***TNF IN THE SWAMP - MIA @ CIN***

***MIAMI DOLPHINS @ CINCINNATI BENGALS***

An interesting match between two 1-2 teams tonight as the Dolphins head into Cincinnati on a short week to take on the Bengals. A quick look at these two teams thus far and one will see that the identities of these two teams remains unclear thus far. The Bengals were able to squeeze out a win in week 1 on the road against the New York Jets in a tough game, then dropped their next game on the road against their bitter rival Pittsburgh in a wet one, and last week in their home opener were defeated by the Super Bowl Champ Denver Broncos. That being said the start of Cincy's schedule has been unkind to say the least. While the Jets are still mysterious squad themselves, I don't think anybody would argue that they are no push-over, and the Steelers & Broncos as we know are two of the top teams in the league. When looking at it that way, the same assumption here as that the Bengals should catch a break and easily right the ship on a short week with no travel and hosting a much lesser opponent in the Dolphins. I know it is early, but again I think it is safe to say that based off of last season and what we've seen so far, very little would argue that the Dolphins are a better team than Cincy at this point in time. However I am not sold on this Bengals team just yet and wasn't sure what to make of them coming into this season to be honest. They have lost two major contributors to their WR core in Marvin Jones & Mohammad Sanu. Yes they still have a top WR in AJ Green and he will surely get his, there is no denying that and the chemistry that he and QB Andy Dalton share together, but losing the solid number 2 & 3 was a big hit to this offense's passing game. They added WR Brandon Lafell and drafted WR Tyler Boyd out of Pittsburgh to try and fill the large voids left by Jones & Sanu. While these are solid moves and replacements by Cincinnati, I think it will be some time before we see these guys really start to become difference makers in this offense. Not to mention the absence of Pro Bowl TE Tyler Eifert AKA as I like to refer to him as "Baby Gronk" remaining out with an injury, Dalton clearly misses his huge reliable target. Yes, the Bengal's running game showed some sparks last weekend against Denver, a top defense, and Miami thus far has been awful against the run. This should mean that RBs Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard should have big nights, and maybe they will, but in my opinion when a team becomes tagged as being that bad against the run, it usually becomes the immediate top priority to fix.

The Dolphins schedule hasn't been to kind to start either, as they had to go on the road their first two games against Seattle & New England. They actually faired well in Seattle and coulda woulda shoulda had that game won, but just didn't come through at the end. In New England, they were torched by backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo until he went out with an injury. They mounted a comeback against third string QB Jacoby Brissett, but once again fell short of a victory. Then in week 3, in what was kind of a similar spot as tonight, they hosted what everyone assumed was a lesser opponent in the Cleveland Browns, and the Browns took them to the wire, and again coulda woulda shoulda won that game if not for a missed FG. That being said, the Phins were able to luckily avoid a devastating 0-3 start to the season, and in a game that was so close to crushing their season, I think may have done the opposite. In my opinion a win like that where a team is lucky enough to avoid a loss in the rare "let-down/look-ahead" spot like that, it could spark a fire. Yes, I meant let down spot even though they dropped their first two games, but they were both on the road and against two of the top teams in the league, so one could argue that there was a bit of an emotional let down coming home to play a 0-2 Browns team starting their third string rookie QB for the first time, and with a big game on deck on a short week, I look at that game as a terrible spot for Miami psyche. Especially since the Browns were forced to start their third string rookie QB, and also mixed in the swiss-army knife himself WR Terrell Pryor at QB who lit them up, I am not surprised they nearly beat the Phins. A game like that is tough to prepare for, and the Browns will be kicking themselves all season for not pulling that one out. Again, Miami was fortunate enough to get overtime where they were able to win the game, and I think it will serve them the wake-up call they needed. Head Coach Adam Gase thinks so too as he called out the team after the game and basically told his players to perform or get benched. Will they respond to their coach calling out their manhood or not is yet to be seen but I am willing to say that they come ready tonight.

In the words of my man Forrest Gump, QB Ryan Tannehill is a box of chocolates and you never know what your gonna get. As one of his biggest critics so far in his NFL career, I have to admit I think he has shown some improvements so far this season. Maybe their new Coach Gase is the QB whisperer he's rumored to be after all. Tannehill has a plethora of weapons at WR, the Miami WR core is actually one of the best in the NFL on the low. WR Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker are a deadly combination and I like Tannehill and these guys to all be clicking on the same page tonight. The Bengals secondary is banged up and this could be a bad matchup for them. Cincy LB Vontaze Burfict will be making his return tonight after serving his three game suspension for an illegal hit in the playoffs last year. While this should surely serve as an extra spark for this defense's intensity tonight, I think it may take a game for him to get back to form. The Miami WRs should be too much speed for this Bengals secondary and I think they take advantage. Lastly, I don't think Dalton is 100% healthy and is quietly nursing some injuries and that isn't good for what should be a sloppy wet game against a talented defensive line like Miami has. I fully expect a big game from this unit on the prime time stage. Suh & Wake should lead the fish on a feeding frenzy against Dalton tonight. Tannehill has never lost to the Bengals and Dalton has never beaten the Dolphins, weird. Oh yeah and there's that whole Dalton on Prime Time thing again, just as a cherry on top. It looks like the Phins will be sporting some creamsicle like orange color rush uniforms tonight, I dig it. DOLPHINS+7.5