Bengals rebound behind Green
Receiver has 173 yards and a touchdown, and Nugent makes five field goals.
CINCINNATI — For most of the game, A.J. Green piled up more yards than the entire Miami Dolphins offense in a virtuoso performance. As an encore, he thrilled the crowd by juggling some Florida citrus.
The Bengals receiver followed his disappointing game with a dominating one — 173 yards and a touchdown — and a Cincinnati defense that was inspired by Vontaze Burfict’s return clamped down on the Dolphins for a 22-7 victory Thursday night.
The Bengals (2-2) rebounded from a 29-17 home loss to Denver on Sunday with a solid all-around game against a depleted team.
Green led the way, beating the Dolphins (1-3) on every type of route. He was upset with himself after he dropped a pivotal thirddown pass and failed to make an impact against the Broncos.
“I hold myself to a very high standard,” said Green, who had 10 catches. “I know what I’m capable of. Last week I didn’t perform to that level. I had to refocus on a short week.”
During the first three quarters, Green had 166 yards in catches while Miami had 152 total yards. The Bengals’ season-long problem of stalling out near the goal line forced them to settle for Mike Nugent’s seasonhigh five field goals.
Afterward, Green and Andy Dalton appeared on the postgame show, and the receiver entertained the dozens of Bengals fans who stayed around by smoothly juggling three oranges at the interview desk.
“Any time he was one on one, he was able to make the play,” Dalton said.
The Dolphins were without four starting offensive linemen, two linebackers, running back Arian Foster and tight end Jordan Cameron. They had one big play — Ryan Tannehill threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills — but couldn’t do anything else on offense.
“We’ve got to get it fixed and quick, and by that I mean Monday,” Tannehill said. “We’re kind of in a dark spot right now. It’s squarely on our shoulders.”
Burfict was suspended by the NFL for the first three games because of illegal hits. The volatile linebacker knocked down a pass and had three tackles.