Joe Burrow throws for 309 yards and 4 TDs as Bengals rout Dolphins 45-21

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Joe Burrow is having fun playing football.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback made that clear on Sunday, after he threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-21 rout of the Miami Dolphins.

“Not playing football is not fun,” said Burrow, who recently suggested he wasn't enjoying himself during an injury-plagued season, then followed it up with a listless performance against Baltimore. “Sitting in the locker room, rehabbing all day, that's not why you do it. This is why you do it right here.”

Burrow rebounded from his first time being shut out, and the Bengals put together one of their most complete games of the year, despite having little at stake. Miami (6-9) and Cincinnati (5-10) were both eliminated from playoff contention last week, but the teams insisted they were still motivated for the final three games of the season.

“This is the situation we're in,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. “This is what we can control. After the season we'll have a chance to reflect back on things that we've got to do differently.”

Cincinnati held a 17-14 halftime lead before blowing the game open with 28 points off four straight Dolphins turnovers.

Burrow carved up Miami's defense, completing 25 of 32 throws with a 146.5 passer rating before being replaced by veteran Joe Flacco early in the fourth quarter. On a play that summed up his afternoon, Burrow evaded pressure and zipped an off-script pass across his body to a wide-open Drew Sample. That set up Samaje Perine's 4-yard TD run late in the second quarter.

“That's how it's supposed to look like,” Burrow said. “That's what it's supposed to feel like. We've got to keep that feeling going these next couple of weeks.”

Two of Burrow's touchdown passes went to running back Chase Brown, from 9 and 5 yards out. Brown, who finished with 66 yards rushing and 43 receiving, also had a 12-yard touchdown run. All of Brown's TDs came in the third, making him the first player this season with three scores in a single quarter.

Ja’Marr Chase caught nine passes for 109 yards. Tee Higgins had an athletic 9-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter. And former Dolphin Mike Gesicki added a 17-yard TD before doing the Griddy in front of his old team.

“Everybody needs to hold themselves accountable,” Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb said. “We’ve been in this same position all year. We have to figure out a way and hold ourselves to a higher standard. We’ve got two games to figure it out.”

Making the first start of his career, Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers led two scoring drives before throwing a pair of interceptions as Miami unrivaled in the second half for the second straight week.

“I was calm and I was ready for the opportunity at hand,” Ewers said. “Felt like I had a great grasp of the game plan and felt like I had the confidence of the guys around me. I was fired up to get back out there on the field.”

Ewers, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 260 yards, was named Miami's starter earlier this week. Tua Tagovailoa was benched following last week's poor performance at Pittsburgh, in which he threw his league-leading 15th interception.

Ewers, a seventh-round pick out of Texas, has hardly taken any first-team practice reps, instead running the scout team most of the season. That didn't matter much to coach Mike McDaniel, who indicated his standard has not been met from the quarterback position and felt Ewers could provide a spark.

Ewers got off to a strong start Sunday. He was 10 of 12 in the first half and was decisive and effective on play-action.

Tagovailoa, who led the league in passing in 2023 but has not played up to the four-year, $212.4 million contract extension signed in 2024, was Miami's emergency third quarterback behind Ewers and veteran Zach Wilson.

Bengals: CB DJ Turner II (illness) and TE Cam Grandy (left clavicle) left in the second half.

Dolphins: WR Dee Eskridge (toe) left in the third quarter.