MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. − On his way off the field at halftime, Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor told CBS Sports sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala that he was pleased with the way the Bengals‘ offense and defense finished the first half. He then added: “Now we’ve just got to find a way to win the turnover battle in the second half. It’s zero-zero right now; we’ve got to find a way to get one off of them.”
That proved to be prophetic. The Bengals had three takeaways and a fourth-down stop in the third quarter, setting up the offense for prime scoring opportunities on the way to a 45-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 21.
“I am proud but not surprised by the response our guys had,” Taylor said afterward. “We expected to come down here and get a whole lot of questions about how these guys are going to respond. We saw how they responded all week. We knew how they would respond. To come down here and put together the performance they did, especially settling down at halftime and coming out and getting four straight turnovers, three turnovers and a turnover on downs, and the offense responded with four straight touchdowns. The special teams unit did a great job controlling the field position the entire second half. Just really proud and again, not surprised by the response we had.”
The Bengals ended a two-game losing streak and improved to 5-10. They finish their season at home against Arizona on Dec. 28 and at home against Cleveland on Jan. 4.
The Bengals scored 14 points in 71 seconds in the third quarter. During one stretch of 7:18 in the quarter, Cincinnati running back Chase Brown had three touchdowns. Each score was setup by a Bengals takeaway or stop. Brown finished with 66 yards rushing and 43 yards receiving.
“We’ve been able to put two backs on the field, because we feel good about Samaje (Perine) and obviously feel good about Chase (Brown),” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said. “It provides challenges for the defense, how they’re going to take that, how they’re going to play that with their personnel, what coverages they’re going to play with that, because if I was a defense, I wouldn’t feel great about a linebacker covering Chase in space. He proved that on his receiving touchdown today. Another guy who just loves to improve. Chase’s first year, I’m not sure he caught a ball in practice. He came out the next year, and he’s catching everything. Really took that to heart and has improved, turning into the player he is now.”
Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy recovered a fumble on Miami’s first drive of the second half, and that was followed by a Barrett Carter interception on the Dolphins’ next drive. The fourth-down stop near midfield, which was confirmed by a digital measurement, followed that.
The turnovers kept coming, too, as cornerback Jalen Davis intercepted Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was making his first career start. That put Cincinnati in line for a 17-yard receiving touchdown by tight end Mike Gesicki early in the fourth quarter.
Turns out Taylor had the right idea about the turnover battle.
“That’s really it – that’s the choice. A lot of the stuff that happens, forcing fumbles, forcing interceptions, forcing a sack, it’s a decision,” Murphy said. “Are you going to be the one or force it or going to let it happen? It really starts with a decision on the defense.”
After the Gesicki touchdown, and with Cincinnati leading by 31 points, Burrow gave way to veteran backup Joe Flacco. The Dolphins would add a garbage-time touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Before exiting with more than 13 minutes to play, Burrow was 25-for-32 for 309 yards and four passing touchdowns.
Ja’Marr Chase was Burrow’s leading target with nine receptions for 109 yards. Tee Higgins (three catches, 53 yards) didn’t have a reception in the second half but scored a first-quarter touchdown. Burrow credited Higgins’ early contributions with helping set the tone that led to victory.
Cincinnati is now 32-17 (.653) with Burrow, Chase and Higgins all playing.
Burrow eclipsed 20,000 career passing yards and 150 career passing touchdowns.
Ewers’ first start came at the expense of benched Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The rookie from Texas finished 20-for-30 for 260 yards with two interceptions.
Cincinnati took a 17-14 lead into halftime. Miami led briefly late in the second quarter, but that was a lone bright spot in an otherwise dreary game for the hosts, who dropped to 6-9.
The Bengals took a 7-0 lead on a Higgins’ toe-tap touchdown in the first quarter. Miami responded with a rushing score by De’Von Achane. Cincinnati went back up at 14-7 on a Semaje Perine 4-yard run, which was preceded by a 45-yard Evan McPherson field goal.
The Dolphins took a 14-10 lead on a Malik Washington rushing score but that lead was short-lived as Perine would cap the Bengals’ response drive with a touchdown on their next possession.
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Cincinnati wins comfortably − a nice change of pace. The Bengals are 5-10 with two home games at Paycor Stadium remaining to close out the 2025 season.
Bengals 45, Miami 21 − 3:47, fourth quarter
The final score will look a little more respectable after Jaylen Wright’s touchdown for Miami.
Joe Burrow’s work is indeed done for the day. His final stats: 25-for-32 passing for 309 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Flacco is on to finish the game for Cincinnati.
Bengals 45, Miami 14 − 13:32, fourth quarter
Joe Burrow hit tight end Mike Gesicki on a 17-yard reception that saw Gesicki fall backward into the end zone with a defender on his back.
We might see Burrow’s day finish at some point this quarter only because the lead has swelled to 31 points with less than a quarter to play. As of now, Burrow is 25-for-32 for 309 yards and four touchdowns − a banner day aided largely by the defense’s second half showing as Cincinnati was set up with short fields to work with following takeaways and stops up to this point in the half.
