In the Week 4 Thursday night game the Cincinnati Bengals easily beat the Miami Dolphins 22-7 to move to 2-2 on the season.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 296 yards and a touchdown in the win and wide receiver A.J. Green caught 10 passes in the game for 173 yards and a score.
While the Bengals did struggle some Thursday night once they got inside the Dolphins 30-yard-line, kicker Mike Nugent was there to clean things up as he made all five of his field goal attempts in the game with his longest being 47 yards.
After taking a 3-0 lead on their opening offensive possession, the Bengals gave up a quick score to the Dolphins just two plays later as Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill hit wide receiver Kenny Stills deep for a 74-yard touchdown with 9:04 left in the first quarter.
The Dolphins, however, wouldn’t score another point the rest of the game and Tannehill finished the contest with just 189 yards passing on 15 completions. He also threw a late interception in addition to losing a fumble on a sack. In total, Tannehill was sacked 5 times during the game.
After giving up the early score to the Dolphins offense, the Bengals defense effectively shut down Tannehill the rest of the game and only allowed the Miami offense to convert 2 of their 11 third down opportunities. Additionally, the Bengals defense only gave up two total explosive plays to the Miami offense and allowed just 62 rushing yards on 13 carries.
While the Bengals did ultimately secure an easy victory over the Dolphins Thursday night, their offense only converted 3 of their 15 third down opportunities in the process.
The Bengals now have a few extra days off before having to play the Dallas Cowboys on the road a week from Sunday.
The rest of the AFC North teams will play on Sunday beginning with the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns playing the Washington Redskins on the road. The Pittsburgh Steelers will finish things up Sunday night at Heinz Field when they host the 2-1 Kansas City Chiefs.
