Miami @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2016 ) Miami 7, Cincinnati 22

The Cincinnati Bengals haven't been shy about putting points on the scoreboard en route to winning three of their first four games, while the Miami Dolphins failed to generate any semblance of an offense in their last outing to fall for the first time in four contests. The Bengals and Dolphins bid to improve to 4-1 at the other's expense on Sunday when the teams meet at Paul Brown Stadium.

Cincinnati has erupted for an NFL fourth-best 126 points under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who held the same position with Miami before joining the Bengals as a quarterbacks coach in 2016. Andy Dalton, who has thrown for an NFL second-best 11 touchdowns, connected on a last-second 13-yard scoring strike to A.J. Green in a thrilling 37-36 victory over Atlanta last Sunday. There was nothing thrilling about Miami's last outing, as the Dolphins followed up single-digit wins in their first three games with a 38-7 clunker versus New England. "We didn't sugarcoat a whole bunch," coach Adam Gase said about the team's film review. "Nothing went right. Nothing we did was good. It just was not a good game."

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Bengals -5.5. O/U: 48.5

ABOUT THE DOLPHINS (3-1): Quarterback Ryan Tannehill fell on top of the proverbial grenade by telling reporters that "as the leader of this offense, we go as I go, so I've got to be better." The 30-year-old was right as he fell to 10-2 in his last 12 starts after throwing for just 100 passing yards with an interception and a fumble versus the Patriots. An injury-riddled interior of the offensive line is a sore spot, as top free-agent guard Josh Sitton, center Daniel Kilgore and reserve Jake Brendel are all on injured reserve already. Former New York Jets center Wesley Johnson was signed following a tryout this week while Ted Larsen has struggled in a bid to replace Sitton over the last few weeks.

ABOUT THE BENGALS (3-1): While Green has an NFL second-best five touchdown receptions, fellow wideout Tyler Boyd leads the team in catches (26), targets (36) and receiving yards (349) after grabbing a career-high 11 balls versus the Falcons. "The guy's a football player, he's a playmaker, he's smart, he has great abilities physically, which is obviously showing up and what showed up Sunday," Lazor said. Cincinnati hopes to see the return of Joe Mixon in the backfield, as the second-year running back has been practicing 2 1/2 weeks removed from arthroscopic knee surgery. Fellow running back Gio Bernard has flourished in the last two games, rolling up 130 rushing yards and three touchdowns to go along with nine catches for 52 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Miami RB Frank Gore, who caught Tannehill's lone touchdown pass last week, gashed Cincinnati for 101 scrimmage yards (82 rushing, 19 receiving) in last year's encounter with Indianapolis.

2. Bengals DT Geno Atkins has recorded a sack in each of his last three games and has 3.5 in his past three meetings with the Dolphins.

3. Miami LB Kiko Alonso has recorded 12 or more tackles in three straight games.

PREDICTION: Bengals 28, Dolphins 17