Bengals 38, Miami 14 − start of fourth quarter
The Bengals earned four defensive stops, three takeaways and Chase Brown scored three touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving) in less than 10 minutes.
Myles Murphy recovered a fumble while Barrett Carter and Jalen Davis both had interceptions.
Bengals 38, Miami 14 − 2:12, third quarter
Quinn Ewers was just intercepted again, this time by Cincinnati’s Jalen Davis. That makes three forced turnovers by the Bengals in the third quarter alone, and four defensive stops over all (Miami also failed on a fourth-down conversation).
This could quickly become a laugher if it hasn’t become that already.
Bengals 38, Miami 14 − 2:25, third quarter
Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase put the Bengals in prime scoring position on a 36-yard connection down to the Miami 12-yard line. Burrow then found Chase wide open for a touchdown, which was Chase’s third in the third quarter. More specifically, it was Chase’s third touchdown in the last 7:18 of game time.
Bengals 31, Miami 14 − 5:19, third quarter
Miami was initially awarded the first down on a 4th-and-1 quarterback keeper rush by Miami rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers near midfield, but a digital measurement confirmed the placement of of the ball for Ewers’ forward progress was 10 inches shy of the line to gain. Mark it down as another defensive stop for Cincinnati, their third straight to start the second half.
You hesitate to say this with the way Cincinnati’s blown games this year, but another touchdown on this drive, with the third quarter winding down, could put the game away.
Bengals 31, Miami 14 − 8:32, third quarter
The early stages of the third quarter was a Dolphins implosion as much as it was a Bengals clinic in capitalizing on short fields via turnovers.
We’re less than halfway through the third quarter and the Dolphins have turned the ball over on both of their possessions. The Bengals then made touchdowns out of both of those extra possessions. On the latest drive, running back Chase Brown had 35 combined yards. Twelve of those came on a run into the end zone which, combined with Evan McPherson’s successful point-after attempt, made the score 31-12.
This is the third game this season Brown has scored both a rushing and a receiving touchdown, and he’s scored both in the last 1:11 of game time.
Bengals 24, Dolphins 14 − 9:19, third quarter
One play after an overthrow by Miami’s rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, the Bengals picked Ewers off. His deep ball down the middle of the field toward the midfield logo was tipped by Josh Newton and intercepted by Barrett Carter. Carter then returned the ball 15 yards to Miami’s 35-yard line. Already leading by 10 points, another score on this drives makes it a two-possession game while a touchdown would make it a three-score lead.
On the second Bengals drive of the game, Joe Burrow hit 20,000 passing yards. He became the fifth player in NFL history to reach that milestone in their first 75 career games.
As mentioned below, Burrow also today became the third-fastest quarterback in NFL history to hit 150 career touchdown passes.
Bengals 24, Dolphins 14 − 9:43, third quarter
Joe Burrow found Chase Brown down near the goal line. Brown juked and found the end zone.
The touchdown pass was the 150th of Burrow’s career, making him the third-fastest to reach that threshold.
Bengals 17, Dolphins 14 − 13:02, third quarter
After a Miami penalty negated a big chunk play that helped the hosts cross midfield and into Bengals territory, Dolphins receiver Greg Dulcich fumbled the ball away. Cincinnati’s Myles Murphy recovered it, the Cincinnati will be cooking on the Miami 34-yard line. In others words, they’re already in Evan McPherson territory.
Joe Burrow went 16-for-22 for 193 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Quinn Ewers, making the first start of his rookie season in favor of the benched Tua Tagovailoa, went 10-for-12 for 109 yards. Both Dolphins scores came on the ground via De’Von Achane and Malik Washington.
The Bengals scored on a Tee Higgins (three catches, 53 yards) touchdown reception, a 45-yard Evan McPherson field goal and a Samaje Perine four-yard touchdown run.
Ja’Marr Chase had seven receptions for a team-leading 58 yards.
There were no turnovers in the first half.
Ewers will get the ball back to begin the second half.
Bengals 17, Dolphins 10 − 1:24, second quarter
Samaje Perine carried four yards for a rushing touchdown to see Cincinnati retake the lead. That drive was keyed by a short pass by Joe Burrow after he bought enough time against on-rushing pressure. His pass went against the grain of the play, so to speak, to tight end Drew Sample, whose catch-and-run on 3rd-and-10 from the Miami 38 advanced the Bengals 27 yards. Then, a face-mark penalty against Miami put Cincinnati in even better position, and that’s where Perine took over to finish the 1:00 drive, which covered 56 yards on seven plays.
Dolphins 14, Bengals 10 − 2:24, second quarter
Miami running back Malik Washington’s first touch of the game was a 10-yard run to the end zone that split the Bengals’ defense, and it allowed the Dolphins to take their first lead of the contest. Once again, Miami responded quickly to a Cincinnati score as it went 68 yards on seven plays in 3:37.
Cincinnati will essentially have a two-minute drill on its hands in order to respond before the intermission. The Bengals have two timeouts remaining, plus the two-minute warning at their disposal.
