Make no mistake about it, the Dolphins should have lost this game.
They played very badly, getting 14 penalties and showing an inability to stop the Bengal's offense, giving up a grand total of 144 yards rushing to a rushing offense that should have gotten only half that and 3 touchdowns to the same receiver, Carl Pickens.
If it hadn't been for Pete Stoyanovich and Dan Marino, the Dolphins would be counting their first loss and there would be no undefeated teams in the NFL.
However, because of the last quarter heroics of Marino and the accurate foot of Stoyanovich, the Dolphins squeaked by the Bengals on Sunday by the score of 26-23.
It was not a particularly good week for any of the unbeaten teams in the league.
The game started with the Bengals kicking off to OJ McDuffie, who took the kickoff in the endzone for a touchback. The first series for the Dolphins then began at the 20, where Kirby ran for 3 yards on first down, followed by a second down incompletion that went in and out of Eric Green's hands over the middle.
On third and 7 at their own 23, Marino saw that Randal Hill had beaten his man down the right sideline and hit him in full stride for a 59 yard gain to the Cincinnati 18 yard line. The Dolphins then ran Terry Kirby up the middle for 7 yards on first down and gave him the ball again on a draw from the shotgun on second down for 6 more yards down to the Bengal's 5.
With a first and goal at the 5, the Dolphins tried a sweep with Terry Kirby that only gained 2 yards. On second down a pass to Eric Green was almost picked off and on third down, Marino overthrew Fryar in the corner of the endzone. This left the Dolphins with a fourth and goal from the 3 and they settled for a field goal to give them a 3-0 lead.
The Dolphins kickoff was taken by Dunn at the Bengal's 18, but he was covered by the Dolphins at the 26 yard line. The Bengals first play was almost a sack as Marco Coleman hit Blake just as the ball was released and on second down, Blake was forced to scramble under pressure from Jeff Cross for 5 yards. On third and 5, the Bengals were penalized for a false start and on the subsequent third and 10, the pass was knocked away by Aubrey Beavers, but he was penalized for pass interference, which gave the Bengals a first down at the 34.
After Harold Green got a yard on a first down carry, Tim Bowens was penalized for offsides, giving the Bengals a second and 4 at the 40. However, a deep pass down the left sideline to Pickens was well covered by JB Brown and fell incomplete and on 3rd and 4, Tim Bowens knocked down Jeff Blakes pass to force a punt by the Bengals on 4th and 4.
McDuffie took the punt at the Dolphins 12 and made it back to the 18 before he was taken down. With a first and 10, Marino hit Gary Clark over the middle for 25 yards to the Cincinnati 43, where a pitch out to Parmalee on first down netted just 2 yards.
On second and 8 at the 45, Marino hit McDuffie for 9 yards to the Bengal's 46, where Parmalee took another handoff for another 2 yards to give the Dolphins another 2nd and 8. Keith Byars then took a quick dump pass for 10 yards and another first down to the Cincinnati 34. From the 34, a nice 12 yard run by Parmalee was nullified by a false start penalty on Keith Byars, but that didn't matter, because on a 1st and 15 from the 39, Marino hit Gary Clark for 20 yards to the Bengal's 19.
With a first and 10 at the Bengal's 19, Parmalee ran for 6 yards down to the 13, but on second and 4, Marino tried to hit Gary Clark in the middle again. However, Clark was slammed just as he caught the ball by Rod Jones and the ball bounced into the air out of his hands and was caught by Bengal's linebacker Andre Collins, who ran it back to the Bengal's 12 yard line.
The Bengals took over on their twelve and started with a one yard run by Harold Green, followed by a draw, again to Green, that picked up 10 yards. On first and 10 from the 23, the Bengals tried another run by Green, but Bowens stopped the play for no gain. However, on second and 10, Blake hit Pickens for 7 yards and then for 4 yards to give the Bengals a first and 10 at their 34. Bowens jumped offsides on the next play, giving the Bengals 5 more yards to the 38 and a 5 yard run by Green gave them a first down at the 44.
