BENGALS SQUARE OFF AGAINST DOLPHINS
Receiver sparks offense with 10 catches, 173 yards, 1 TD.
The Cincinnati CINCINNATI — Bengals wore all white, and the Miami Dolphins sported all orange. But the color of the game was Green.
Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green caught 10 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown Thursday night to help the Bengals (2-2) snap a two-game losing streak with a 22-7 victory before 60,834 at Paul Brown Stadium.
Green had 123 of his yards in the first half to personally outgain the Dolphins (1-3), who had just 122 — 74 on their second snap when Ryan Tannehill hit Kenny Stills for a long touchdown.
But it was all Bengals, and mostly Green, after that.
He had three catches for 77 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown, on the drive that gave the Bengals the lead for good with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
Green’s score was the Bengals’ only touchdown an otherwise dominating performance. Five times the Bengals had to settle for Mike Nugent field goals as he tied his career high with kicks of 42, 22, 43, 22, 47 yards.
Though not ideal, it was more than enough production for the Cincinnati defense, which was
sparked by linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s return from a three-game suspension.
The Bengals held the Dolphins to 222 yards and 2 of 11 on third downs while sacking Tannehill five times and intercepting him once.
Carlos Dunlap had two of the sacks, the first of which forced a fumble that Domata Peko recovered at the Miami 25 just before the two-minute warning. But the offense wasn’t able to convert, and Nugent hit a 43-yarder to send the Bengals into halftime with a 16-7 lead.
The Cincinnati run game continued to struggle with 37 rushes for 77 yards (2.1 average). Those issues led to Nugent’s fourth field goal after the Bengals had first and goal at the Miami 2 with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
The Bengals lost cornerback Josh Shaw to a stinger in the fourth quarter, and left guard Clint Boling sustained a left shoulder injury in the third quarter. Boling returned for a couple of plays in the fourth before leaving for good and being replaced by Jake Fisher.
Shaw’s replacement, Chris Lewis-Harris, picked off Tannehill at the Bengals 30 for his first career interception with 4:53 left in the game.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was 22 of 31 for 296 yards.