The Miami Dolphins have been horrendous to start the 2019 season. They've been so horrendous that nobody has noticed that the Cincinnati Bengals have also been awful, at a level that would usually mark them as the worst team in the league -- if not for the Dolphins' lost season.
Fans may be slow to come to realize the Bengals' situation because they played a surprisingly close opener in Seattle four weeks ago, losing just 21-20. But they were destroyed by San Francisco and Pittsburgh, blowing a fourth-quarter lead to Buffalo in between. Cincinnati is 31st in Football Outsiders' DVOA ratings, coming out as 51.4% less efficient than an average team. That's twice as bad as the next-worst team in the league -- which happens to be this Sunday's opponent, the Arizona Cardinals.
Upset Watch: Arizona Cardinals (+3) at Cincinnati Bengals
In many of our metrics, Arizona is bad but Cincinnati is worse, and that starts with measuring the three units overall. On offense, Arizona is 27th and Cincinnati 31st. On defense, Arizona is 25th and Cincinnati 30th. And on special teams, things are a little better but following the same pattern: Arizona is 16th and Cincinnati 22nd.