3 key players for Bengals vs. Dolphins

The 4-10 Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Miami to face the 6-8 Miami Dolphins. There really isn’t anything on the line in this game for either team. The Dolphins have decided to go ahead and bench Tua Tagovailoa, opting to start rookie Quinn Ewers in his place this week. The Cincinnati Bengals have said they plan to start Joe Burrow for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three key players for the matchup this week.

Joe Burrow

I normally wouldn’t even put Joe Burrow as a key player; that is typically assumed. With that said, his recent comments and performance have been a bit uncharacteristic. The Bengals are coming off a shutout loss to Baltimore, losing 24-0. Burrow had two interceptions and was sacked three times during the game.

Burrow also threw two interceptions in the previous game versus Buffalo. If the Bengals are going to keep playing Burrow down the stretch, I am at least hoping to see some fun football out of this offense. The performance versus Baltimore was unacceptable. I expect Burrow and the rest of that offense to bounce back this week versus the Dolphins.

Myles Murphy

Murphy is coming off a two-sack performance against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Murphy has looked like a building block for this defense going forward, the past couple of months. Murphy will need to continue applying pressure to opposing quarterbacks, but will also have to be a big factor against De’Von Achane and the Miami rushing attack this week.

Demetrius Knight Jr.

Knight recorded the first two sacks of his career against the Ravens. I will be watching this week to see if he can build on that success. The Bengals desperately need to find out who they feel can continue moving forward with these last few games of the season. Hopefully, Knight can show that he has what it takes to at least be one starting-caliber linebacker for this team heading into next season.