Bengals 10, Dolphins 7 − 6:01, second quarter
From 45 yards out, Evan McPherson knocked a field goal through to restore a Cincinnati lead. He’s now 24-for-27 on fields goals this season, 31-of-31 on extra-point attempts and as we’ve mentioned before, the only kicks he’s missed have been from record-length distances and in weather conditions that definitely weren’t in his favor.
That was one of the more adventurous kicks McPherson’s had this season, though. Taking the play from the view of the TV viewer, McPherson kicked from the extreme left of the hashmarks in the middle of the field and basically in perfect conditions. But McPherson’s kick swerved hard to the right mid-flight and ended up clanking off the inside of the right goal post. For some reason, that kick really swerved hard right and nearly missed. It certainly says something about McPherson’s year-over-year progression that his “worst” kicks are still crossing through the uprights.
Bengals 7, Dolphins 7 − 2:25, first quarter
Three offensive plays into the Dolphins’ second drive of the game, they find themselves tied with Bengals. A missed tackle by Geno Stone helped see De’Von Achane scamper 48 yards for the score.
Bengals 7, Dolphins 0 − 3:57, first quarter
Joe Burrow lofted a ball in the back of the end zone for Tee Higgins and it was not surprise that he went up and got it. That capped a 91-yard, seven-play drive that lasted 4:01. The Bengals offense looks very comfortable right now and is mixing up its play-calling effectively through two drives.
On the first play of Cincinnati’s second offensive drive, Joe Burrow hooked up with Tee Higgins on a 35-yard reception. That took him past the 20,000-passing yard threshold.
Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, who last year guided Texas to the College Football Playoff before falling in the NFL Draft to the 231st overall selection. This will be Ewers’ second NFL appearance, his first career start, and his first game action since an Oct. 19 game against the Cleveland Browns.
The Bengals received the opening kickoff, so the Miami Dolphins have the strategic advantage of being able to plan for receiving the kickoff to begin the second half.
The Bengals went 1-for-2 on third down on the opening drive. The second third down saw Joe Burrow sacked, so there went Cincinnati’s opening possession.
It’s Bengals vs. Dolphins in NFL Week 16 action from Hard Rock Stadium. Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention and Miami will turn to quarterback Quinn Ewers. The Bengals have wide receiver Tee Higgins back and all healthy starters will play. Cincinnati is favored by 4 points, and the over/under point total is 48, according to BetMGM.
Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic picks the Dolphins to beat the Bengals 30-20 in his weekly picks and predictions column.
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Emergency 3rd QB)WR Nick Westbrook-IkhineS Minkah FitzpatrickCB Isaiah JohnsonT Kendall LammWR Tahj WashingtonDT Matthew Butler
Wide receiver Tee Higgins is active after missing last week’s game in the concussion protocol.
QB Jake Browning (Emergency 3rd QB)WR Charlie JonesCB Bralyn LuxS PJ JulesDE Joseph OssaiTE Noah FantDT Jordan Jefferson
Joe Burrow is 20-for-31 passing for 287 yards and two touchdowns in one career game against the Dolphins.
Bengals vs. Dolphins odds, spread
The Bengals are 4-point favorites and the over/under point total is 48, according to BetMGM.
How to watch Bengals vs. Dolphins
The Bengals vs. Dolphins Week 16 game will be broadcast on CBS/Local 12 (WKRC-TV) and can be streamed on Paramount+.
Bengals 2025 football schedule
Week 1: Sept. 7, Bengals 17, Cleveland Browns 16 (1-0)Week 2: Sept. 14, Bengals 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 17 (2-0)Week 3: Sept. 21, Bengals 10, Minnesota Vikings 48 (2-1)Week 4: Sept. 29, Bengals 3, Denver Broncos 28 (2-2)Week 5: Oct. 5, Bengals 24, Detroit Lions 37 (2-3)Week 6: Oct. 12, Bengals 18, Green Bay Packers 27 (2-4)Week 7: Oct. 16, Bengals 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 (3-4)Week 8: Oct. 27, Bengals38, New York Jets 39 (3-5)Week 9: Nov. 2, Bengals 42, Chicago Bears 47 (3-6)Week 10: Bye weekWeek 11: Nov. 16, Bengals 12, Pittsburgh Steelers 34 (3-7)Week 12: Nov. 23, Bengals 20, New England Patriots 26 (3-8)Week 13: Nov. 27, Bengals 32, Baltimore Ravens 14 (4-8)Week 14: Dec. 7, Bengals 34, Buffalo Bills 39 (4-9)Week 15: Dec. 14, Bengals 0, Baltimore Ravens 24 (4-10)Week 16: Dec. 21, Bengals at Miami Dolphins 1 p.m.Week 17: Bengals vs. Arizona Cardinals, Date and network TBDWeek 18: Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns, Date and network TBDThe final two weeks of the season don’t have game times because the NFL reserves the right to flex games into primetime spots based on playoff scenarios.