With one defensive tackle and their middle linebacker already out, the Bengals lost the heart-and-soul of their front seven for the game late in the second quarter when two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins went down with what is believed to be a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee and the Bengals rallied from under the cloud and a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to put the game into overtime.
But Cincinnati’s bid for a fifth straight victory blew up when Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake blew past Bengals right guard Kevin Zeitler on a stunt for a sack and safety of quarterback Andy Dalton with 6:38 left in OT to give Miami a 22-20 victory. In this week of walkoff obstructions and pickoffs, this was just the third game in NFL history that ended with a safety.
After the Bengals held the Dolphins on their opening possession of overtime, the Cincinnati offense drove to the Miami 38, where on third-and-eight Dalton couldn’t connect with wide receiver A.J. Green on a deep sideline route. On the previous play, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu dropped a pass that would have placed the Bengals inside the Miami 35.
Rather than attempt a 57-yard field goal, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis opted for field position and a Kevin Huber punt, which Miami signaled for a fair-catch at the 14-yard line.
The defense came up with a huge stop by James Harrison on third-and-one following cornerback Terence Newman’s 38-yard pass interference penalty when Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace ran past him one-on-one in a blitz look. Miami’s ensuing punt pinned the Bengals on their own 8-yard line, resulting in the eventual game-ending safety.
Dalton threw over 50 passes for the first time in his career, hitting 32 of 53, but none went for a touchdown and three got intercepted. His 116.8 passer rating in the four-game winning streak crashed to 55.4, and Green had a career-high 11 catches for 128 yards in his fourth straight 100-yard game during what looked to be another thrilling victory.
But it was not to be. In regulation Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill took about a minute to move 50 yards to set up rookie Caleb Sturgis’s tying 44-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to make it 20-20. Tannehill negated right end Michael Johnson’s sack with a big throw to wide receiver Rishard Matthews for 16 yards and then dropped a 21-yard pass over cornerback Adam Jones covering wide receiver Brian Hartline well only to see Hartline make a fine play to keep his feet inbounds to help set up Sturgis as the injury-riddled Bengals defense went to overtime for the second time in four games even though its offense rung up 465 total yards.
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