Dolphins at Bengals final score and immediate reactions: A.J. Green runs wild on Miami

The Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals matched up tonight in a Week 4 Thursday Night Football contest. It was not a pretty game for the Dolphins, especially any time the Bengals decided A.J. Green needed the ball in his hands.

Miami struck early with a 74-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill to Kenny Stills for a touchdown. After that, however, the offense disappeared and the defense could not stop Green.

For reference of how dominant Green was, he caught 10 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown. The Miami offense in total had just 222 total yards, and 160 passing yards, with one touchdown.

Below, you will find out weekly look at the game as it happened, making notes and reactions to what was happening on the field.

Final Score

Bengals, 22-7.

First Half

• Dolphins win the toss and defer. We will see the defense first. They have to start fast and shut down the Bengals offense.
• Jordan Phillips starts too fast. Encroachment before the first snap.
• The defense clearly did not get the fast start memo. Cincinnati is just marching all over the place.
• 3rd-and-10. Tony Lippett with the nice pass breakup. Forces the field goal attempt.
• Field Goal. Bengals. 3-0.
• Dolphins need to respond.
• TOUCHDOWN! RYAN TANNEHILL TO KENNY STILLS FOR 74-YARDS ON THE SECOND PLAY!
• That’s how you respond!
• Defense turns around and holds the Bengals to a 3-and-out. Offense getting the ball back.
• Dolphins go 3-and-out as well.
• Matt Darr blasts a 66-yard punt. He is having a great year.
• Dolphins nearly get to Andy Dalton, but he somehow avoids them, rolls out and throws deep to A.J. Green. Xavien Howard had good coverage, but Green just out jumped him for the pass.
• Green on the crossing pattern, and Howard trailing. Rookie is being thrown into the fire tonight.
• Touchdown. Bengals. Dalton to Green for 7-yards. Cincinnati 10-7.
• Tony Lippett read the play perfectly, hit Green in the backfield on the screen pass, but forgot to actually tackle him.
• Kenyan Drake tried to give the Bengals a free two points. Just stays in the endzone before taking a knee. Good job by Jakeem Grant to make sure that ball did not give over the goal line.
• Jay Ajayi for 12 yards. Good run.
• 3rd-and-6, Dolphins pick up two but the Bengals were offsides.
• 3rd-and-1, Tannehill tried to place the ball to MarQuies Gray. Throw was a little high and Gray can’t bring it in. Time to punt again.
• End of First Quarter. 10-7 Bengals still.
• Good tackle for loss on the draw play by the defense. Bringing up 3rd-and-long.
• 3rd-and-12. Incomplete pass. Bengals punting.
• Dolphins 3-and-out.
• Dolphins defense is doing well against anyone not named A.J. Green. They cannot stop Green.
• Field goal. Bengals. 13-7.
• Ja’Wuan James allows pressure and Tannehill never feels it. Strip sack, Bengals recover. Both James and Tannehill have to be better on that play.
• Field goal. Bengals. 16-7.
• Ouch. Dolphins get the ball back with about a minute and three time outs. The go 3-and-out.
• Bengals kneel and let the clock run out.

Second half

• Dolphins get the ball to start the second half. Will they have a spark?
• 3rd-and-5, Miami calls a timeout to make sure they have the play right. So, they then allow a sack. Looked like Laremy Tunsil was supposed to help block Geno Atkins, but he ended up blocking no one and standing there as Atkins got the sack and forced the punt.
• Hey, the Bengals look deep to Green and it is complete. Shocking. 43-yard gain.
• Dolphins defense stiffens up from inside their own 5-yard line. Force another field goal.
• Field goal. Bengals. 19-7.
• Dolphins offense has not shown up yet. Another punt. That is six now so far for Matt Darr.
• Dolphins defense makes the stop. Forcing a Bengals punt.
• Terrence Fede shoves down the Bengals punter for no apparent reason. Gets called for roughing the kicker and Cincinnati gets another set of downs.
• LaFell on the crossing pattern and a big pickup. At least it wasn’t Green, I guess.
• End of 3rd quarter.
• And the Bengals turn the Fede penalty into a field goal.
• Field goal. Bengals. 22-7.
• Andre Branch with a great play on 3rd down from the Bengals. Blasts through the offensive line and strips the ball out of Dalton’s hands before he can hand it off. Dalton falls on it, but Miami forces the punt.
• Dolphins offense starting to move. Only down two scores, so there could be a chance. (But probably, not really.)
• Jarvis Landry with the 25-yard catch and run. And by run, I mean he ran like 682 yards to pick up the 25 yards. He went up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right.
• Tannehill with the ugly interception. Threw it straight to the defender. Looked like he was trying to go over the top to Leonte Carroo, but shorted it.
• Dolphins going for it on fourth down on next possession. Tannehill gets it to Landry, but he bobbles it as he is hit and it is incomplete.
• Bengals just killing the clock now.

Immediate Reactions

There was not a lot of good to come out of this game. Being the road team for a Thursday Night Football game is always tough, but that does not excuse whatever it was Miami put out there. The Dolphins came into the game with a bunch of injuries, and they looked like a team that was playing with a bunch of replacement players. They now have 10 days to get ready for the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, and they are going to have to use all 10 of them. This was not pretty by any measure.