MIAMI GARDENS — In his first NFL start, Quinn Ewers began poised and up to the task, but the Miami Dolphins had the game unravel early in the second half.
As soon as one thing went wrong, the Cincinnati Bengals reeled off 35 unanswered points, and Ewers’ Dolphins were pummeled by Joe Burrow and the Bengals, 45-21, on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in a pairing of two teams eliminated from the AFC playoff race.
Miami (6-9) loses a second straight after the Monday night defeat in Pittsburgh eliminated the team from postseason contention. With the loss to the Bengals (5-10), the Dolphins stand to improve draft positioning in the offseason.
Ewers had a strong first half and stood toe to toe with Burrow before the game got completely turned upside down with a series of events to start the second half. After just two incomplete passes before halftime, Ewers finished 20 of 30 for 260 yards with two interceptions.
The rookie seventh-round pick managed the first half efficiently, free of costly mistake and only missing on a pair of tougher downfield throws to Jaylen Waddle and making smart decisions with the football.
As the game turned around on him, the Dolphins defense surrendered touchdowns on four consecutive drives, three of them by running back Chase Brown.
Two of those were through the air for Brown, as Burrow, whom the Dolphins once reportedly offered the Bengals four first-round picks for the right to draft in 2020, went 25 of 32 for 309 yards and four touchdowns, sitting early in the fourth quarter.
Down, 17-14, to start the second half, the offense was driving when a big gain on a short pass to Achane was nullified by a questionable offensive pass interference call against undrafted rookie wide receiver Theo Wease, playing in his first game after an elevation from the practice squad.
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On the very next play, tight end Greg Dulcich fumbled, and Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy recovered it. Six plays later, Burrow found Brown for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Then came Ewers’ first interception. It was deflected by cornerback Josh Newton, defending Wease, and linebacker Barrett Carter came down with the pick. It took two plays for Cincinnati to end up back in the end zone, on a 12-yard run from Brown.
Miami tried a quarterback sneak with Ewers on fourth-and-1 on the ensuing series. A virtual measurement deemed him down 10 inches shy of the first-down marker. Aside from the sneak, which wouldn’t be done with benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Ewers scrambled once for 5 yards and safely dove forward for a 5-yard gain that showed a bit of mobility.
Burrow threw to a wide-open Brown for a 5-yard end touchdown after that one.
Ewers’ second interception followed, as Bengals cornerback Jalen Davis boxed out Jaylen Waddle for a jumpball down the sideline. That turnover led to former Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki getting his Miami revenge, with a 17-yard touchdown over the middle.
The Bengals struck first with Burrow delivering a 9-yard strike to the outside shoulder of Tee Higgins for a 9-yard touchdown. It was one of two big plays Higgins made against Miami cornerback Jack Jones that drive, also skying over him for a 35-yard catch downfield. Burrow also had a chunk pickup of 22 yards to Chase.
The Dolphins answered shortly thereafter, as Achane made a quick juke on a Bengals defender to race out for a 48-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
After Bengals kicker Evan McPherson doinked in a 45-yard field goal off the left upright, Miami took a 14-10 lead deep into the first half when wide receiver Malik Washington took an end around for a 10-yard rushing touchdown off a fake to Achane.
Cincinnati went into halftime with a 17-14 lead when Samaje Perine plunged in for a 4-yard touchdown before intermission.
With Miami trailing, 45-14, late, Dolphins backup running back Jaylen Wright scored a touchdown.
As Miami shifts to a youth movement at the end of the season, the defense had a moment in the first half when its last two first-round picks, Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant, combined for a sack. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler also had a sack in the first half.
The Dolphins stay home through Christmas to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday, the penultimate game of the season before wrapping up at the New England Patriots in the finale.
This story will be updated.
