How Did Quinn Ewers Play in 1st Game After Tua Benching? Fans Sound Off on Dolphins QB

Quinn Ewers' first career win in the NFL will have to wait.

Benching Tua Tagovailoa didn't work for the Miami Dolphins, who lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 45-21 in Sunday's AFC showdown at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami fell to 6-9, while Joe Burrow and Cincinnati improved to 5-10 and snapped a two-game losing streak.

Ewers started off well in the first half but struggled mightily after intermission while finishing 20-of-30 passing for 260 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Burrow was much better at 25-of-32 passing for 309 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions with two of the scores going to Chase Brown.

Brown also added 66 yards and one touchdown on the ground in the Bengals' dominant performance.

Yet much of the focus was on Ewers' performance, which drew reaction from social media:

With both teams eliminated from playoff contention and playing out the string on disappointing seasons, the biggest storyline was Ewers' first start.

The Texas product was a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, which may mean the Dolphins don't see him as the long-term franchise quarterback. Still, Sunday was an opportunity to put something on tape as the front office evaluates the position moving forward.

And he took advantage of that opportunity in the first half while going 10-of-12 passing and directing two touchdown drives. It certainly helped that he was sharing the backfield with De'Von Achane, who exploded through the line for a 48-yard touchdown run against a Cincinnati defense that is last in the league in points and yards allowed per game.

Malik Washington also ran for a touchdown as the Miami rushing attack provided important support for the rookie signal-caller.

The second half did not go nearly as well.

Miami's four possessions in the third quarter ended in a Greg Dulcich fumble, Ewers interception, turnover on downs and another Ewers interception. Cincinnati's offense also caught fire during that stretch with touchdowns on its first four possessions after halftime, which ended the competitive portion of the game.

▶️ Full Bengals-Dolphins Recap

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Ideally for Ewers, things will get better as he picks up more experience at the NFL level. But he couldn't have faced a more vulnerable defense in his first career start, and he was unable to capitalize on the chance.

Perhaps he will next time out when the Dolphins host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.