CINCINNATI, Sporting Alert – Thursday Night Football on NFL.com and the NFL Network pits the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals together at Paul Brown Stadium.
TV: 8:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network. LINE: Bengals -7. O/U: 44.5. Livescores and Live Stats @ ESPN.com and NFL.com
The Bengals (1-2) head into this game looking to bounce back from back-to-back defeats to the Steelers and the Broncos, while the Dolphins (1-2) are looking to kick-on from the last win against the Browns.
Cincinnati opened the season with a tight 23-22 win over the New York Jets, but failed in consecutive games to get by Pittsburgh and Denver, and enters Thursday night’s NFL contest looking to avoid dropping three straight for the first time since the 2012 season when a 17-13 defeat to Miami triggered a four-game skid.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins started the season with successive defeats to the Seahawks and the Patriots, but managed to snap that skid at home on Sunday with an overtime 30-24 victory over Cleveland.
The last time Miami and Cincinnati met on Thursday Night Football, it ended with a walk-off safety when Andy Dalton was sacked by DE Cameron Wake with 6:38 left in overtime in a 22-20 positive result for the Dolphins in 2013.
For the first time since 2011, the Bengals, who also won their first game and dropped the second and third – are 1-2 heading into the fourth game of the season, ESPN’s Football Power Index is giving them a 69.1% chance to win against Miami.
Oddsmakers also currently list Cincinnati as 7-point favourite for this matchup.
Despite beating the Browns in the last outing, a number of Dolphins are still under the microscope.
Miami’s first-year head coach Adam Gase is offering his full backing to his players, but made it no secret that he is prepared to change things up if the chosen group is unable to get the job done.
“I’m over discussing any of this stuff with players,” Gase said.
“We’re either going to start getting the job done, or we’re going to make changes.”
INJURY REPORTS
The Dolphins have confirmed that starting LB Koa Misi (neck) will miss Thursday’s game, while OLB Jelani Jenkins (groin) and center Anthony Steen (ankle) are both doubtful.
For the Bengals, CB Dre Kirkpatrick (hamstring) and Tyler Eifert (ankle) are both doubtful to face the visitors, while Derron Smith (chest) is questionable.
