Cincinnati Bengals: With No Eifert Know Effort

Beating the Dolphins Means Very Little

One of the worst things about the modern NFL are the games on Thursday nights.  Players don’t want to play them and aren’t fully recovered from playing on Sunday.  Furthermore, the Dolphins have been a complete mess for over a decade.  Neither fans nor the team should be too excited about their win against the Dolphins.  At the same time, a win in the NFL is a win that will have future playoff implications.

Marvin Lewis could have used the short week to add new wrinkles and emphasize new players but decided to just get through the game and onto a long week of rest.  In a long season, this approach has its merits but he missed an opportunity to win the game by 40 points and gain experience for his bench.

With a big game at the Cowboys coming up it is important to learn from the last game.  The reason the Dolphins win means little is due to HOW the Bengals won.  In the NFL, a field goal exhibition is no way to become a Championship team.

Each game builds on itself and the Bengals come into the Cowboys game having stalled on drive after drive against the Dolphins.  Maybe the Bengals knew they could give 75% effort and still win but teams that win Championships are all-in, every game, all the time. This rookie led

This rookie led lineup of the Cowboys is not to be taken lightly even without Dez Bryant.  All the Dolphins win means is that the Bengals must play better to beat the Cowboys on the road.  Field Goals must be replaced with Touchdowns and drives must end with a bang, not a whimper.