Miami Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez may have been the one who gave up two touchdowns in coverage against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, but he still came out of the matchup looking like the clearer winner over Bengals rookie Cashius Howell.
That’s because the larger story wasn’t those two scoring plays. It was the way Rodriguez kept climbing while Howell took a step backward. Cincinnati’s 31-24 win mattered most in the box score, of course, but the rookie-versus-rookie subplot was tough on the Bengals’ side.
Rodriguez piled up 11 tackles on Sunday and now leads the NFL in tackles. He also kept showing up behind a Dolphins front featuring Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe, while Cincinnati’s defense continued to struggle to bring people down. Miami still ran for more than 200 yards, and the Bengals’ problems in the middle of the field and in the trenches were impossible to ignore.
There were still a couple of plays where Rodriguez ended up on the wrong end of the result. Mike Gesicki and Samaje Perine both got him for touchdowns in the red zone, though Joe Burrow’s throw on the latter was described as perfect.
Burrow also credited Bengals pass game coordinator Justin Rascati for the first touchdown, saying, "The first touchdown was a great call. Rascati works really hard on those red zone plans and that was one drawn up for that coverage, so that was a great beater."
How much of that was on Jeff Hafley is another question, but either way Rodriguez wasn’t put in an ideal position on those snaps.
Howell, meanwhile, didn’t do much to separate himself. He finished with one pressure on 14 pass-rush snaps and looked too much like another Bengals edge rusher who can flash without carving out a real role. After a promising start to his first pro season, he seems to have hit a rookie wall just five games in, and the Week 6 bye arrives at a good time.
The Bengals keep drafting as if they’re building a succession plan, and the pattern is hard to miss. Since 2022, the list reads: Dax Hill for Jessie Bates, Myles Murphy for Sam Hubbard, Amarius Mims for Trent Brown, Shemar Stewart for Trey Hendrickson, and now Cashius Howell for Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy.
That approach has not exactly produced clean answers. Dax Hill eventually found a home as a boundary and slot corner after roughly two years, but by then Cincinnati had already missed the playoffs every season he played significant snaps. The frustration here is that the Bengals passed on Rodriguez despite what looked like a much cleaner fit.
The front office also did itself no favors by addressing linebacker with Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., then later claiming ex-Al Golden pupil Jack Kiser off waivers. None of that changes the basic point: Rodriguez looks like the better player, and he’s only five games into his career.
Cincinnati can still point to moments where Howell has looked promising, and that’s more encouraging than the usual rookie edge rusher story in town. But this particular duel left no doubt about who came away looking stronger.
In Other News...
Bengals Linebacker Move Puts Al Golden's Influence In Focus
The Bengals made a notable linebacker move this week, adding Jack Kiser after his brief run with Jacksonville and turning to a player who already has familiarity with defensive coordinator Al Golden from their Notre Dame days. Kiser arrives with some college credibility and a built-in connection to Cincinnatis staff, the kind of detail that can matter when a team is sorting through midseason depth and trying to find players who can absorb the system quickly.
His arrival also comes at a time when the Bengals needed reinforcement at the position, with Swayze Bozeman sidelined after the forearm injury he suffered in Week 5. Cincinnati is clearly looking for a workable answer at linebacker, and Kisers background gives this claim a little more intrigue than a typical waiver move, even if the real test now is how fast he can translate that familiarity into a role on Sundays. [Read more 🡒]
Zac Taylors Dexter Lawrence Remark Says Everything About His Bengals Impact
Zac Taylors praise for Dexter Lawrence II after the Week 5 win over Miami fit the way the Bengals have talked about the defensive tackle since bringing him into the building. Lawrence has given Cincinnati the kind of interior presence that changes how an offense has to play, and his early production has backed up the hype with 14 tackles and three sacks so far this season.
The move to acquire him from the Giants was already viewed around the league as a sharp offseason pickup, and the Bengals made it clear they wanted more than a short-term boost by working out a one-year extension. For a defense that needed more disruptive power up front, Lawrence has quickly become one of the most important additions on the roster, even if there is still a bigger long-term cost attached to the trade that Cincinnati will have to live with. [Read more 🡒]
Amarius Mims Has One Strange Problem Bengals Can't Ignore
Amarius Mims has given the Bengals exactly what they want on the field this fall, holding up well against some of the leagues top defenders at right tackle and helping Cincinnati get to a 3-2 start. Off the field, though, the rookie has run into a problem that has become hard to ignore: his cleats keep failing him in the middle of games, turning a promising early season into something of an equipment headache.
The issue has already surfaced more than once, and Mims has gone public in asking shoe manufacturers for a better answer. It is the kind of oddly specific snag that can still matter for a team trying to build momentum, especially with roster churn around him after the Bengals added Jack Kiser and put Swayze Bozeman on injured reserve. For now, the blocking is strong, but the footwear situation remains a loose end Cincinnati would rather not keep revisiting. [Read more 🡒]