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Cincinnati
Bengals
Dolphins stifle
Bengals
CINCINNATI- The Bengals vaunted offense that rolled to an average of
400 yards per game in its three-game winning streak couldn’t keep it
going Sunday against Miami's exhaustive defense in a 17-13 loss before
61,162 at sold-out Paul Brown Stadium.
Facing a fourth-and-five from the Dolphins 23 with 3:05 left, Bengals
head coach Marvin Lewis eschewed going for it even though Mike Nugent's
41-yard field goal would only cut the lead to 17-16. But Nugent it
sliced it right for his first miss of the season after hitting nine
straight.
And then facing a third-and-nine with 2:39 left, Dolphins rookie
quarterback Ryan Tannehill took a shot at wide receiver Brian Hartline
at midfield. It was incomplete, but Bengals cornerback Terence Newman
was called for pass interference and the Bengals couldn't get the ball
back until 1:45 left from their own 20.
But Dalton overthrew wide receiver Andrew Hawkins on a second-and-20
(after center Jeff Faine had been called for a hold) and safety Reshard
Jones picked it off with 1:22 left to end it.
The Bengals went into the fourth quarter with no touchdowns,
unsuccessful on nine of 10 third-down tries and just 162 yards passing
from Dalton and 62 rushing yards.
But the Bengals defense wouldn't give up on it. Late in the third
quarter defensive tackle Geno Atkins came up with his team-leading
sixth sack to force the Dolphins' Dan Carpenter to try a 53-yard field
goal and he missed.
That brought the offense to life. Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins ran a
shovel pass for 10 yards and wide receiver A.J. Green, stifled all day
by cornerback Sean Smith and a relentless Dolphins' two-deep pass
coverage, finally got open for a long one when Dalton hit his back
shoulder for an 18-yarder, his longest catch of the dat
Green then caught a two-yard touchdown in the right corner with 14:15
left when he finally got enough separation from Smith that cut the lead
to 17-13. It was Green's 100th career catch and gave him seven on the
day for 58 yards.
But the Bengals couldn't sustain it. After the defense got them the
ball back on a three-and-out, they gave it right back when Dalton took
a coverage sack on third down, dropping them to 2-for-13 on the day on
third-down conversions.
The Bengals got pushed around early in the second half. Dophins
defensive tackle Randy Starks, a la J.J. Watt, plucked an interception
out of the air at the line of scrimmage at the Bengals 36. Miami
promptly turned that into running back Reggie Bush's 13-yard touchdown
that made it 14-6 with 12 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Bengals got two turnovers during Sunday's first half and stuffed
the Dolphins on third-and fourth-and-1, but their offense couldn't make
Miami pay and went into halftime with just two field goals trailing,
7-6.
Miami brought its physical style on both sides of the ball. The
Dolphins knocked running back Bernard Scott out of the game with a knee
injury after he picked up 40 yards on five carries and wide receiver
A.J. Green injured his ankle late in the half but returned in the
second half.
Cincinnati started one drive at the Dolphins 26 when they recovered a
fumble and had a first-and-goal from the 4 on another drive and could
only get Mike Nugent field goals on both drives.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins were more stout in their successful red-zone
trip after they partially blocked Kevin Huber's punt to start a drive
at their 37. Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill beat the blitz on
third-and-10 for a 24-yard completion down the middle to tight end
Charles Clay. He then found tight end Anthony Fasano wide open for a
13-yard gain to set up two smashes for a touchdown by running back
David Thomas that gave Miami the 7-6 lead with 6:54 left in the half.
Read the rest of the article at Cincinnati Bengals
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