Game recap

Bengals @ Dolphins

2026 Wk 5 · MIA 24, CIN 31

Joe Burrow threw four touchdowns on just 190 yards while Miami ran for 217 and lost.

FanIQ Research · October 11, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

Four touchdown passes on 190 yards: the fewest yards in any of Joe Burrow's 4-TD games

Rare

Burrow went 23 of 32 for 190 yards, threw four touchdowns to four different receivers, and was not sacked or intercepted. Three of the four scores came from 6 yards or closer: 4 yards to Mike Gesicki, 6 to Samaje Perine, and 2 to Tanner Hudson. The fourth was a 45-yard throw to Ja'Marr Chase with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. It is the tenth regular-season game in the database where Burrow threw four or more touchdowns, and the one with the fewest passing yards. Only two other Bengals passers since 1999 have thrown four touchdowns on under 200 yards: Carson Palmer in 2006 and Andy Dalton in 2012.

Joe Burrow's regular-season games with 4+ TD passes, fewest yards first

Season	Week	Opp	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
2026	5	MIA	23	32	190	4	0
2022	15	TB	27	39	200	4	1
2024	9	LV	27	39	251	5	1
2025	14	BUF	25	36	284	4	2
2025	16	MIA	25	32	309	4	0
2022	11	PIT	24	39	355	4	2
2024	5	BAL	30	39	392	5	1
2024	10	BAL	34	56	428	4	0
2021	17	KC	30	39	446	4	0
2021	16	BAL	37	46	525	4	0

Bengals passers with 4+ TD passes on under 200 yards, regular season 1999-2026

Season	Week	Passer	Opp	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
2026	5	Joe Burrow	MIA	23	32	190	4	0
2006	3	Carson Palmer	PIT	18	26	193	4	2
2012	10	Andy Dalton	NYG	21	30	199	4	0

Why it matters. Four touchdowns usually ride on a big yardage day; Burrow's other nine 4-TD games averaged 354 passing yards. This one was built on short fields and the red zone instead: three of the scores were from the Miami 6 or closer, so the passing yards never had to pile up. League-wide, a passer has thrown four or more touchdowns on under 200 yards 29 times in the regular season since 1999, and 22 of those came without an interception, as this one did.

Miami ran for 217 yards and outgained Cincinnati, and still lost by seven

Anomaly

The Dolphins ran 34 times for 217 yards: Ollie Gordon II had 88 on 18 carries and Malik Willis added 74 on 8, including a 39-yarder. Cincinnati managed 119 on 29 runs. Miami also had more yards on pass and run plays, 333 to 309. Since 1999 a team that ran for 200 or more yards has lost 141 of 951 regular-season games, 14.8%. No team had lost a 200-yard rushing game through the first four weeks of 2026, after five such losses in 2025.

This game, both offenses (pass and run plays)

Team	Plays	Yards	Runs	Rush yards	3rd down	Turnovers	EPA/play
CIN	61	309	29	119	9 of 13	2	+0.142
MIA	64	333	34	217	7 of 13	3	-0.033

Teams that ran for 200+ yards and lost, 2025-2026

Season	Week	Team	Rush yards	Game	Final
2025	1	BAL	238	BAL @ BUF	BUF 41, BAL 40
2025	4	LV	240	CHI @ LV	LV 24, CHI 25
2025	11	TB	203	TB @ BUF	BUF 44, TB 32
2025	14	BAL	217	PIT @ BAL	BAL 22, PIT 27
2025	15	NE	246	BUF @ NE	NE 31, BUF 35
2026	5	MIA	217	CIN @ MIA	MIA 24, CIN 31

200+ rushing yards, regular season 1999-2026

Team-games	Losses	Loss share	Team-games in 2025	Losses in 2025
951	141	14.8%	36	5

Why it matters. A 200-yard rushing day wins about 85% of the time because it usually means the offense controls the clock and the field. Miami's did not translate, for two reasons in the table: three turnovers, including two Willis interceptions to Jordan Battle, and Cincinnati's 9 of 13 on third down, which kept the Bengals' shorter drives alive long enough to finish. Miami's ground game won the yardage and lost the possessions that mattered.

