Trags Takes: Dolphins Rally Past Bengals, Ja’Marr Chase Drops Ball Again

CINCINNATI – The much-anticipated 2021 debut of Joe Burrow turned out to be not much more than an exercise in cadence, calling signals, uniform fit and stretching as the franchise quarterback lasted just three snaps before being pulled.

For the record, Reid Sinnett completed a miraculous 34-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Myarick on fourth down to lift the Miami Dolphins to a 29-26 win over the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Brandon Allen and Kyle Shurmur each threw touchdown passes and rookie Evan McPherson drilled a 57-yard field goal, helping the Bengals build a 26-14 lead before the Dolphins came back.

After a standing ovation, Burrow settled in on first down and handed off to Tyler Boyd on a jet sweep for two yards.

Then he threw his one pass, on second down, that was dropped by Ja’Marr Chase, an incompletion that resembled a fumble before he was even hit by a Dolphins defensive back. It resulted in a chaotic string of events that had the Dolphins returning the phantom fumble deep into Bengals territory and Riley Reiff committing a personal foul at the end.

Joe Mixon ran the ball on the next play for five yards and Burrow’s day was done after Kevin Huber’s 39-yard punt.

TRAGS Takeaways:
Really difficult to judge Burrow on anything that took place. His one pass was an accurate dart into the face of Chase, who was setting up for a wide receiver screen off to the left. Chase appeared to start his route early, with a seam ready to develop before his ill-fated drop, his fourth in as many targets over two games.

Winning the day:
Evan McPherson – The rookie out of Florida didn’t need to kick a ball on Sunday and he would still have a spot wrapped up as the team’s kicker on opening day. But that didn’t stop him from cleanly drilling a 57-yarder right before halftime that displayed to everyone, including himself, that he could be called upon to do the same in the regular season. That is probably the most significant play to come out of this preseason game.

Brandon Allen – After the Burrow warm-up exercise, Allen was impressive in leading a pair of scoring drives and delivering a couple of impressive passes over the middle. Allen cemented his role as Burrow’s backup by completing 5-of-9 for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Chris Evans – His TD catch on a 29-yard wheel route down the right sideline was a thing of beauty for a running back. Evans made the catch with a linebacker on his back.

Trenton Irwin – Irwin caught a pass over the middle in zone coverage and held on after a massive hit by safety Nik Needham. The 23-yarder at the end of the first quarter was followed up by Evans’ TD grab to open the second quarter.

Losing ground:
Ja’Marr Chase – Obviously, he’ll be given every chance to get through the drops that have plagued his last two preseason games. But this one chance, his only one with the starters, is not what he needed to build valuable confidence. Tee Higgins did not dress for this game, so much of the outside game was in his hands, before it wasn’t.

Noah Spence – Fighting for a spot as a backup edge with Darius Hodge, Spence had to stand out. It could be argued that Hodge, who had another QB hit on Sunday, outplayed Spence again. And maybe it was that need to make an impression that forced him to haul down quarterback Reid Stinnett on a horsecollar that wiped out an offensive holding call.

Antonio Phillips — Corner was beat on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kirk Merritt and gave up a 26-yard pass on the sideline on 3rd-and-10 late.