The Miami Dolphins had enough encouraging moments to make Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals feel winnable, but quarterback Malik Willis turned the game into a damaging reminder of how thin Miami’s margin remains. Willis accounted for three turnovers, missed available underneath throws and took a costly red zone sack while trying to escape the pocket.
Locked On Dolphins host Kyle Crabbs said Willis’ Week 5 performance created the clearest version yet of the concern surrounding the offense: Repeated decision-making and ball-security mistakes can overwhelm positive work elsewhere. Willis completed 15 of 27 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions while adding 74 rushing yards but losing a fumble.
Crabbs pointed to checkdowns that were available but passed over, plus a red zone sack in which Willis ran out of bounds. He noted that the same situational error appeared against the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season. Miami cannot regularly surrender yards in scoring territory when its passing game has already struggled to generate consistent production.
The loss was not solely on Willis. Miami rushed for 217 yards, held Cincinnati to 190 passing yards and received encouraging individual efforts from running back Ollie Gordon II and several defensive backs, Crabbs said. But the Dolphins also gave Joe Burrow favorable field position through special teams mistakes, while Cincinnati converted 9 of 13 third downs and finished plus-two in turnover differential.
Crabbs argued that Willis should continue to start because the Dolphins need a larger evaluation sample, but he also said performances like this could affect how aggressively Miami approaches the quarterback class in the 2027 NFL Draft. The Dolphins have a bye before facing the New York Jets, giving Willis and the offense time to address the mistakes that turned a competitive game into another loss.
The Dolphins need cleaner decisions, fewer giveaways, and better red zone management for their running game and defensive progress to matter.
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