By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

Chief among the unanswered questions for the Bengals entering Sunday night's game against the Miami Dolphins was the resiliency of the rush defense.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

Would the unit that began the season by giving up 219 rushing yards to the New York Jets tighten up against a bruised Dolphins running attack? Or would the holes that caused the Bengals to sink to last place in NFL rush defense remain open?

The Bengals defensive line excelled from the start at Paul Brown Stadium against a Dolphin's running game slowed by losses of Ricky Williams (retirement), Travis Minor (ankle), and Sammy Morris (ankle).

The Bengals' gaps closed quickly, and after 15 minutes, the Dolphins collected just 14 yards on the ground with six carries. Miami finished with 25 rushing yards on 20 attempts, an average of 1.3 yards per carry. Miami did not pick up a rushing first down.

"It was good to bounce back after last week," said Bengals defensive end Justin Smith. "It was just solid 'D.' That's what it was."

The Bengals' defensive line yielded very little to Miami's starting running back Lamar Gordon. Acquired in a Sept. 9 trade with Saint Louis, Gordon stumbled through the Bengals' line for just 17 first-half rushing yards, the longest attempt going for five yards with an average of 1.5 yards per carry. Gordon finished with 22 yards on the ground, including an output of minus-5 yards in the fourth quarter.

Jets running back Curtis Martinran through the Bengals' frontline last week and forced free safety Kim Herringto make a team-leading 11 tackles. Sunday, the Bengals front seven made the majority of the tackles and the key plays, including linebacker Brian Simmons'50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Following that touchdown that gave Cincinnati a 7-3 lead, the Bengals' energized linebackers stuffed Gordon for no gain and a loss of six yards on consecutive carries.

Gordon was the Dolphins only running back, and he simply could not figure out how to consistently get past the line of scrimmage. His longest rushes were two third-quarter runs for eight yards, and he recorded a total of 27 yards on 18 carries by the end of the third quarter. With Gordon ineffective, and the Dolphins trailing for most of the second half, Miami was forced to go to its passing game. It was no secret to the Bengals, who sacked Feeley twice, not to worry about the Dolphins running game.

"It makes it easy, you can tee-off and try to get to the quarterback," Smith said. "Maybe it wasn't always sacks, but we had constant pressure on (Feeley) all night."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

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