Dolphins Fall to 0-5 as Willis Struggles Against Bengals

I thought Sunday was a matchup where Malik Willis could take a step forward. Instead, he delivered his worst performance of the season in Miami’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati, dropping the Dolphins to 0-5.

Give this team credit for fighting after falling behind by 18 points. But the late rally didn’t erase the interceptions, missed receivers and poor decisions that put Miami in that hole.

Willis stayed locked onto his first read too often. He drifted away from pressure instead of climbing the pocket, then tried to make his arm do everything without getting his feet aligned with the target. Running out of bounds short of the first-down marker and taking a costly sack near the goal line were avoidable mistakes.

Bobby Slowik has a part in this, too. Cincinnati frequently rushed four and dropped seven into coverage. I said in the preview that Miami needed quicker routes and more throws over the middle. Too much took too long to develop. Willis looks more comfortable when he makes a quick decision, gets his feet set and delivers on time.

Miami ran well. My issue was the distribution of Ollie Gordon’s carries. He finished with 18 attempts for 88 yards and a touchdown. I would have given him several of Jalen Wright’s six carries earlier to keep making Cincinnati feel that downhill running game in the heat.

The defense couldn’t get off the field on third down, but I thought JuJu Brents and Chris Johnson covered well on several plays against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Burrow made exceptional throws. Johnson keeps coming on, an encouraging sign for the rookie.

Now comes the bye, then the Jets. Miami plays hard, but Willis and Slowik need better execution and play calling built around Gordon and quicker throws.

Watch Our Dolphins-Bengals Postgame Show

Watch our full breakdown of Malik Willis’ performance, Bobby Slowik’s play calling, Ollie Gordon’s usage and Miami’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati.