5 Instant Takeaways: Miami Dolphins lose to Cincinnati Bengals | Schad

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained injuries to the head and neck in the second quarter of Thursday night's game at Cincinnati, completely overshadowing any result.

Tagovailoa was taken to a local hospital and Miami said he was conscious and had movement in all extremities. Tagovailoa was to be discharged and expected to travel back to Miami with the team.

Veteran Teddy Bridgewater replaced Tagovailoa and played relatively well.

Miami fell to Cincinnati, 27-15, falling to 3-1 before a national television audience.

Bridgewater, one of the most accomplished and best backups in the NFL, will give Miami a chance for however long he's required to play. All thoughts and prayers remain with Tagovailoa, of course.

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Tagovailoa entered the game with back and ankle injuries and was also evaluated for a possible head injury during Miami's win over Buffalo last Sunday. He was not diagnosed with a concussion then.

The timing of any injury is unfortunate. But for Tagovailoa, this is especially unfortunate timing as he has been excelling under first-year coach Mike McDaniel, showing glimpses of why he was the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Dolphins appear to be a franchise on the rise but missed on an opportunity to improve to 12-1 in their last 13 games overall. Miami also could have improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1995.

The schedule does soften. And the Dolphins will take a 3-1 start to McDaniel's first season, as they were underdogs in three of those games, including Ravens, Bills and Bengals.

Here are five takeaways from Thursday night:

Competent play by Teddy Bridgewater

When former Saints coach Sean Payton suggested earlier this season that Miami would end up going to Bridgewater at some point, this wasn't the reason he had in mind.

But Payton has confidence in the veteran signal-caller, who once played for him. And the Dolphins signed Bridgewater as a very solid insurance policy.

Bridgewater may not have the upside that many have seen from Tagovailoa over the first three games of this season. But he is one of the best backups in the NFL.

Bridgewater led a touchdown drive at the end of the first half that brought Miami within 14-12. The drive was capped by a 7-yard shovel pass to Chase Edmonds.

McDaniel views Bridgewater as a calming force and he provided that after entering the game.

Near the end of the third quarter, Bridgewater loaded up to complete a 64-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. Hill beat Jesse Bates and hauled it in after a bobble.

Trailing 20-15, Bridgewater scrambled for a key third-down conversion with less than five minutes to play. Unfortunately Bridgewater was intercepted by Vonn Bell when targeting Mike Gesicki with the Dolphins driving for the go-ahead score and less than four minutes to play.

Some sloppy Thursday football

The Dolphins have been among the best in the league at minimizing penalties over the last few seasons. But in the first half on Thursday night, there were a few too many.

In the first half, Miami had five penalties for 36 yards, including a bad late hit credited to cornerback Keion Crossen.

Miami's defense, surely tired after facing 92 snaps only four days earlier, missed tackles.

Among the players who missed for Miami were Brandon Jones and Melvin Ingram.

Not very sharp at times, the Dolphins also dropped a possible touchdown. Running back Chase Edmonds, who is usually sure-handed, failed to haul in a catch in the end zone.

Xavien Howard not himself yet

Howard came into the game nursing groin and glute injuries.

In the first half, Howard was beaten by Tee Higgins for a 59-yard touchdown. Joe Burrow identified Howard in 1-on1 coverage and exploited it down the left sideline.

At the end of the third quarter, Howard exited the game with a groin injury and was listed as questionable to return. This put Miami in a bind because Kader Kohou, Keion Crossen and Nik Needham suddenly became the top three cornerbacks.

The Dolphins are hoping Byron Jones can return from the physically unable to perform list as early as Week 5. So far this season, Howard has not seemed to be quite as good as usual.

Kohou and Crossen started on Thursday, ahead of Needham, who did enter later to make a key play.

Kohou also provided good end zone coverage on Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd. But later he was involved in a long-passing play to Boyd. Still, he was solid overall.

Crossen was beaten by Ja'Marr Chase for a key long pass as the game approached its two-minute warning.

Howard should benefit from three extra days of rest before hopefully suiting up to play at the Jets on October 9.

Offensive line strides

Miami's offensive line is clearly improved. The additions of Terron Armstead and Connor Williams at left tackle and center, respectively, have provided stability.

Greg Little, subbing for injured Austin Jackson at right tackle, also continues to play well.

Though Miami's run game was not dominant, veteran Raheem Mostert did finally gain some traction, with 15 carries for 69 yards before the game was decided.

Miami quarterbacks were also sacked only one time - the play when Tua was injured. This continues a trend as Miami entered the contest with a very respectable rate of sacks per passes attempted.

This and That

It was interesting to see the Dolphins use Tyreek Hill on punt returns for the first time this season. ... Melvin Ingram had a key pressure and continued to excel after being named AFC Player of the Month for September. ... The Dolphins are incredibly effective when facing fourth down and short. On Thursday, it was Eric Rowe, with help from Jevon Holland and Needham, stopping a run by Joe Mixon on fourth down. ... Before Tagovailoa left with injury, he had two plays in a three-snap span that demonstrate an inconsistency he will try to eliminate. Tagovailoa had an awesome completion to Mike Gesicki for 21 yards. On that play, there were five Bengals in the area and Tua dropped it perfectly into the tight window. But then two plays later,  Tua threw it up late for Hill and it was underthrown and intercepted. ... Jason Sanders made his third, fourth and fifth field goals of the season but did miss one, as well as an extra point.

Joe Schad is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins vs Bengals takeaways: Tua Tagovailoa injury overshadows game