The Cincinnati Bengals picked up a huge win over the Miami Dolphins on “Thursday Night Football” and continued to convince doubters that the slow start won’t doom the season.
In fact, the steady improvement of Joe Burrow is what has most onlookers convinced the 0-2 start that has morphed into 2-2 in a matter of days is a big sign of things to come.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt the defense continues to play at a high level just like it did last year during the sprint to the Super Bowl.
Coming out of the big win and before the showdown with Baltimore, here’s how the national scene views the Bengals.
Joe Burrow with a beautiful and massive corner post throw. Love this concept when you move to it, too. Poor safety has no shot. #WhoDey | #RuleTheJungle
Full video = QBSPC only.
Join: https://t.co/l0CJd0icXb pic.twitter.com/b5q5VCquBi— The QB School (@theqbschool) October 2, 2022
Joe Mixon is the most bizarre "elite" running back out there. You watch a Bengals game, and he slams into the back of his OL seemingly every play. Then the game ends and he somehow has 29-118-2 rushing and 32 fantasy points.
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 30, 2022
Highest graded Bengals in Week 4 win vs Dolphins:
🥇 Tee Higgins – 85.0
🥈 Sam Hubbard – 81.2
🥉 Vonn Bell – 77.6
4️⃣ Hayden Hurst – 75.6
5️⃣ Mitchell Wilcox – 73.5 pic.twitter.com/zwCXyXKT21— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) September 30, 2022
The #Bengals close it out over the #Dolphins, winning their second straight game since QB Joe Burrow told us to “just take a deep breath and relax. We're gonna be fine.”
Maybe he was on to something.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2022
Pro Football Focus spotlighted Tee Higgins:
“Offensive spotlight: In a game full of receiver talent, Bengals WR Tee Higgins put together the best performance, securing seven catches from nine targets for 124 yards and a touchdown en route to an 85.0-plus overall grade on first review. Altogether, Higgins recorded four first downs, three explosive (15-plus yards) receptions and forced two missed tackles against a Dolphins secondary that had no answers for the Clemson product. Higgins’ best play came when he roasted former All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard on a “go” route down the sideline for a 59-yard score.”
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm says we’ve yet to see the best from Burrow:
“Burrow started this game fairly hot, and he made some big throws down the stretch to help seal a hard-fought victory for the Bengals against an unbeaten Dolphins team. The Bengals’ top three receivers all had explosive receptions — and that’s what made them so dangerous a year ago. But Burrow had to grind through some struggles; we haven’t yet seen him play four clean quarters against a good team this season. Burrow underwent an appendectomy about two months ago, missed a big chunk of training camp and didn’t play in the preseason. In Week 1, he turned the ball over five times. Week 2 ran his sack total to 13, with Burrow throwing for 199 yards on 36 attempts. Last week, he looked far better against the Jets. But four days later, against a far better defense (but also one that played 92 snaps four days earlier), Burrow took time getting back in rhythm. The panic level shouldn’t be high, but the Bengals must use their mini-bye to find ways to make the whole operation smoother.”
