NFL Week 16 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (1-13) at Miami Dolphins (3-11)

The Bengals and Dolphins are meeting finally. Early on in the season this was being billed as the game that would decide the first-overall pick, and while it still has a very huge impact on that, these two teams aren’t coming into the game winless.

The Dolphins have played tough for their new head coach Brian Flores this season, and they’re clearly trying to show that he should be part of the future. But their roster, much like the Bengals’, has some major holes. Look no further than their leading rusher: Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Cincinnati is coming off their worst performance since the bye week, but it did come against the Patriots. They also kept it close for half of the game. It is hard to ignore how much Andy Dalton’s second half struggles held back a team that was going stride for stride with New England. The Bengals are only one loss away from securing the first overall pick and possibly solving that problem for the foreseeable future.

Everything you need to know for the Bengals taking on the Dolphins:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-13) at Miami Dolphins (3-11)

Date/Time: Dec. 22nd, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Hard Rock Stadium Miami, Florida

Series Leader: The Dolphins lead the series at 15-7

Streak: The Bengals have won the past two meetings

Coaches vs. Opponent: Zac Taylor: (0-0). Brian Flores (0-0)

Television: The game will air on CBS-TV. In Cincinnati, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12). Broadcasters are Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst) and Michael Grady (sideline reporter).

Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation Dolphins’ site: Phinsider

Weather: Mid 70’s, mostly cloudy with light rain [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals, +3 [Odds Shark]

Bengals notes

• Quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 248 yards with a touchdown and interception for a 89.3 passer rating in the last meeting. He aims for his twelfth in a row vs. the AFC East with a touchdown pass. He needs 92 passing yards to become the eighth player in NFL history with 3,000 passing yards in eight of nine seasons.
• Running back Joe Mixon had 156 scrimmage yards (136 rushing and 20 receiving) last week. He aims for his third in a row with at least 150 scrimmage yards. He aims for his fourth in a row on the road with a touchdown. He had 115 scrimmage yards (93 rushing and 22 receiving) and a touchdown catch in his last meeting with the Dolphins. He has a touchdown in four of his five career games against AFC East. He needs 75 rushing yards to become the fifth player in franchise history with 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons.
• Wide receiver Tyler Boyd has a touchdown catch in two of his past four. He aims for his third in a row on the road against the AFC East with at least 65 receiving yards. He needs 141 receiving yards for his second-consecutive 1,000 receiving yard season. Tight end Tyler Eifert had three catches for 44 yards last week. Tight end Cethan Carter caught his first-career touchdown catch in Week 15.
• Defensive end Carlos Dunlap had six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass defended last week. He has five sacks, five passes defended, and a forced fumble in his past four games. Defensive lineman Sam Hubbard had his sixth sack of the season last week. He aims for his fourth in a row with a sack. He had a pass defense in the last meeting. Linebacker Germaine Pratt (rookie) led the team with a career-high nine tackles last week.

Dolphins notes

• Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 279 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 93.4 passer rating last week. He has at least a 105 passer rating in three of his past four games at home. He completed 11 of 15 passes (73.3 percent) for 194 yards with two touchdowns for a 154.9 passer rating in his last game against the Bengals (10/28/18 with the Bucs).
• Running back Myles Gaskin (rookie) had a career-high 72 scrimmage yards (43 rushing and 29 receiving) last week.
• Wide receiver Devante Parker had four catches for a team-high 72 yards and two touchdowns last week. He has two touchdown catches in two of his past three games. He aims for his third in a row at home with at least seven catches and 135 receiving yards. He has a touchdown catch in four of his past five at home. He needs 46 receiving yards for his first-career 1,000-receiving season. Wide receiver Albert Wilson had five catches for a season-high 59 yards last week. He had five catches in his last meeting with the Bengals. Tight end Mike Gesicki had four catches for 47 yards in Week 15. He has a receiving touchdown in two of his past four games.
• Linebacker Jerome Baker had a team-high 12 tackles and his first interception of the season last week. He had a career-high two sacks in his last meeting with Cincinnati. Rookie Linebacker Same Eguavoen had a sack and pass defense last week. Rookie cornerback Nik Needham had his second interception of the season last week. He is one of three rookies with two interceptions and a forced fumble this season.