Reggie Bush ran for a third-quarter touchdown, rookie Ryan Tannehill had 223 passing yards and the visiting Miami Dolphins held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 17-13, at Paul Brown Stadium.
Cincinnati kicker Mike Nugent missed a 41-yard field goal with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bengals got the ball back with 1:45 to play, but the Dolphins prevailed when Reshad Jones picked off Andy Dalton at midfield.
Tannehill completed 17-of-26 throws for the Dolphins (2-3), who were coming off back-to-back overtime losses.
"It was a great team win today," said Miami coach Joe Philbin. "All three components (offense, defense and special teams) contributed to the victory."
Dalton finished with 234 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Cincinnati (3-2), which had averaged 33 points during a three-game winning streak.
"We let a good opportunity get away from us today. There is no doubt in my mind about that," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.
A 1-yard touchdown run by Daniel Thomas put Miami up 7-6 with 6:54 to play in the second quarter. Tannehill set up the score with consecutive completions. After hitting Charles Clay for 24 yards on 3rd-and-10 from the Cincinnati 43, Tannehill threw a 13-yard strike to Anthony Fasano.
Later in the first half, Jorvorskie Lane was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-1 from the Cincinnati 38 after the Dolphins' defense had recovered an Armon Binns fumble.
Following the break, Dalton completed each of his first two passes, but Miami defensive tackle Randy Starks hauled in a dart thrown by the Cincinnati QB and the Dolphins began their next drive at the Bengals' 36-yard line after a modest return.
Flushed from the pocket, Tannehill found Davone Bess for a 28-yard gain and Bush went around the left end and bolted for a 13-yard touchdown on the next play.
Dan Carpenter kicked a 46-yard field goal to extend Miami's lead to 17-6 with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter. The Dolphins' next series ended with Carpenter missing a 53-yard attempt.
After consecutive three-and-outs, Cincinnati's offense got some traction and the third quarter ended with the Bengals facing a 3rd-and-1 from the Miami 3. Dalton kept the ball on a quarterback sneak before hooking up with A.J. Green in the end zone. Prior to Dalton's conversion, the Bengals were just 1-for-11 on third down.
"You have to win on third down to have a chance on offense," Lewis said.
It was an excellent start defensively for Cincinnati. The Bengals, who entered Week 5 with an NFL-best 17 sacks, added another to their total to force Miami to go three-and-out on the game's opening drive.
The Dolphins' defense responded by forcing a three-and-out of their own. However, the ensuing Cincinnati punt hit the back of an unsuspecting Jones and the Bengals' Vontaze Burfict was ruled to have secured the fumble before going out of bounds at the Miami 26.
Once again, Cincinnati was unable to move the chains, and Nugent came on to drill a 42-yard field goal.
On their next possession, the Dolphins drove deep into Cincinnati territory, but Lane lost the ball and Bengals cornerback Terence Newman returned the fumble to his 21-yard line.
The Bengals were bailed out by a Miami holding penalty as Dalton's pass to Andrew Hawkins on 3rd-and-8 from the 23 fell incomplete. Cincinnati wound up marching to the Miami 35, where Dalton found Jermaine Gresham for 20 yards on fourth down. The drive ended up stalling and Nugent's 24-yarder put the Bengals up 6-0 late in the first quarter.
Game Notes
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