Joe Burrow delivered a sharp reminder of his elite playmaking ability Sunday, throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals routed the Miami Dolphins 45-21. Coming one week after the first shutout loss of his career, Burrow rebounded emphatically as Cincinnati put together one of its most complete performances of the season despite having little at stake.
Both teams entered the game already eliminated from playoff contention — Miami at 6-9 and Cincinnati at 5-10 — but the Bengals quickly showed they were intent on finishing strong. After nursing a slim 17-14 halftime lead, Cincinnati blew the game open by capitalizing on four straight Dolphins turnovers, scoring 28 unanswered points to turn a competitive contest into a runaway.
Burrow carved up Miami’s defense with precision and poise, completing 25 of 32 passes and posting a 146.5 passer rating before being replaced by veteran Joe Flacco early in the fourth quarter. One sequence late in the second quarter encapsulated his afternoon: Burrow evaded pressure, rolled right, and fired an off-script pass across his body to a wide-open Drew Sample, setting up Samaje Perine’s 4-yard touchdown run.
The Bengals’ offense was relentless in the second half, with running back Chase Brown emerging as the star. Brown scored all three of his touchdowns in the third quarter — two receiving scores from Burrow from 9 and 5 yards out, followed by a 12-yard rushing touchdown — becoming the first player this season to score three times in a single quarter. He finished with 66 rushing yards and 43 receiving yards.
Ja’Marr Chase led Cincinnati’s receivers with nine catches for 109 yards, while Tee Higgins added a highlight-reel 9-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter. Former Dolphin Mike Gesicki also got into the end zone, hauling in a 17-yard touchdown and punctuating it with a Griddy celebration in front of his old team.
Miami, meanwhile, showed early promise behind rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, who made the first start of his NFL career. Ewers led two scoring drives and looked composed in the first half, completing 10 of 12 passes before the break. He finished 20 of 30 for 260 yards but struggled as the game unraveled, throwing two interceptions during Miami’s turnover-plagued second half — a troubling repeat of last week’s collapse.
Ewers, a seventh-round pick out of Texas, was named the starter earlier in the week after Tua Tagovailoa was benched following a poor outing in Pittsburgh, where he threw his league-leading 15th interception. Despite limited first-team practice reps this season, Ewers earned the nod as head coach Mike McDaniel emphasized that the Dolphins’ standard at quarterback had not been met and that a spark was needed.
Tagovailoa, who led the NFL in passing yards in 2023 but has struggled to live up to the four-year, $212.4 million contract extension he signed in 2024, served as Miami’s emergency third quarterback behind Ewers and veteran Zach Wilson.
For Cincinnati, the lopsided win offered a late-season boost and a reminder of what the offense can look like when Burrow is healthy and in rhythm. For Miami, the loss underscored ongoing questions at quarterback and extended a difficult stretch as the Dolphins were again outmatched in the second half.