Cincinnati lost two fumbles inside the Miami 30 in 118 seconds and still led 21-7 at the half

Trend

Leading 14-7 in the second quarter, the Bengals gave the ball away at the Miami 18 (Erick All, 9:01) and at the Miami 7 (Chase Brown, 7:03). Jordan Battle had intercepted Willis at 10:32 and did it again at 5:24, and Burrow's 2-yard touchdown to Tanner Hudson with a minute left in the half made it 21-7. Miami got within 28-18 with 7:19 to play, then Jonathan Allen sacked Willis at the Miami 5, forced the fumble, and recovered it himself, setting up a 26-yard field goal. Willis's 1-yard touchdown run with 48 seconds left made it 31-24; the extra point hit the left upright and the onside kick went out of bounds.

Scoring plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score after
1	14:08	CIN	Burrow 4-yd TD pass to Gesicki	CIN 7, MIA 0
1	8:05	MIA	Gordon 1-yd TD run	CIN 7, MIA 7
2	11:56	CIN	Burrow 6-yd TD pass to Perine	CIN 14, MIA 7
2	1:00	CIN	Burrow 2-yd TD pass to Hudson	CIN 21, MIA 7
3	5:16	MIA	Patterson 29-yd FG	CIN 21, MIA 10
3	0:47	CIN	Burrow 45-yd TD pass to Chase	CIN 28, MIA 10
4	7:19	MIA	Willis 3-yd TD pass to Coleman, 2-pt pass to Dulcich	CIN 28, MIA 18
4	2:13	CIN	McPherson 26-yd FG	CIN 31, MIA 18
4	0:48	MIA	Willis 1-yd TD run, PAT no good	CIN 31, MIA 24

Turnovers

Qtr	Clock	Lost by	Play	Recovered or caught by	Spot
2	10:32	MIA	Willis pass intercepted	J.Battle	CIN 42
2	9:01	CIN	E.All fumble after catch	W.Gay	MIA 18
2	7:03	CIN	C.Brown fumble after catch	C.Robinson	MIA 7
2	5:24	MIA	Willis pass intercepted	J.Battle	MIA 38
4	2:34	MIA	Willis strip-sack	J.Allen	MIA 10

Why it matters. Two lost fumbles in scoring range usually swing a half; the second one alone cost Cincinnati 5.49 points of EPA. The Bengals absorbed both because Battle's two interceptions handed the ball right back, and the 21-7 cushion held up through Miami's 14-point fourth quarter. Allen's strip-sack mattered most late: the field goal it set up pushed the lead to 13 with 2:13 left, so Willis's touchdown at 0:48 still left Miami a score behind with only an onside kick to try.

Miami's fourth quarter: 23 plays, 141 yards, 14 points. Cincinnati's: 12 plays, 34 yards

Split

Miami's offense struggled for three quarters: -0.319 EPA per play in the first half with two interceptions, and 10 points through 45 minutes. The Dolphins then ran 23 fourth-quarter plays for 141 yards at +0.379 EPA per play and scored two touchdowns. Cincinnati went the other way, from +0.190 EPA per play in the first half to +0.067 in the second, and its fourth quarter produced 34 yards on 12 plays at -0.282. The only Bengals points of the quarter came after the Allen strip-sack gave them the ball at the Miami 10.

Offense by quarter (pass and run plays)

Team	Qtr	Plays	Yards	EPA/play
CIN	1	16	71	+0.210
CIN	2	21	112	+0.175
CIN	3	12	92	+0.417
CIN	4	12	34	-0.282
MIA	1	14	52	-0.092
MIA	2	13	79	-0.562
MIA	3	14	61	-0.160
MIA	4	23	141	+0.379

Offense by half (pass and run plays)

Team	Half	Plays	EPA/play	Yards	Success rate	First downs
CIN	1st	37	+0.190	183	62.2%	15
CIN	2nd	24	+0.067	126	45.8%	6
MIA	1st	27	-0.319	131	37.0%	7
MIA	2nd	37	+0.175	202	54.1%	14

Why it matters. The quarter splits show a game that was decided before Miami's offense came alive. Cincinnati ran 37 first-half plays at a 62.2% success rate and banked a 21-7 lead, then shortened the game in the second half with 24 plays. Miami's late surge came against a defense protecting an 18-point lead, and it needed all 23 fourth-quarter snaps to score twice.

