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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The winless Cincinnati Bengals gave Miami just
what the Dolphins expected -- an emotional effort for a new coach --
but only for a half.
|  | | Miami receiver Oronde Gadsden (86) holds off Artrell Hawkins for a 7-yard touchdown pass. |
"Every thing we talked about not wanting to happen, happened,"
Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We fumbled once. We threw an
interception. But we felt like we had seen their best shot, and we
found out what we were made of."
The Bengals got off to a fast start under Dick LeBeau but
finished up as they nearly always do as Miami rallied in the second
half to beat Cincinnati 31-16 on Sunday.
In their first game since the former defensive coordinator
replaced Bruce Coslet as head coach, the Bengals (0-4) blew an
early lead as Jay Fiedler connected with Oronde Gadsden on
touchdown passes of 7 and 21 yards, and Lamar Smith had an 18-yard
TD run for Miami (4-1).
"He's a big, tall guy. It was just a matter of throwing it up
and letting him make some plays," Fiedler said of Gadsden.
The Bengals, who so often have been flat early in games, drove
for a touchdown on their first possession and did not allow Miami a
big play until the last one of the half.
With offensive coordinator Ken Anderson taking over the play
calling, the Bengals went to Corey Dillon five times during their
13-play opening drive that ended with Akili Smith's 9-yard
touchdown pass to Peter Warrick.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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This was a much harder game for Miami than most people anticipated because of the coaching change this week in Cincinnati.
The Bengals were fired up and played aggressive football, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. But give Miami credit for fighting back. A key play for the Dolphins was a sack by Jason Taylor right before the half where he stripped the football and ran it in for a touchdown.
With that momentum, Miami played extremely well in the second half. Jay Fiedler was effective if not impressive. On defense, Miami generated a good pash rush on Akili Smith.
The Bengals consistently moved the ball against a tough Dolphins defense. An encouraging sign for Cincinnati was the performance of RB Corey Dillon (22 carries, 110 yards).
Overall, this was a good first performance for the Bengals under new head coach Dick LeBeau. Despite the loss, they can take some positives from this game to build on under LeBeau.
Miami showed character by not losing poise after an early deficit. If the Dolphins continue to improve offensively, they have the makings of a very good football team.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director of football operations.
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Warrick's one-handed catch in the back of the end zone gave the
Bengals their first points since the season opener. After beginning
the season with a 24-7 loss to Cleveland, they lost 13-0 at
Jacksonville and 37-0 at Baltimore.
Neil Rackers kicked a 23-yard field goal with 46 seconds left in
the first quarter and added a 38-yarder two minutes into the second
to give Cincinnati a 13-0 lead against a Miami defense that had
allowed just 22 points in its first four games.
Smith was 20-of-38 for 178 yards, and Dillon rushed for 110
yards on 22 carries. But Cincinnati did not score again until
midway through the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins were shut out until Olindo Mare kicked a 40-yard
field goal with just 56 seconds left in the half. On the second
play after the kickoff, defensive end Jason Taylor knocked the ball
from Akili Smith, who had dropped back to pass, scooped it up and
returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-10.
"In hindsight, I wish I hadn't thrown the ball," said LeBeau,
who chose not to have Smith take a knee to end the half. "I don't
want our players to think we don't trust them, but we don't want to
do anything stupid, either."
Taylor said he and defensive end Trace Armstrong that talked
about ways to stop the Bengals' momentum.
"Trace and I talked about how we needed to change the game,"
Taylor said. "We just stepped it up and said, 'Let's just change
this game right now.' "
The play did just that.
"That won the game." Gadsden said. "That meant we were only
down by three, and everybody felt all we had to do was take the
ball down and score when we got the ball in the second half, and it
snowballed after that."
Miami took the second-half kickoff 70 yards in 13 plays, capped
by Lamar Smith's 18-yard touchdown run.
The Bengals misfired completely on their next possession and had
to punt after Akili Smith missed a wide-open Brandon Bennett.
Daniel Pope's 31-yard punt allowed Miami to take over on its own
46.
"Any time a team scores like that, you want to get it right
back," Smith said. "But I missed him wide open. The hardest throw
to make is when the guy is wide open; anybody will tell you that. I
just tried to guide it."
It took the Dolphins just three plays to score again, with the
help of a pass interference penalty on defensive back Artrell
Hawkins that put the ball on the 12.
After an encroachment penalty moved the ball 5 yards closer,
Fiedler hit Gadsden with the 7-yard touchdown pass.
After the Bengals again were unable to mount a threat, Fiedler
led a seven-play drive that ended with Fiedler's 21-yard TD pass to
Gadsden.
Rackers added a 34-yard field goal with 7:26 to play.
Fiedler was 14-of-21 for 155 yards, and Lamar Smith had 66 yards
on 12 carries.
Game notes
When Fiedler scrambled for 30 yards on a broken play in the
second quarter, the longest run by a Miami quarterback since Scott
Mitchell ran for 32 yards at Philadelphia on Nov. 14, 1993. ...
Center Tim Ruddy played in his 100th regular-season game. ... Miami
is 12-3 against Cincinnati, including nine consecutive wins. ...
The game, only the second in Paul Brown Stadium, was not sold out.
Attendance in the 65,600-seat stadium was announced as 61,535.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
Cincinnati Clubhouse
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