Miami Dolphins vs Cincinnati Bengals: Toilet Bowl

NFL Draft 2020

I'm guessing that this game is not gonna break any records when it comes to ratings. These two teams managed to win 4 games combined between them this season and are in full rebuild mode. They'll be picking at the very top of the next year's NFL draft and most likely aim for a new quarterback. Not that it wasn't clear enough before that, but Andy Dalton just confirmed last week that the Bengals really need a change at the position. They were hanging in relatively well for a half against the Patriots, but overcoming 4 interceptions vs one of the best teams in the league is virtually impossible. New coaching staff can't wait to get their hands on a young prospect, around which they are going to build this team

On the other side, Miami is in a similar situation. They gave up on Ryan Tannehill, who had a very good season in Tennessee. Then traded for Josh Rosen to see if he can jumpstart his career in Miami, which now seems like a failed experiment. And in the end reverted to the old reliable Ryan Fitzpatrick who played well for this team, despite being 37 years old. His never-surrendering mentality and creativity helped Dolphins mask a lot of the weaknesses that they have on that side of the ball, but he is not a long terms solution by any means. Brian Flores did lay some foundation this year, but the front office will have to help him out a little bit in the off-season. They need to add more talent to this roster in order to give him a proper chance.

Tanking

I'm not a big fan of tanking theories. But I don't see the Bengals going all out in these last two games and put the No.1 pick in danger. Joe Mixon was limited for most of the week with the calf issue and it puts a question mark over his share of the workload in this game. I mean, he is one of their best players and they are going to need him in the future. There is no point in pushing him to play through an injury in a game like this. But we'll see what Zac Taylor and his staff think about this.

Dolphins are relatively healthy, except for Raekwon McMillan who injured his hamstring and got placed on the IR. Davante Parker had problems with his hip, but practiced in full, meaning he's a full go for this game. It's very good news for Miami's offense, who's been relying heavily on Parker since Preston Williams injured his knee a couple of weeks ago. Parker answered the call and is having the best season of his career which earned him a new contract, paying 10 million per year.

Dolphins vs Bengals best bet

The first bet that comes to mind in this one is involving Tyler Boyd. He was blanketed by Stephon Gilmore last week, but there is no shame in that because Gilmore was locking down best receivers the entire year. Dolphins defense has the problem with defending that middle of the field in the passing game and has given up some big numbers to good slot receivers like Landry, Smith-Schuster and Jamison Crowder. That's a company that Tyler Boyd could easily join. Dolphins don't have a good enough nickel to match up against Boyd and their safety play wasn't that great either this season. Mostly because Reshad Jones didn't play much.

Beware of the weather report for this game. Rain showers are forecasted for the entire day and some wind as well. It might affect the scoring negatively, but it could also turn into chaos with turnovers, defensive touchdowns, and short-field situations. Especially with these two QB's.