Postgame Observations: Joe Burrow Bounces Back, Bengals Cruise to 45-21 Win Over Dolphins

MIAMI — Joe Burrow rebounded from one of the worst games of his career and the Bengals forced two second half turnovers to help them cruise to a 45-21 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Cincinnati scored 21-straight points in 7:51 of game time spanning from the 1:28 mark of the second quarter and the 8:37 mark of the third quarter to turn a 14-10 deficit into a 31-14 lead.

The Bengals are 5-10 on the season and 4-2 with Burrow at quarterback. Here are our postgame observations:

Key Stretch

The Bengals won this game by scoring at the end of the second quarter and forced two turnovers to start the third quarter to take control of the game.

First, Burrow led Cincinnati on a 7-play, 56 yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Samaje Perine to give the Bengals a 17-14 halftime lead. Then, the Bengals forced a turnover on the first possession of the third quarter. Jordan Battle knocked the ball away from Greg Dulcich and Myles Murphy recovered.

The Bengals went on a 6-play, 34-yard drive that ended with Burrow finding Chase Brown for a 9-yard touchdown.

Brown's day was just getting started. Barrett Carter intercepted Quinn Ewers on the next drive, which gave the Bengals another short field. The 2-play, 35-yard drive ended with Brown scoring from 12-yards out to give Cincinnati a commanding 31-14 lead.

Brown's Trifecta

The Bengals defense forced a turnover on downs with a big stop on 4th-and-short on the next drive, which gave Brown a chance to score this third touchdown of the third quarter. Burrow calmly found Brown for a 5-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-3 from the 5-yard line. Cincinnati took a 38-14 lead.

The Bengals' defense forced three turnovers and a turnover on downs in the third quarter to take control of the game. The offense took advantage of the short fields to score 21 points in the quarter.

Burrow's Day

Burrow bounced back in a huge way. He completed 25-of-32 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. He posted a 146.5 quarterback rating. He was dominant all game long and took advantage of the short fields that the offense was given.

The Bengals scored 28 points off turnovers if you included the fourth down stop in the fourth quarter. Burrow deserves a ton of credit for navigating those drives and making sure they ended in touchdowns.

Chase and Higgins

Ja'Marr Chase finished with nine catches for 109 yards on 11 targets. Tee Higgins had three catches for 53 yards and one touchdown.

Both Chase and Higgins made outstanding contested catches on drives that ended with touchdowns.

Up Next

The Bengals return home to play the Cardinals on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET.

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