The have so far pa sed every test thrown their way. The defeated Bill Belichick's in Week 1, stormed back to defeat and the in Week 2, and knocked the -favorite from the ranks of the unbeaten in Week 3. On Thursday night, their latest test comes in the form of the defending AFC champion . and Co. are coming off their first win of the season -- a laugher against the . They'd previously gone 0-2 against the likes of Mitchell Trubisky's and . So, this is likely the toughest opponent they will have faced to date. That's especially true because of the style of defense Miami plays, which has the potential to cause significant problems for the Bengals.So, will the Dolphins remain unbeaten? Or will the Bengals hand them their first lost of the young season? We'll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here's how you can watch the game:Date:Thursday, Sept. 29 |Time:8:20 p.m. ETLocation:PayCor Stadium (Cincinnati)Stream:Follow: Odds: Bengals -4, O/U 47 Featured Game | Cincinnati Bengals vs. Miami Dolphins Moneyline Spread Total Quinn Meinerz Jersey CIN MIA Early this season, the Dolphins are arguably the 's most fascinating offense. New head coach Mike McDaniel was the run-game coordinator in San Francisco and was expected to bring over a Kyle Shanahan-style offense that leaned heavily on the run and play-action, bootleg pa sing concepts. Only some of that has happened.Rather than being run-heavy, Miami ranks second in the NFL in pa s rate over expectation, according to Tru Media. McDaniel has indeed imported some of the Shanahan concepts in the run game and especially on play-action, but the Dolphins operate out of the shotgun at a much higher rate and incorporate far more run-pa s option concepts than McDaniel's former team did -- presumably because those are the areas where is most comfortable.All of this is working quite nicely so far. The Dolphins currently rank fourth in third-down conversion rate and the share of their plays that have gained 10 yards or more; third in yards per play and succe s rate; second in EPA per play and the share of their drives that have gone three-and-out; and first in points per drive. They're spreading defenses razor thin with all the speed they can put on the field. is drawing tons of attention on every snap. is taking advantage. Kenny Young Jersey Both of those players are opening wide throwing lanes over the middle of the field. MIA QB #1 CMP%71.3YDs925TD8INT2YD/Att9.16 Just about the only thing that isn't operating at a high level is the run game itself, which is an interesting development. Neither nor has been able to really get on track so far. Some of that is playing against a trio of opponents that are good at stopping the run in the Patriots, Ravens, and Bills. Some of it is an offensive line that, while improved, is still below-average. And some of it is the running backs themselves not doing much in the way of breaking tackles or creating yards after contact.Despite the lack of rushing succe s, though, Miami's play-action pa sing attack has been elite: Tagovailoa has faked a run on 39.1% of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in football. When the Dolphins have gone to a run fake on first down, Tagovailoa has completed 19 of 23 pa ses (82.6%) for 289 yards (12.6 per attempt). He's taken just one sack on those dropbacks, and he's thrown the ball 20 or more yards downfield 26.1% of the time. All it all up and he's recorded the league's fourth-best EPA per play average on those plays.The question in this game isn't so much whether the Dolphins can find a way to move the ball on the ground, but whether Cincinnati's linebackers and safeties can resist the temptation to come up and join the run fit on the plays when the Dolphins are actually throwing the ball. One false step and Hill, Waddle, or both will beat you -- either over the top or on the move. So far, Tagovailoa has Javonte Williams Jersey shown the ability to find them in open space with a high level of consistency. A suming he's under center, the only way to stop that from happening is to dominate the game up front and move him off his spot as soon as he hits the top of his dropback -- a feat made harder due to the fact that they're operating so often out of the gun and therefore he's not taking as many traditional dropbacks. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Cincinnati is coming off its best game of the season, and it's probably not a coincidence that after facing Cover-2 on 36.7% of Joe Burrow's dropbacks in Week 1 against the Steelers and 50% of his dropbacks in Week 2 against the Cowboys, the Bengals saw ONE snap of Cover-2 against the Jets in Week 3, according to Tru Media. In those first two games, Burrow was 25 of 34 for 243 yards, three interceptions and an incredible nine sacks against Cover-2. It's worth noting that Burrow faced Cover-2 on just 77 dropbacks all of last season, and Denver Broncos Sleepwear Underwear the incredible ramp-up early this year has likely been designed to take away some of the "let's just throw it up to deep down the sideline" stuff that was so succe sful for Cincinnati last year. CIN QB #9 CMP%64.0YDs812TD6INT4YD/Att6.5 The Dolphins have played Cover-2 on 14.6% of pa sing snaps this season, a significant increase from last year's 7.6% mark. They have been primarily a single-high coverage team, though, playing Cover-1 or Cover-3 on 57.5% of snaps. They've also used Cover-0 at by far the highest rate in the NFL -- 14.6%. It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Josh Boyer balances things in this matchup. Miami loves to blitz, and could potential overwhelm what has been a severely overmatched Bengals offensive line by doing so. But the Dolphins also might not need to blitz all that often to generate pre sure on Burrow, and leaving more defenders in coverage could allow them to utilize more of the two-high stuff that has bothered the Bengals so far this season.The decision Boyer makes can likely be viewed through the prism of second-year safety , who is an absolute menace all over the field. On eight pa s-rush snaps, Holland has three pre sures and 1.5 sacks, per Tru Media. On 129 coverage snaps, he has been targeted just five John Elway Jersey times, allowing three completions for 37 yards and an interception. He's lined up as a