Thursday Night Football Preview: Cincinnati Bengals vs Miami Dolphins

The Cincinnati Bengals host the undefeated Miami Dolphins in an AFC showdown in Week 4 on Thursday Night Football. The Bengals will hope to build on the momentum they earned by dominating the New York Jets in Week 3, and the Dolphins will hope to avoid a letdown following their massive win over their AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills. The Bengals are 4-point favourites to hand the Dolphins their first loss of the season.

It's been an exciting three weeks for the Dolphins. The team smothered the New England Patriots 20-7 in Week 1, nabbed a shocking 42-38 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, and held on for a hard-fought 21-19 win over the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday. If the Dolphins have a defining strength so far this season, it's the deadly wide receiver duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who rank second and third in receiving yards through three weeks of the NFL season. Third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been well-served tossing the ball their way, compiling an impressive 308.3 passing yards per game and a 117.8 passer rating. If the Dolphins want to succeed this week despite the displacement across Florida caused by Hurricane Ian, they'll need to keep one of the league's new premier passing attacks humming.

The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to be one of the league's dominant passing attacks this year, but it hasn't quite turned out that way so far. Quarterback Joe Burrow struggled in his first two starts of the season, turning the ball over five times and taking an unconscionable 13 sacks in the two losses. Thankfully, the team found its stride in a 27-12 victory over the struggling Jets this past Sunday. Burrow played a clean game, tossing three touchdowns and tallying 261 net yards passing while feeding star wide receivers Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. For the Bengals to deliver on all the hype following last year's AFC Conference championship, they'll need to get 2021's Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase more involved. Chase has been a forgotten man the past two weeks, totalling a mere 83 yards on 19 targets. The Bengals won't be an elite offense in 2022 unless Chase can match his explosive first year; the wide receiver averaged an amazing 85.6 receiving yards per game and 11.4 yards per target as a rookie.

The Miami Dolphins visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football in Week 3.