Dolphins vs Bengals NFL | Joe Burrow’s Debut For Cincy

The Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals close out their preseason schedule against one another on Sunday, and while the Fins will not play most starters, the Bengals are planning to use No. 1 quarterback Joe Burrow at least briefly.

How to Bet Dolphins at Bengals NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 4 PM ET
Where: Paul Brown Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: CBS Sports app
Opening NFL Lines: Pick’em (total 36.5)

Why Bet on Miami?

Miami is 1-1 in the preseason, losing Week 1 in Chicago and then beating visiting Atlanta 37-17 last weekend. Miami Tua Tagovailoa completed 16-of-23 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown vs. the Falcons. Tagovailoa committed zero turnovers while taking only one sack.

Rookie first-round receiver Jaylen Waddle caught three of four targets for 21 yards while missing some snaps due to injury. With six wide receivers sitting for the Dolphins — notably, DeVante Parker (undisclosed) and Will Fuller (foot) — Waddle got the start and was targeted on three of Tagovailoa’s first four passes. On the 10th play of Miami’s opening drive, though, Waddle was undercut by an Atlanta defender while blocking. The scary moment included the rookie first-round pick remaining on the field for a while, going to the blue medical tent and eventually walking to the locker room under his own power, all the while in visible pain. Waddle is OK.

Top running back Myles Gaskin rushed six times for 27 yards and a touchdown, , adding four catches for 44 yards and an additional score. A total of 57 of Gaskin’s 71 yards from scrimmage came on the Dolphins’ opening drive.

This week, the Dolphins placed WR/RB Lynn Bowden on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, ending his season. By placing Bowden Jr. on injured reserve before the final roster is trimmed to 53 players, the Dolphins are effectively redshirting the year for Bowden Jr. He was then taken in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Raiders, moved to running back, traded to the Dolphins, and finally moved back to receiver. Last year, he had 28 receptions for 211 yards and added nine rushes for 32 yards but didn’t score.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Tagovailoa and other starters won’t play in Sunday’s preseason finale: “Tua won’t play on Sunday and we’ll probably rest most of the starters. “We’re still going through that as a staff. We’ve got to play the game. There’ll be some guys in there who’ll get an opportunity to showcase or apply the fundamentals and techniques, the things we’ve been talking about the entire camp, guys who haven’t had as many reps in game.”

Flores added that receivers Fuller, Parker, Preston Williams and Albert Wilson could each see the field as they work back from injures. The receivers who do play on Sunday will catch balls from Jacoby Brissett, 8 for 8 and 99 yards against the Falcons, and Reid Sinnett, who was 2 for 2 with a touchdown vs. Atlanta.

Why Bet on Cincinnati?

The Bengals haven’t played starting QB Joe Burrow yet this preseason and are 1-1, winning Week 1 19-14 at Tampa Bay and losing Week 2 17-13 at Washington. Brandon Allen started for Burrow vs. Washington his place and played through the first drive of the second half, finishing 8 of 17 for 70 yards. The Bengals were 0 for 6 on third downs in the first half and finished 4 of 13. Kyle Shurmur and Eric Dungey both got second-half time under center for the Bengals.

Rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase — the fifth pick in the draft from LSU — dropped a third-down pass on each of the Bengals’ first three drives. His drops on the second and third possessions would have resulted in first downs for an offense that mustered a total of two in the first half. He finished without a catch. Chase has had a rough camp/preseason. He’s been on the field for 10 passing plays in the two preseason games and has hauled in just one of his four targets.

Then again, last year second-round receiver Tee Higgins had a nagging injury issue in camp, initially had problems adjusting to NFL speed and wasn’t a major factor in the team’s season opener. However, Higgins ended up having a terrific first year. Pro Football Focus College revealed their list of which rookies they thought would lead the league in receiving yards and Chase came in at No. 1. He was the only rookie receiver projected to go for over 1,000 yards.

The Bengals got some bad news on rookie defensive end Joseph Ossai, who had knee surgery this week for a meniscus injury that is expected to be season-ending. The Bengals drafted Ossai in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he had a promising start to his NFL career with five quarterback pressures and one sack in his lone preseason contest.

The first-team defense has played four combined series the first two preseason games, and during that span has allowed just 3.2 yards per play while recording two sacks, forcing and recovering a fumble, forcing two punts, and recording a fourth-and-one stop.

Burrow will start this game for the Bengals and it will be first game action since tearing his ACL in Week 11 of last season. Burrow has struggled at times in training camp, and at one point asked for Bengals coaches to surround him in practice to help him get used to the feel of an NFL pocket again. His return to live game action will hopefully aid in the mental component of his injury recovery.

Sunday’s game marks the first preseason meeting between the Bengals and Dolphins since 1975. The Dolphins hold a 4-3 series lead in preseason, with three of the previous matchups taking place in Cincinnati and four in Miami.

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