Why the Dolphins Will Defeat the Bengals in Week 13, Why They Will Lose, And What's Actually Going to Happen
The Miami Dolphins will look for their seventh victory in eight games and more importantly keep pace in the AFC playoff race when they face the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
The Dolphins (7-4) are coming off a 20-3 victory against the New York Jets, while the Bengals dropped a 19-17 decision against the New York Giants to drop to 2-8-1 on the season.
Here are different ways this game could play out:
The Dolphins will win because ...
-- The Dolphins are the better team, as they were last week against the New York Jets. There's a reason, after all, they're double-digit favorites in this game.
-- The Bengals simply aren't the same team without first overall pick Joe Burrow at quarterback.
-- New Bengals starting QB Brandon Allen has a 68.1 passer rating in four career starts and threw for only 136 yards against the Giants last week.
-- The Bengals also will be without leading rusher Joe Mixon, who is out with a foot injury.
-- The Dolphins defense will take advantage of a Cincinnati offensive line that couldn't protect Burrow and get to Allen for at least three sacks.
-- While we're at it, Xavien Howard will add another pick to his resume.
RELATED: An Appreciation of Howard's Brilliant Season
-- DeVante Parker will have another big game for the Dolphins after he set a season high with 119 yards against the Jets.
-- The Dolphins running game will show signs of life against one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL.
-- The Dolphins special teams will win a battle between two very good units, with Jason Sanders continuing to do what he's been doing all season.
RELATED: Dolphins Putting 'Special' in Special Teams
The Dolphins will lose because ...
-- The Dolphins will come out flat against a team out of playoff contention.
-- Quarterback Brandon Allen will enjoy a breakout performance.
-- The Dolphins secondary will have a hard time with the Bengals' talented trio of wide receivers: Tyler Boyd, rookie Tee Higgins and A.J. Green.
-- The Dolphins offense will get sloppy and turn the ball over a few times.
-- The Bengals will win the battle of special teams.
-- Even with Myles Gaskin back from injured reserve, it's going to be a rough outing for the running game.
RELATED: The Dolphins' Real Running Back Issue
What actually will happen ...
My prediction record for Dolphins games (7-4) continues to mirror that of the team itself, though I finally ended my personal losing streak by guessing the Dolphins would defeat the Jets last week — yeah, I know, no great feat.
This again appears to be an easy game to pick because the Bengals without Joe Burrow don't look that much more impressive than the Jets and, in fact, the Dolphins are favored by more in this game than they were last week.
In fact, the Dolphins haven't been favored by this many points since the 2003 season opener when they were shocked by the second-year Houston Texans.
The Bengals missing not only Burrow but also Joe Mixon really is crippling for their offense, even though Giovani Bernard is a good complementary back and there are good wide receivers on the Cincinnati roster.
The Cincinnati defense isn't nearly as good as it once was because Carlos Dunlap is now in Seattle and Geno Atkins has been limited to six games because of injuries.
It's not hard to envision the Bengals not winning another game this season, given what they have on the roster right now.
It was starting to look late Saturday afternoon as though Tua Tagovailoa would be back at quarterback for the Dolphins, though it really shouldn't make a difference in this one. In fact, this could be a good game for him to bounce back after the rough outing at Denver.
If Ryan Fitzpatrick ends up starting for the Dolphins, the end result should be the same.
Dolphins 23, Bengals 10
