The Bengals weren’t always considered a heavyweight in the current NFL pantheon. For most of the 21st century, they were either a playoff paper tiger (no pun intended) or an outright laughingstock. Then Joe “Cool” Burrow came around and flipped the team’s fortunes virtually overnight as they made a surprise Cinderella run to Super Bowl 56.
A year later, Cincinnati has some new company in the “does the glass slipper fit?” ranks in the form of the Miami Dolphins. During an undefeated 3-0 start, Miami has looked terrific. New head coach Mike McDaniel is pushing all the right buttons and Tua Tagovailoa looks like the franchise quarterback he was drafted to become. And with wins over the Ravens and Bills (that, yes, did involve a bit of luck) — Miami can boast that it’s undoubtedly beaten “legitimate” squads.
