The Miami Dolphins’ two-minute comeback attempt comes up just short in a Week 5, 31-24, loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. There are a lot of positives to be had for the Dolphins in a second straight one-score game against a playoff hopeful, but the biggest storyline of the game is the Miami Dolphins continuing to shoot themselves in the foot in every which way. So what were the biggest sets of miscues in Miami’s fifth straight loss of the season?
Miami Dolphins Self-Sabotage Prevents Upset Win
Before detailing what went wrong, let’s first establish that these errors are typical of young teams, and with the Dolphins being the youngest team in the NFL since at least 2000, these problems are amplified. However, these have been the biggest takeaways week in and week out. Also, there was a lot of good to take from the game. Rookie Chris Johnson forced a fumble in the red zone for the first takeaway of his young career. Ollie Gordon III and the entire running game were fantastic with 217 total rushing yards on 6.4 YPC.
Field Position Battle
One of the more underrated issues of the 2026 Miami Dolphins through five weeks has been their special teams, particularly their kick coverage. Sunday was just another game with these issues. Momentum immediately went Cincinnati’s way after an 81-yard kick return led to an easy 10-yard drive for Joe Burrow and company to jump out to a 7-0 lead less than one minute into the game. Beyond that, quarterback Malik Willis’s three total turnovers led to 10 points for the Bengals. All told, Cincinnati had one drive with 60+ yards; the Miami Dolphins had three.
By the time the game clock hit zero, the Dolphins, even with a very slow start in the passing game, outgained the Bengals 331-307 on basically the same amount of plays. The biggest difference was how far Miami and Cincinnati had to drive to score points. This led to Miami running out of time in their late comeback attempt, with them having to amass 141 total yards on their final two touchdown drives, seven yards more than Cincinnati’s entire second half, where they scored 10 points. Cincinnati’s opening touchdown and field goal drives combined for 10 points and only needed 12 yards combined. No team, no matter the talent level, can overcome that.
Talent Disparity
Speaking of talent, the difference in talent is not something the Miami Dolphins can overcome this season. They will be the underdogs every single week and have to scrap for close games. Not only is this a young team trying to mesh well together, but they also have played five playoff hopefuls in their first five games. Entering Week 5, Miami’s combined opponent record was 15-1, with the one loss coming from the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs playing each other. That is tied for the highest opponent winning percentage in the first four weeks with the 1986 Philadelphia Eagles. Being in the esteemed company of the 1944 Boston Yanks is indicative of the schedule gauntlet Miami had.
This week was no exception. The Bengals are playoff and AFC North division hopefuls with some of the best players in the game at their positions. Defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen caused fits throughout the game for Miami’s interior offensive line, including a pressure by Allen on Willis’s second interception and a fumble recovery after he pushed rookie Kadyn Proctor into Malik Willis to cause the fumble. However, the real display of the talent gap was on the lone touchdown drive for Cincinnati in the third quarter. Burrow’s deep pass was covered excellently by second-year corner Jason Marshall. However, Ja’Marr Chase is Ja’Marr Chase, and he came down with the spectacular 45-yard touchdown grab.
Unable to Capitalize
The Miami Dolphins had multiple opportunities to cut into the Bengals’ lead earlier in the contest but couldn’t finish the job. A common trend over the past few weeks has been Miami methodically moving the ball down the field only to miss out on a touchdown. Miami’s final first-half drive was perfect. Miami had about a minute and two timeouts to get within field goal range to make the score 21-10 going into the break. Instead, Miami had to burn a timeout within a solid drive after a low snap by Aaron Brewer wasn’t caught cleanly by Willis, which could have allowed Miami to attempt a makeable 50-yard field goal.
The other biggest missed opportunity on a drive was Miami’s second drive of the third quarter. Miami was methodically moving the ball down the field thanks to great running and a big 26-yard gain on an end around to rookie Chris Bell. The drive was seemingly capped off by a 13-yard Gordon rush. Instead, the running back was marked down at the half-yard line, and the Miami Dolphins, who have struggled with goal-line offense all season, were unable to come away with six points after a loss of two on a run, a brutal sack, and an incomplete pass. These drives combined could have netted Miami seven extra points if both went as hoped.
Will the real Malik Willis stand up?
It’s no secret that the play of Miami’s young quarterback has been inconsistent at best. This game only further proved that fact. In the first half, Willis was abysmal. He started the game 1/7 with two interceptions to safety Jordan Battle. His rough start was a big reason as to why Miami trailed at the half by 14, not only due to his turnovers and incompletions stalling drives, but also because it led to the Dolphins’ defense having to come back onto the field after being gassed from the previous drive. At the end of the half, Willis had five completions on 13 attempts for 60 yards and two interceptions.
His flaws in this game and in recent weeks are seen when comparing him to the play of Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Burrow, a top-10 quarterback in the league, took what Miami’s defense gave him and only occasionally took the deep shot to Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. Burrow was 11/11 in the first half when throwing to his running backs and tight ends with three touchdowns, and continuously gashed Miami’s defense for medium gains strung together. Willis, throughout the entire game, had just five completions for 42 yards to his tight ends and zero completions to his running backs. Willis needs to get better at delivering to his checkdowns and not going for the home run.
The good news is that Willis did look a lot better in the second half. Barring the ill-timed fumble, the Miami quarterback had a very solid second half, going 10/14 and throwing a touchdown to rookie Kevin Coleman Jr. (his first in his career). He also carried the ball eight times in the game for 74 yards and a quarterback sneak touchdown. Still, even with a better second half, Willis has continuously missed on deep throws and refuses to take the short stuff. Let’s hope this upcoming bye week allows Willis to reset and focus on attacking more in the short game while polishing up his accuracy woes.
Inopportune penalties don’t hurt too much
The Miami Dolphins don’t necessarily have the most penalties in the NFL, with them having the 10th most penalties against per game going into Sunday’s slate of games. The biggest problem is when Miami has these penalties. A massive Chop Robinson sack was undone with a penalty on the EDGE for being a step too early and offsides. On that same drive, Zach Sieler jumped offsides, but it fortunately did not cause any harm with the Bengals punting a play later. Miami also had a false start on the subsequent drive that backed them in its own five.
Unlike previous games, the Miami Dolphins were able to salvage the drive this week after the penalties, but this has been a major concern all season with untimely holdings or pass interference. Hopefully Miami is able to continue this positive momentum without letting penalties completely squander their chances.
The Last Word
This is yet another close loss for the Miami Dolphins that they just couldn’t secure thanks to their own miscues. It is a bummer because there are plenty of positives that have been notable this season. Malik Washington is really becoming a dynamic playmaker in recent weeks with his increased workload, and Ollie Gordon continues to do a splendid job stepping in for De’Von Achane. Heck, the defense has continued to assemble itself around a couple of young players, and they are really doing a solid job. Tee Higgins only had 22 receiving yards on the day, and Joe Burrow was kept under 200 passing yards. There is a lot to like about this Miami Dolphins squad.
Unfortunately, the young Fins can’t get out of their own way, and Malik Willis continues to struggle putting a full game together. Miami is going into their Week 6 bye, a week that hopefully helps them reset and get back some reinforcements. A few players were playing banged up on Sunday, and rookie standout Caleb Douglas has been on the shelf for a while with a hamstring injury. After the bye, the Miami Dolphins hit the ground running in the AFC East, with them playing the New York Jets and New England Patriots in Weeks 7 and 8. Both teams are hovering right below and above .500, respectively, so hopefully Miami continues to show improvement as their tough schedule rolls along.