Setting the Stage for the Week 16 Dolphins-Bengals Matchup

The Miami Dolphins have been eliminated from playoff contention, but they'll still try to finish the season on a high note, starting with their game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday when rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers will make his first NFL start.

Here's all the pertinent info for this Week 16 Dolphins-Bengals matchup.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-8) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (4-10)

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2025
Time: 1 PM ET
Site: Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Fla.
Weather Channel Forecast: The forecast for Miami Gardens on Sunday afternoon, according to AccuWeather, calls for a temperature of 83 with mostly sunny skies with a "shower in spots." The winds are expected to be about 10 mph with gusts up to 15 mph.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Adam Archuleta (color analyst), Aditi Kinkhabwala (sideline)

DOLPHINS-BENGALS REGULAR SEASON HISTORY

Regular Season Series History: Bengals lead 17-8

Last Five Meetings:

September 29, 2022 at Cincinnati — Bengals 27, Dolphins 15
December 6, 2020 at Miami — Dolphins 19, Bengals 7
December 22, 2019 at Miami — Dolphins 38, Bengals 35 (OT)
October 7, 2018 at Cincinnati — Bengals 27, Dolphins 17
September 29, 2016 at Cincinnati — Bengals 26, Dolphins 7

Series Superlatives:

Dolphins' Largest Margin of Victory: 24 (1983 at Miami; Dolphins 38, Bengals 14 ... 1991 at Miami; Dolphins 37, Bengals 13)
Dolphins' Largest Margin of Defeat: 17 (1968 at Miami; Bengals 38, Dolphins 21)
Highest-Scoring Matchup: 73 points (2019 at Miami; Dolphins 38, Bengals 35, OT)
Lowest-Scoring Matchup: 21 points (1978 at Miami; Dolphins 21, Bengals 0)

Connections:

Former Bengals Players with the Dolphins: None
Former Bengals Coaches with the Dolphins: None
Former Dolphins Players with the Bengals: CB Jalen Davis, TE Mike Gesicki, C Ted Karras, RB Samaje Perine, secondary/safeties coach Jordan Kovacs
Former Dolphins Coaches with the Bengals: Head coach Zac Taylor, secondary/CB coach Charles Burks, assistant WR coach Jordan Salkin

BENGALS SCOUTING REPORT

While the Dolphins obviously have had a disappointing 2025 season, there probably aren't too many teams with a more depressing outcome than the Bengals, and Joe Burrow's headline-grabbing press conference (more like therapy session) a couple of weeks ago perfectly captured the moment. The hope in Cincinnati this year was that Burrow would stay healthy and light it up with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and the defense would at least be competitive with new coordinator Al Golden replacing former Dolphins assistant Lou Anarumo. But Burrow missed a good chunk of the season with a freaking fot injury and the defense actually got worse, not helped by rough contract negotiations with the unit's best player by far, Trey Hendrickson, who then had injury issues of his own. The result was a brutal start, followed by some hope after Burrow returned and highlighted by an impressive Thanksgiving night victory against Baltimore and then a tough loss at Buffalo and an embarrassing performance in the Ravens rematch that officially knocked them out of playoff contention.

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL WIN

We forgot to mention in our Bengals overview that their offensive line remains among the poorest in the NFL, which has put Burrow and Joe Flacco before him under duress more than their fair share. The Dolphins pass rush could have a field day in this one. And then we get to the obvious with Cincinnati's defense being ranked last in total yards and last against the run, which bodes well for the Dolphins running game.

THE BIGGEST REASON THE DOLPHINS WILL LOSE

Quinn Ewers will make his first NFL start and the reality is we just don't know what we'll get from him, even against a porous defense. And then what happens if the Dolphins somehow can't get the run game going and Ewers has to throw more often than head coach Mike McDaniel surely will be intending coming into the game. On the flip side, if the Bengals can protect Burrow, this is an offense than can drop 30 against just about any defense.

FINAL DOLPHINS-BENGALS PREDICTION

This will be the first time since 2019 the Dolphins play a Week 16 game with no playoff implications for either team and, ironically, that last example featured the Bengals as the opponents, with Miami coming away with a thrilling 38-35 overtime victory (no, it didn't cost the Dolphins a shot at the first overall pick and landing Burrow). We can only hope for that kind of an exciting game, though it's probably not realistic. The Dolphins logically will want to lean on the running game again and they should have success there against a really bad Bengals defense. The question then becomes how much can the defense slow down Burrow. We'll say it'll be just enough.

Final Score: Dolphins 27, Bengals 24