An incomplete pass to Scott on first down and a 3 yard draw to Bienemy on 2d down left the Bengals with a third and 7 at their own 47 as the first quarter ran out.
The Bengals opened the second quarter by picking up a first down to the Dolphins 45 on an 8 yard pass to Darnay Scott and they followed that up with a 17 yard pass to Pickens to the Dolphins 28 and another first down. Harold Green picked up one yard to the 27 and then a pitch out to Green netted another 10 yards to the Dolphin 17.
On first down, a delay of game penalty pushed the Bengals back to their 22 and stuck them with a first and 15. However, a pitch out to Bienemy around the right end picked up 14 of those yards to the 8 and a quick run by Green up the middle gave the Bengals a first and goal at the Dolphins 3. On the next play, a play fake by Jeff Blake caused the Dolphins' linebackers and secondary to freeze and Blake hit Pickens all alone in the back of the endzone for the touchdown. The extra point gave the Bengals a 7-3 lead.
Irving Spikes took the kickoff at the Miami 3 and ran it out to the 22, where the Dolphins started by pitching out to Spikes on a right sweep, but the blocking fell apart and Spikes was nailed for a 4 yard loss by James Francis. With a second and 14 from the 18, Marino hit Eric Green over the middle for 17 yards to the Miami 35. Then, on 1st and 10 from the 35, Marino hit Terry Kirby over the middle and Kirby broke it open with a nice run after the catch down to the Bengal's 19 yard line.
From the 19, Marino's pass to Parmalee was overthrown, but the Bengal's McDonald lined up in the neutral zone and the penalty moved the ball to the 14. From there, Parmalee had a nice run to the 8 behind Keith Sims to give the Dolphins a first down and goal at the 8. Then, on the next play, Marino dropped back in the pocket and rifled the ball to Eric Green crossing over the middle of the endzone for a touchdown. Stoyanovich added the extra point to make it 10-7 in favor of the Dolphins.
The subsequent kickoff went to Dunn at the Bengal's 2, who returned it to the 21, but Andre Collins of the Bengals was penalized 10 yards for holding, returning the ball to the 11.
On first and 10 from the 11, Blake hit Tony McGee, the tight end, for 24 yards to the 35 and a 6 yard run by Green, followed by an offsides penalty on Tim Bowens gave the Bengals a 1st and 10 from the Bengals 46. At this point, the Bengals tried a trick play - they started a reverse to wide receiver David Dunn and Dunn stopped in the backfield and tried to throw deep to Darnay Scott, who was well covered by JB Brown, who knocked the ball away. But Brown had gotten to Scott a little too soon and was all over Scott when he knocked the ball away, so he was called for defensive pass interference and the Bengals got the ball at the Miami 13.
After a 4 yard run by Green gave the Bengals a 2nd and 6 at the 9, the Bengals tried another trick play, this time with the halfback option pass. However, Eric Bienemy badly overthrew Darnay Scott and after a third down pass was dropped by Harold Green, the Bengals were forced to settle for a field goal and a 10-10 tie.
The ensuing kickoff was taken by Irving Spikes at the 14 and he returned it out to the 35, where the Dolphins started on offense by running Terry Kirby up the middle for 6 yards and then Parmalee off right tackle for 1 yard. Marino's 3rd and 3 pass was dropped by Bernie Parmalee and John Kidd lofted a 50 yard punt on 4th down, which was downed by the Dolphins at the Bengals 7.
With 3:00 remaining, Blake threw two straight incompletions, one towards Scott and one towards Hill and on a 3rd and 10 from their 7, Blake tried a little dump pass to Harold Green, but Bryan Cox caught Green with a beautiful open field tackle, stopping him after a 3 yard gain and forcing the Bengals to punt.
McDuffie took a fair catch at the Miami 44, and with 2:30 remaining, Marino threw two consecutive passes to Gary Clark - one for 11 and the second for 6 yards, down to the Bengal's 38. At this point, the two minute warning was called.
