Can We 'Win with Quinn?'

Can We “Win with Quinn?”

The Miami Dolphins will meet the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Tua Tagovailoa has been benched. Enter third-string quarterback Quin Ewers. This move is logical, but at the same time, some were surprised by this move.

It is very unusual for a team to bench a player taken at #5 in the draft in favor of a player taken at #231. Meanwhile, a #2 draft pick, Zach Wilson, remains as your 2nd string quarterback. Wilson has expressed confusion about this decision. If the last three games were just about winning, he might have gotten the call to start.

Mostly, the decision has more to do with the fact that he is on a one-year deal, and Miami is likely to draft a quarterback in next year’s draft.

On to the Bengals. Can the Dolphins win against this team with Joe Burrow on the field? Let’s be realistic. No one is expecting Ewers to come out and throw for 300 yards with three touchdowns. While fans are hoping for him to be the next Brock Purdy, it is not likely. It’s possible, but no one is betting on it.

There are many reasons to believe Miami can win this week. While Ewers is a rookie in his first NFL start, he does have a very “rookie-friendly” situation. He committed a similar offense while playing for the Texas Longhorns. Unlike many Dolphins quarterbacks in the past, he will have a solid run game to lean on. Devon Achane is red hot and having a great season.

The Bengals’ defense ranks at the bottom of the league, particularly their run defense. If Miami can run the ball, chew up the clock, and keep the ball out of Burrow’s hands, they can come out of this with a victory.

The team and Ewers are set up for success this weekend about as much as they could be.

The bottom line is that a healthy Quin Ewers is still better than the version of Tua we have seen this year. He will throw better, be much more mobile in the pocket, and avoid being sacked. The Tua of 2023 is a far better quarterback than the 2025 Ewers.

But Tua has been gone this season. The decision to play Ewers is a good one. What he does with this is up to him. Does he believe he can be the answer to Miami’s long-time quarterback problem? He will be the 27th quarterback to start since Dan Marino. The coaches and front office are certainly hoping Quin Ewers will solve this 20-year-plus problem.

On to Cincinnati and perhaps the beginning of a new era for the Miami Dolphins?