The Cincinnati Bengals are coming into Thursday night's game as one of the hottest teams in the NFL after winning four straight games and with the Miami Dolphins coming on the road, some of the top players to start or sit in Week 9 includes Andy Dalton, Marvin Jones, Giovani Bernard, Daniel Thomas, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Lamar Miller and Brian Hartline.
The Dolphins and Bengals are going in completely opposite directions this season, as the Dolphins have now lost four in a row after starting 3-0, while the Bengals are now 6-2 on the season. Dalton has been one of the major reasons for the success of the team, as he has passed for over 2,200 yards this year already with 16 touchdowns and only seven picks and he also is completing over 65 percent of his passes, which is above his 61 percent career clip. This year Dalton is doing a better job of getting the ball down the field and he also is coming off of a career day with 325 yards and five touchdowns against the Jets.
Dalton has been one of the best fantasy football quarterbacks this season and he has now passed for over 320 yards in each of his last three games and over that span he has passed for at least three touchdowns in each game. Dalton has 11 touchdowns and two picks over his last three games, making him a prime START option moving forward against the Dolphins and over the past three weeks he has had 325 yards, 372 and 337 yards in each of the past three games and before that in the win against New England, Dalton passed for 212 yards and completed over 70 percent of his passes.
Dalton has been one of the reasons why Jones has broken out this season and he has been a great secondary receiver alongside AJ Green. Jones had a career best game with four touchdown passes last week against the Jets and he also added eight catches for 122 yards in the matchup, catching all eight of his targets in the process. Dalton and Green have been communicating well and so has Jones, as he has not missed more than two of his targets in the past five weeks, including catching four of six against the Lions. Over the past three games he has increased his targets and his receptions and now he looks like he should be a solid START option for the rest of the season.
Jones has increased his receptions in that time as well and over the past three games he has scored at least one touchdown in each of those games, with six totals coming over the past three. The team has been very efficient on offense and having Jones has been one reason why, as is the solid rushing game with BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Giovani Bernard in the backfield. Bernard has been having a solid season for the Bengals with 26 catches for 242 yards and 282 yards rushing and while he hasn't cracked the starting lineup, he has been a very solid contributor to the offense.
Daniel Thomas, Brian Hartline and Ryan Tannehill are solid start options for the Dolphins on Thursday night football.