games has seen the Bengals score at least two separate times.

Paired against all those efforts is what they did against Miami, which likely will stand as the best we see from them throughout 2018.

The fourth quarter began with Cincinnati ending their best drive of the afternoon with a touchdown by Joe Mixon. The next drive, the defense joined the party: a Tannehill pass bounced off his tight end, Johnson caught it, and the team found themselves quickly tied after being held to just three points through three quarters.

A Miami punt preceded a Cincinnati lead-taking field goal, and then the Dolphins were put down by ten after the Hubbard fumble return touchdown. With that lead, Cincinnati made one final play to essentially seal it up, forcing their third turnover of the contest (an interception by rookie Jessie Bates).

Just expecting to make plays when they are needed most is a gameplan every team both wishes they could have but understand is impossible; the margins for error are so small at the end of close games, and hoping your guys will happen to be the ones who make it out on the right end of the results each and every time just isn’t realistic.

But the best teams each year tend to show up when the stakes are the highest, and Cincinnati is proving its case early to be part of that group once everything is said and done for 2018.