Cincinnati converted 9 of 13 third downs, its third-best rate in a game since the start of 2025

Comparison

The Bengals converted 69.2% of their third downs. Through the first four weeks of 2026 they were 25 of 53 (47.2%), and across the 2025 regular season 97 of 218 (44.5%). Only two Cincinnati games since the start of 2025 beat this one: 10 of 12 at Buffalo in Week 14 and 10 of 14 against Arizona in Week 17. Miami went 7 of 13.

Bengals third downs, 2026 by week and 2025 season

Span	Converted	Attempts	Rate
2026 Wk 1	8	14	57.1%
2026 Wk 2	5	15	33.3%
2026 Wk 3	6	12	50.0%
2026 Wk 4	6	12	50.0%
2026 Wk 5 (MIA)	9	13	69.2%
2026 Wks 1-4	25	53	47.2%
2025 season	97	218	44.5%

Bengals' best third-down games, 2025-2026

Game	Converted	Attempts	Rate
2025 Wk 14 CIN @ BUF	10	12	83.3%
2025 Wk 17 ARI @ CIN	10	14	71.4%
2026 Wk 5 CIN @ MIA	9	13	69.2%
2026 Wk 1 TB @ CIN	8	14	57.1%
2025 Wk 7 PIT @ CIN	7	13	53.8%

Why it matters. Third down is where Cincinnati's shorter drives survived a game in which Miami had more yards and more runs. A 47% team through four weeks converting at 69% is what turned 309 yards into 31 points, and it explains how the Bengals held the ball for 37 first-half plays to Miami's 27. Burrow throwing short and on time, with no sacks taken, is the mechanism behind the number.

Burrow is 3-0 against Miami with 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions

Milestone

This was Burrow's third start against the Dolphins and his second straight four-touchdown game at Hard Rock Stadium, after 309 yards and four scores there in Week 16 of 2025. Across the three meetings he has 10 touchdown passes and zero interceptions. The win was Cincinnati's third straight in the series, which the Bengals now lead 7-6 since 1999, and evened their record in Miami over that span at 3-3.

Joe Burrow vs Miami

Season	Week	Game	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	Final
2022	4	MIA @ CIN	20	31	287	2	CIN 27, MIA 15
2025	16	CIN @ MIA	25	32	309	4	MIA 21, CIN 45
2026	5	CIN @ MIA	23	32	190	4	MIA 24, CIN 31

Bengals vs Dolphins, all meetings 1999-2026

Season	Week	Game	Final	Winner
2000	5	MIA @ CIN	CIN 16, MIA 31	MIA
2004	2	MIA @ CIN	CIN 16, MIA 13	CIN
2007	17	CIN @ MIA	MIA 25, CIN 38	CIN
2010	8	MIA @ CIN	CIN 14, MIA 22	MIA
2012	5	MIA @ CIN	CIN 13, MIA 17	MIA
2013	9	CIN @ MIA	MIA 22, CIN 20	MIA
2016	4	MIA @ CIN	CIN 22, MIA 7	CIN
2018	5	MIA @ CIN	CIN 27, MIA 17	CIN
2019	16	CIN @ MIA	MIA 38, CIN 35	MIA
2020	13	CIN @ MIA	MIA 19, CIN 7	MIA
2022	4	MIA @ CIN	CIN 27, MIA 15	CIN
2025	16	CIN @ MIA	MIA 21, CIN 45	CIN
2026	5	CIN @ MIA	MIA 24, CIN 31	CIN

Why it matters. From 2010 through 2020 Cincinnati lost five of seven meetings, including its last three trips to Miami in 2013, 2019, and 2020. Burrow's three starts have produced 103 Bengals points to 60 for Miami and an empty interception column, so the turn in the series lines up with one quarterback rather than with the matchup in general.

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