Dolphins Defeat Bengals on OT Safety, Chiefs Look for Win No. 9
The Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) wanted to keep their four-game win streak alive on Thursday night but instead the Miami Dolphins (4-4) snapped their own four-game losing streak with a 22-20 OT win over them.
Tied at 20 and with 6:38 remaining in OT, Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake sacked Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton for a safety. With the two points, the Dolphins got the win.
Cameron Wake
For Wake, this was his third sack of the night against Dalton.
It was an ugly game for the Bengals as they committed four turnovers and saw All-Pro defensive tackle Geno Atkins go down with a knee injury (right ACL) in the second quarter. The next man up was Brandon Thompson who will step up in the player’s absence.
The team also saw rookie running back Giovani Bernard leave the game in the fourth quarter with a rib injury. He is expected to be o.k., which is a good thing as he was one of the team’s few bright spots on Thursday with his fourth quarter 35-yard touchdown run.
The Bengals will now have 10 days to regroup before they play the Baltimore Ravens (3-4) on Nov. 10. They sit at 14/1 to win this year’s Super Bowl.
Will the Chiefs see Win No. 9?
The Kansas City Chiefs (8-0) will go for their ninth consecutive win on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills (3-5). One of their keys to success this season has been their defense. It gives up an NFL-low 12.3 points per game and has a league high number of sacks at 36. The Bills are right behind with 27 sacks.
Alex Smith
For the Chiefs, in all of their wins, their opponents have not scored greater than 17 points, according to NFL.com. Meanwhile the Bills bring their own 17 stat: they have scored a minimum of 17 points in each game this season (three of eight games include 24 points).
Which team will break this streak?
Should the Chiefs win Sunday’s game and the Bills get 17 points or fewer, it will be the first time since 1934 that a league team has nine straight wins at the start of the season against opponents scoring 17 points or fewer. As noted by NFL.com, the Chiefs are yet to face a team with a winning record–the Bills are no exception.
No pressure here as the Chiefs are the first NFL team in league history to go from 2-14–the league’s worst record last season–and turn it around the next season with an 8-0 start. The last time the Chiefs won nine games at the season’s start? Back in 2003. They went on to grab 13 wins that year and then lost in the playoff’s divisional round, 38-31 against the Indianapolis Colts (5-2).
Do the Chiefs see a challenge ahead of them for Sunday’s game? History is on the Bills’ side as they’ve won five of their last six games including both matchups in the last two seasons by a combined 76-24 margin, reported STATSLLC.
But Buffalo is facing its own set of challenges including the injury bug and losing its last three of four games. At the top of the injury list is quarterback Thad Lewis He’s battling sore ribs and did not practice on Wednesday. This could leave him out of Sunday’s game as Bills coach Doug Marrone has him at “50-50” to play.
Next up on the Bills quarterback roulette is the rookie Jeff Tuel and experienced free agent Matt Flynn. On Wednesday the two players split first-team reps and Marrone said if Lewis can’t play, the starting nod could go to Tuel since he’s been with the team longer.
On a positive note, running back C.J. Spiller will be back on Sunday after sitting out last week with a high ankle sprain.
History has a way of repeating itself but not this time as the Chiefs get a win on Sunday (-3, 40 o/u).
