Five players ejected as Cincinnati self-destructs in ugly loss to Miami
Dolphins rally for 19 unanswered points, shut down the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals unraveled after Tyler Boyd was penalized and disqualifified for throwing a punch late in the fifirst half. There was no recovering after a brawl broke out in the fourth quarter.
Boyd was one of five players from both teams ejected in a chippy game, but the Miami Dolphins used a big momentum swing after that to rally for a 19-7 win Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium while the Bengals (2-9-1) self-destructed.
Miami (8-4) wiped out a seven-point deficit by scoring 19 unanswered points and holding Cincinnati’s offffffffffffense to 25 yards in the second half while disrupting any chance of a comeback with constant pressure on the passer. QuarterbackBrandonAllenended
up exitingwith 7:23 left after suffering a chest injury on his fififth sack of the day, and Ryan Finley replaced him to experience the same trouble with a sack on his fifirst snap and eventually an interception that sealed the game for
the Dolphins.
Shortly before Allen’s injury, a fight brokeoutwhen Mike Thomas tackled Miami punt returner Jakeem Grant for a second time before he even fielded the ball. Cincinnati’s Shawn Williams and Miami’s DeVante Parker and MackHollinswere all ejected.
“I think our guys got put in some tough spots,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor saidwhen asked his response to those who think the game shows he has lost control of the team. “Those are two core guys that got kicked out of the game, Shawn Williams and Tyler Boyd. We don’t want that. We need those guys. We count on those guys, and everyone has to maintain their composure, myself included, so we just have to look at what happened. I know they were both very frustrated inwhat was going on. Shawn got hurt there on a blindside block and T.B. felt like he got hit late out of bounds, but we’ve got to maintain our composure and be better than that.”
Thomas had just been penalized for hittingGranton the previous punt, but emotionswere high throughout.
After Allen threw an incomplete pass to Boyd on third down with about a minute left in the second quarter, the Bengals’ wide receiver ended up in a scuffle on the sideline with
cornerbacks Byron Jones and Xavien Howard. Boyd was flagged for unnecessary roughness, penalized 15 yards and then ejected after a review, while Howardalsowas ejectedalthough not penalized.
That penalty turned a 38-yard field goal try into a 53-yard attempt that Randy Bullock missed wide left. The Dolphins then moved 27 yards on four plays to set Jason Sanders up for a 48-yard field goal at the gun, cutting their deficit to 7-6.
Taylor did not want to comment when asked if it seemed theofficials lost control of the game. He also said the officials didn’t explain
whyHoward’s ejection didn’t make it offsetting penalties.
“It was a very confusing sequence,” Taylor said. “Two guys got ejected and one flag was thrown. That’s all there was to it.”
Miami returned from the locker room with a touchdown drive to open the second half, the defense forced a three-and-out, andthen the Dolphins addedfield goalson each of the next two drives while the Bengals’ offense struggled to move the ball.
Earlier in the game, Cincinnati seemed to be on the upswing after Allen connected with Boyd for a 72-yard touchdown with 3:23 left in the first quarter
to get on the board first. Miami ended up settling for a field goal on the following drive, after a William Jackson interception was negated by a pass interference call on him.
Cincinnati nearly got a defensive scorewhen Vonn Bell sacked Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on a third-downblitz and forced a fumble, which Jordan Evans recovered for a touchdown. However, the playwas overturned on review, as Tagovailoa’s arm was ruled to be movingforward, whichmade the play an incomplete pass.
The Dolphins still had to punt, and that set the Bengals up forwhat looked to be a scoring drive after Allen got them to the Miami 20-yard line before Boyd’s ejection penalty. Boyd finished with just theonetouchdowncatch on four targets.
“When he went down it was tough for us, but I think we were really trying to bounce back and do some things offensively, move some guys around and did the best we could to get our playmakers the ball,” Allen said.
Cincinnati had minus-4 yards of offense in the third quarter, while Tagovailoa completed 13 of 16 passes for 167 yards in that period, leading to Sanders’ fourth field goal on the third play of the fourth quarter after Jackson broke up a pass to the end zone.
Tagovailoa, whowas questionable to play because of a thumb injury, finished with a career-high 296 yards and one touchdown. Miami converted only one of 10 thirddown plays but didn’t get to third down much in the second half.
Allen, who made his second start in place of injured Joe Burrow, threw for 153 yards, completing 11 of 19 passes with one interception. He said after the game he just got the wind knocked out of him and was fine. Finley was 6-of-7 for 40 yards and one interception.
The Bengals gained 196 yards in the first half, but the Bengals had three straight three-and-outs to start the second half.