What originally looked like a tank bowl between the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins in Week 16 still holds some semblance of big draft implications for both teams.
Morso for the Bengals, a franchise that can secure the top pick in the 2020 NFL draft with a loss. The Dolphins are one of a handful of three-win teams that remain in the running for a top pick too.
On the field, the struggling Bengals lean solely on Joe Mixon (925 yards, three touchdowns, 4.0 average) and his recent resurgence to spark the offense. Whether it’s a combination of lacking weapons or something else, Andy Dalton has struggled mightily, throwing pick-sixes in consecutive games and four alone in last week’s loss to New England.
Which isn’t to suggest Miami has been much better offensively, having failed to score more than 24 points in four of their last five. The ground game only averages 3.4 yards and Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t lighting it up statistically.
This one might come down to which defense can make a play by exploiting the opposing offense. Cincinnati’s pass rush has been improved in recent weeks and Jessie Bates has flashed more in the turnover department. Similar story for Miami, which forced three turnovers in its last outing. One problem — both of these teams still lost.
That seems to be the story for both franchises this year, even if the Bengals stood pat at the trade deadline and wanted to win games while Miami sold off a handful of its top talent.
This makes it one of the toughest games of the year to predict, especially when factoring in it being late in the season. But it is hard to ignore the Dolphins coughing up north of 30 points per game on average. A big Mixon day and the rejuvenated pass rush forms a tandem capable of squeaking out a few more game-changing plays.
While it isn’t what some focused on draft positioning want to hear, the Bengals have the right mixture of strengths right now to pull off an upset.
Prediction: Bengals 24, Dolphins 20
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