Staring down a must-win game, the Cincinnati Bengals came up big on “Thursday Night Football” against the Miami Dolphins.
The 27-15 outcome was a little closer than the score suggests despite the Dolphins losing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as the offense started strong but hit a mid-game drought.
But in the grand scheme? It’s hard to complain about an AFC win against a possible contender that moves the season mark to 2-2. Not only that, it came on a short week after another win in the conference.
Exiting the win, there are some notable winners and losers who stick out, so we’ll list those below.
Star: WR Tee Higgins
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It was Higgins who made the big play in the first half, catching a 59-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. By the end of the game, he finished with seven catches for 124 yards and that score, fully capitalizing on all the attention thrown at Ja’Marr Chase by winning his one-on-ones.
He even did it all with a sprained ankle.
Bonus Star: S Vonn Bell
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Bell might have put the safety conversation to rest on Thursday. He picked off two passes, the first a rangy play on an underthrow that otherwise would have caused problems. The second, a case of right place, right time — but once again a key turnover for him late in a key game. We’re still a long ways off, but it’s looking more and more like he might get the extension at safety and be the guy for the mid-term next to first-rounder Dax Hill next season.
Dud: RB Joe Mixon
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Is the ankle a problem? Is it combining with a struggling offensive line? Because Mixon was again rough-looking, carrying it 24 times for 61 yards and one score, averaging a paltry 2.5 yards per attempt. It’s way too early to suggest he’s hit that dreaded running back falloff point, but he’s not breaking any tackles or consistently picking the right spots, which is very out of character.
Stud: DE Sam Hubbard
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Hubbard was all over the place on Thursday, just bowling over Dolphins linemen and wreaking havoc. He had two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits, never mind that usual endless motor that just gasses an opposing offensive line over four quarters. Most impressively, he didn’t seem negatively impacted…
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