With a 2nd and 4 at the Bengal's 38, Marino hit Terry Kirby for 6 yards and a 1st down to the 32. However, Marino threw the first pass away and his second down pass to Irving Fryar in the endzone was too well covered by the Bengals defense. This left a 3rd and 10 at the 32 and Marino did manage to hit Fryar for 5 yards, but that left the Dolphins with a 4th and 5 at the Bengals 28. Stoyanovich was then called on to try a field goal and he nailed it right down the middle, to give the Dolphins a 13-10 lead.
With 1:01 remaining, the Dolphins kicked off to Dunn at the goal line and he returned it to the Bengal's 25, where Blake missed a 1st down pass to Scott, but hit a 2nd down pass to Joseph for 5 yards to the 30 as he was going down in the arms of Trace Armstrong. However, Blake missed a third down pass to Tony McGee and with a 4th and 5 at the 30 and :24 remaining, the Bengals punted to McDuffie at the Miami 29. McDuffie ran it back to the 38, but a facemask penalty on Sean Hill moved the ball back to the Miami 17. However, with just :13 remaining in the half, all Marino did was to kneel down to end the half.
The third quarter started with David Dunn receiving Stoyanovich's kickoff 2 yards deep in his endzone, but he took the ball out to the 21 before he was stopped by Sean Hill. The Bengals started with a pitch out to Harold Green for 5 yards, but an offsides penalty on Marco Coleman gave the Bengals the 5 yards and a 1st down at the 26. However, Blake's next pass to Pickens was broken up by Chris Singleton and after Klingbeil shot the gap and stuffed Harold Green for no gain, the Bengals had a 3rd down and 5 at their own 26. The Bengals next tried a little dump pass to Harold Green, but Troy Vincent made a fine open field tackle, stopping Green for no gain and forcing the Bengals to punt.
McDuffie took the punt at the 30 and carried it out to the 36 before being stopped. With a 1st down at their own 36, Marino started by hitting McDuffie with a 15 yard pass on the sidelines to the Bengal's 49 yard line. With a 1st and 10, Marino rifled another pass to Eric Green down the middle, but Green dropped this pass, as it went in and out of his hands. It didn't make any difference, however, because Richmond Webb was called for holding and the Dolphins moved back to a 1st and 20 from their own 41.
Marino started by hitting Fryar for 16 yards to give the Dolphins a 2nd and 4 at the Bengal's 43, but a run by Kirby was stopped for no gain. With a 3rd and 4, however, Marino hit Kirby with a quick 8 yard pass to the 35 for a 1st down. Parmalee started the next series by running about 30 yards, but only gaining 4 as he started right and then ran back left across the field and finally out of bounds. Spikes then ran 7 yards down to the 24, but on the subsequent 1st down, Spikes slipped and Heller missed a block and Spikes was nailed for a 2 yard loss.
This gave the Dolphins a 2nd and 12 at the 26, but Marino hit Eric Green in the left flat for 10 yards and Green added 9 of his own down to the Bengal 7. With a 1st and goal at the 7, Miami tried to run Kirby to the right side twice in a row, but could only gain 2 yards down the 5. With a 3rd and goal from the 5, Richmond Webb started early on the play and the penalty moved the Dolphins back to a 3rd and goal from the 11. Then, on the next play, Keith Sims completely missed a block on John Copeland and he nailed Marino for a sack and an 8 yard loss.
As a result of the sack, Miami was forced to settle for a 36 yard Pete Stoyanovich field goal and a 16-10 lead.
Stoyanovich's next kickoff went into the endzone for a touchback and the Bengals started at their own 20 with Jeff Blake throwing away his first pass with no one open. However, on 2nd and 10, he hit Pickens on the sidelines for a 1st down at their 30 yard line. A 3 yard pitch to Harold Green gave the Bengals a 2nd and 7 at the 33 and on the next play, the Bengals pitched out to Eric Bienemy who ran around their right side for 22 yards to the Miami 45 yard line.
