HEADLINE

Winning may be lost cause for Bengals, Dolphins

Field Level Media

December 19, 2019 at 8:05 am.

Although many of their fans are likely more focused on the 2020 NFL Draft, both the Cincinnati Bengals (1-13) and the host Miami Dolphins (3-11) will be playing for pride on Sunday.

With one more loss, the Bengals will clinch the top spot in the draft. Their season has been derailed in part by the surgery that was required to mend the left ankle of seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green. He has missed 21 of Cincinnati’s past 22 games, and has yet to play this season.

The Bengals are also without starters such as cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (left knee) and right guard John Miller (concussion).

But the Bengals still have third-year running back Joe Mixon, who led the AFC in rushing yards (1,168) as a first-season starter in 2018.

This season, Mixon has 925 rushing yards (4.0 average) and will be looking to break 1,000 against Miami.

Last week, in a 34-13 loss to the New England Patriots, Mixon rushed for 136 yards on 25 carries.

Mixon said Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady praised him after the game.

“Great player, hell of a runner,” Brady told Mixon.

Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd is also looking for his second straight 1,000-yard season. He has 76 catches for 859 yards but just three touchdowns. Last season, he also caught 76 passes, but for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, 32, has struggled this season, tossing just 11 touchdown passes — seven fewer than his previous career low of 18, in 2016. Dalton has also 13 interceptions, the most he has had since he was picked off 17 times in 2014.

Both the Bengals and Dolphins have first-year head coaches. Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, 36, knows the Dolphins well — he served as Miami’s interim offensive coordinator in 2015.

He is also a football lifer. His father was a team captain for Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma Sooners. His brother was a quarterback for Marshall. And he married Sarah Sherman, the daughter of ex-Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman.

New Dolphins coach Brian Flores, 38, was a Boston College linebacker before joining the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2004 and working his way up to safeties coach, then linebackers coach, winning four Super Bowl titles.

Flores started this season 0-7, but his Dolphins have gone 3-4 since then — a significant improvement.

Miami, which will play its final home game of the season on Sunday, is led by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, 37. He threw two touchdown passes in last week’s 36-20 loss to the New York Giants, but he also lost a key fumble.

“Football is so much fun, but it’s also a humbling game,” said Fitzpatrick, who has started 11 games this season, tossing 15 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. “Once you think you’ve got it figured out, you get knocked down.”

The Bengals will be the third straight sub-.500 team the Dolphins will play, following losses to the 5-9 New York Jets and 3-11 New York Giants.

Miami’s season finale the following week is at the New England Patriots, where the Dolphins will be heavy underdogs.

So, for practical purposes, the Bengals represent Miami’s last, best chance to earn their elusive fourth win of the season.