The Cincinnati Bengals (4-10) and Miami Dolphins (6-8) will face off in Week 16 of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The game will broadcast live on CBS.
The Bengals are 4-point favorites over the Dolphins on the spread (Bengals -4), with the over/under set at 48 total points. Cincinnati is a -210 favorite to win outright on the moneyline, while Miami is +175 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Bengals vs Dolphins predictions and my NFL picks for Sunday, December 21.
Bengals vs Dolphins Prediction, Picks
- Bengals vs Dolphins picks: Darren Waller Anytime TD (+350), Quinn Ewers Over 179.5 Passing Yards (-114)
My Dolphins vs Bengals best bets are on Darren Waller to score a touchdown and Quinn Ewers over 179.5 passing yards. However, make sure to find the best lines by checking our live NFL odds page.
Bengals vs Dolphins Odds for NFL Week 16
| Bengals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4 -110 | 48 -110o / -110u | -210 |
| Dolphins Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4 -110 | 48 -110o / -110u | +175 |
Cincinnati Bengals vs Miami Dolphins NFL Preview
Joe Burrow returned from injury with a bang on Thanksgiving, leading the Bengals to a blowout upset victory over the Ravens — it's been downhill for Cincinnati since.
The Bengals have dropped two straight games and are eliminated from the NFL playoff race. They dropped a winnable game to the Bills and then got shut out by the Ravens in Week 15.
Despite the playoffs being out of the picture, the Bengals have no plans on benching Burrow for the final three games.
The big name on their injury report for this game is WR Tee Higgins, who was sidelined last week while dealing with another concussion.
Following an ugly loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel pulled the plug on Tua Tagovailoa and announced Quinn Ewers would get the start against the Bengals.
Ewers, a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, made an appearance against the Browns back in October, going 5-for-8 for 53 yards.
The Texas product didn't exactly impress in the preseason, either, completing 23-of-43 pass attempts for 273 yards and two touchdowns.
However, the matchup today is about as soft as it can be for Ewers — the Bengals are last in the NFL in points and yards allowed.
There are also no major offensive names on the Dolphins' injury report, so Ewers will have the full arsenal of weapons to work with in De'Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle and Darren Waller.
Bengals vs Dolphins Betting Predictions, Analysis
Darren Waller Anytime Touchdown
While the Dolphins as a team didn't look great against the Steelers, Darren Waller had himself a night, catching 7-of-8 targets for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Notably, he had a high snap rate of 54%.
Today, he gets a matchup against a historically bad defense against the tight end position in the Bengals, who have allowed six more TDs to TEs than the next-closest team this season, along with 300 more receiving yards.
We don't know how Quinn Ewers will play, but the total is decent for this game, and the Dolphins are 4-point underdogs, so we can expect him to throw a decent amount. I have the true anytime touchdown odds on Waller under +300.
Quinn Ewers Over 179.5 Passing Yards
Sticking with Ewers, while there are a lot of unknowns with him, I think his line for passing yards is too low at 179.5. He likely isn't much worse than Tua Tagovailoa, and this matchup is highly favorable.
The Bengals rank near the bottom of the league in nearly every single defensive metric. They've been better in recent weeks, but the Dolphins have several offensive weapons in the receiving game — Darren Waller, De'Von Achane, and Jaylen Waddle — so Ewers should be able to put up some yards.
I have Ewers projected for more than 200 yards.
Bengals vs Dolphins Best Bets
- Darren Waller Anytime Touchdown (+350)
- Quinn Ewers Over 179.5 Passing Yards (-114)
Bengals vs Dolphins Betting Trends
For the latest on NFL injuries, be sure to check out our NFL Injury Report page.