On first and 10, Blake stepped back in the pocket and lofted the ball down the right sideline to a streaking Carl Pickens who was well covered by Troy Vincent, but Pickens was just a quarter of a step ahead and he made a fine catch to take the ball away from Vincent in the endzone for a touchdown. Pelfrey then hit the extra point to give the Bengals a 17-16 lead.
The kickoff to McDuffie was short and as the ball skidded along the ground, McDuffie couldn't get a handle on it at first, but he finally managed to control the ball and run it out to the 25. Marino started there by trying to go to Irving Fryar, but Fryar was too well covered. Marino then hit Eric Green with two consecutive passes of 7 and 13 yards out to the Miami 45, where, on 1st down, he overthrew a sideline pattern to Fryar.
On 2nd down, a little dump pass to Byars netted only two yards on a play that would have picked up 10 when Byars was healthy and after a 6 yard pass to Clark on a 3rd and 8, Miami was forced to punt. Kidd's punt bounced into the endzone for a touchback, allowing the Bengals to start at their 20.
The Bengals started with a 9 yard draw to Harold Green on 1st down, followed by a 15 yard draw to Jeff Cothran on 2nd and 1 to the Bengal's 44. At this point, the third quarter ended with the Bengals ahead 17-16.
The Bengals started the 4th quarter with a 7 yard run by Eric Bienemy to the Miami 49, but after a 2nd down pass to Darnay Scott fell incomplete, the Bengals were faced with a 3rd and 3 and Miami called an all-out blitz, which they don't do very often. Under tremendous pressure, Blake got the ball off toward Tony McGee, who made a valiant attempt to catch the ball with one hand as he was falling. The ball was batted up into the air by McGee and caught by one of the Dolphins defensive backs (I believe that it was Michael Stewart), but the referees said that the ball hit the ground and so there was no interception. However, the TV replay clearly showed that the ball never hit the ground.
The Bengals were left with a 4th and 3 at the Miami 49 and the subsequent punt carried into the endzone for a touchback, letting Miami start at their own 20. On the first play, Marino hit Eric Green again, this time for a 19 yard gain to the 39. On the next play, the ball slipped out of Marino's hand, but on 2nd down, Marino again went to Eric Green, this time for 9 yards.
With a 3rd and 1 at the 48, Kirby made a nice run for 6 yards, but Ruddy was penalized for holding and that moved Miami back to the 39 and a 3rd down and 11. Marino then hit Fryar on the left side and Fryar made a great diving catch to give the Dolphins a first down at the Bengals 42. The next play was a pass to Randal Hill, but the ball was off target. However, a 2nd and 10 pass to Fryar for 15 more yards moved the ball to the Bengal's 27.
From there, the Dolphins pulled one of their little shovel passes to Kirby to the Bengals 18. However, an incompletion to Parmalee on a fly pattern to the endzone, followed by a run up the middle that was just a little short of the first down, left the Dolphins with a 4th and inches at the Bengal's 17. So Stoyanovich was called on for a field goal and he nailed another one, giving Miami a 19-17 lead with 10:03 remaining.
Stoyanovich's kickoff went to David Dunn at the 5 and was returned to the Bengal's 29. A 6 yard pass to Pickens, followed by an offsides penalty on Klingbeil gave the Bengals a 1st and 10 at their 40. A 1 yard pitch-out to Bienemy was followed by an 8 yard screen pass to Jeff Cothran, who left the Bengals with a 3rd and 1 at their 49. On the next play, the Bengals faked a run up the middle and tossed a lateral to Harold Green, who was out on the left side. Green faked out one Dolphin defender and advanced 9 yards to the Miami 42.
With a 1st and 10 at the Miami 42, a dump pass to Jeff Cothran netted 3 yards, followed by another short pass to Eric Bienemy, who broke 3 tackles on his way to a 15 yard gain down to the Miami 24. There, Green ran for 8 yards on 1st down and Cothran picked up 3 yards on 2nd down to give the Bengals a 1st and 10 at the Miami 13. Bienemy picked up 3 more yards around the right end to the 10 and there, on 2nd and 7, Blake hit Pickens on a quick slant from the right side over the middle for a touchdown.
At this point, the Bengals elected to go for 2 points, being ahead 23-19. However, Blake's pass to Scott was broken up by Troy Vincent and the Bengals lead 23-19 with less than 4 minutes to play. 4 minutes is more than enough time for Dan Marino, however.
The Dolphin's OJ McDuffie took the kickoff at the 18 and ran it out to the 26. However, Robert Wilson was penalized for holding and the Dolphins were forced back to their 9.
With 3:39 remaining, Marino went back to pass on first down. Under tremendous pressure, Marino was going down in Todd Kelly's grasp at the goal line when he managed to flick the ball towards OJ McDuffie. The pass was incomplete, but Marino avoided the sack, the safety and a penalty for intentional grounding.
On 2nd and 10, Marino hit Kirby with a short dump pass for 8 yards out to the 17. Then, on 3rd and 2, Marino hit OJ McDuffie for 6 yards to the 23. A late hit penalty on the Bengal's Bracey Walker added 15 yards to the play and the Dolphins had a 1st and 10 at their own 37 with 2:52 remaining.
Marino then went to Gary Clark for 12 yards to the Miami 49 and hit Randal Hill for 13 to the Bengal's 38. Marino then went back to OJ McDuffie for 10 more yards to the Bengal 28. At this point, the two minute warning was called.
Marino then attempted to hit Randal Hill over the middle, but the ball was thrown low and the referees ruled that Hill had trapped the ball. With a 2nd and 10 at the Bengal's 28, Marino hit Kirby for 9 yards to the 18, but Kirby was just short of a 1st down, leaving the Dolphins with 3rd and inches. However, a 3 yard dump pass to Kirby on 3rd down to the 16 gave Miami a 1st and 10 with 1:15 remaining.
On this play, Marino stepped back and lofted the ball down the left sideline, where McDuffie was running one-on-one with Rod Jones. Jones had good coverage, but McDuffie out-jumped Jones in the endzone and came down with the ball for the touchdown. Stoyanovich's extra point put the Dolphins ahead by the score of 26-23 with 1:03 remaining.
At this point, a field goal would allow the Bengals to send the game to overtime, so with that in mind, the Dolphins kicked off to David Dunn who took the ball at the 8 and made a nice run out to the 27. Robert Wilson of the Dolphins was penalized for a low block on the runback, so the ball was placed at the Bengal's 42.
On 1st down, Blake hit Pickens over the middle, but Pickens never quite had control of the ball as he was being taken down and it was ruled an incomplete pass. On 2d and 10, Trace Armstrong broke through the protection and sacked Jeff Blake for a 3 yard loss, but on 3rd and 13 from their own 39 with :42 remaining, Blake hit Tony McGee for 20 yards and a 1st down at the Miami 42. Blake spiked the ball on 1st down and on second down and 10 from the Miami 42, tried to force it into the middle to Tony McGee, but both Buckley and Frankie Smith were there and Smith almost picked the ball off.
This left a 3rd and 10 from the Miami 42 with :15 remaining. Blake hit Pickens for 15 yards to the Miami 27 and a 1st down, but with only 8 seconds remaining and no timeouts, the Bengals decided to try a 45 yard field goal. However, the Bengal's Doug Pelfrey hit the ball a little to the left and the field goal try was no good. The Dolphins ran one more play to run the final 2 seconds off the clock and Marino knelt down to preserve the 26-23 victory.
The bottom line on this game is that the Dolphins did not execute at all well. They had 14 penalties for 143 yards, gave up 144 yards rushing for an allowed average of 6 yards/carry and they could do nothing to stop Carl Pickens. This game was the opposite of the first three games - in this game, the offense had to rescue the defense. Fortunately, they were up to the task.