The first month shaped up as the Bengals' most daunting

Authentic Jordan Richards Jersey , with three road games in the first four. The offense and defense were getting accustomed to new systems. And then the injuries began.Running back Joe Mixon tore knee cartilage. Center Billy Price tore a foot ligament. Linebacker Preston Brown sprained an ankle. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended all month for another NFL policy violation.Cincinnati (3-1) came through it successfully with a handful of big plays and a resurgent Andy Dalton . Now the Bengals are getting some of those important players back as they settle into a more cushy part of the schedule — four home games in the next five, starting with the Miami Dolphins (3-1) on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.Things are looking up in Cincinnati, off to its best start since it won the AFC North in 2015."It's a new team, a new energy around here," cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said.The Dolphins are trying to regroup from their first loss, a 38-7 drubbing by the Patriots that highlighted their flaws. Both lines got pushed around , and injuries forced adjustments that didn't turn out so well."It was a humbling experience," defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said.The Bengals want to keep their momentum going during home games against the Dolphins and against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers the following week. The Dolphins need to pull out of their one-week funk and not allow it to turn into a downward trend.Some things to watch Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium:DALTON'S RESURGENCE: The Bengals' eighth-year quarterback has been a key to their turnaround, getting off to his best start since 2015 in a redesigned offense. He's thrown 11 touchdown passes, his best total for an opening four-game stretch.During a 37-36 win at Atlanta on Sunday, he had a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in the first half, when he missed on only two passes. He led a winning 16-play drive, culminating in a touchdown pass to A.J. Green with 7 seconds left."We have to keep playing the way we have been and keep the confidence level high, because we've shown we can do it," Dalton said. "We just have to keep it going."HUMBLE PIE?Godchaux hinted that the Dolphins lost a little motivation by winning their first three games Montee Ball Jersey Salute to Service , so the drubbing by the Patriots could provide a correction. The Dolphins lead the AFC East despite ranking in the bottom half of the league in many offensive and defensive categories."Believe it or not, we needed that loss to get back on track," Godchaux said. "As a team we just needed that. We were 3-0. We got a wakeup call."ON THE LINEThe Dolphins' lines have been depleted and got pushed around against the Patriots, who rushed for 175 yards while the Dolphins were held to 172 total yards.Center Daniel Kilgore suffered a season-ending triceps injury, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was released after another poor game punctuated by a sideline outburst. Veteran Travis Swanson replaces Kilgore. The Dolphins earlier lost guard Josh Sitton with a season-ending shoulder injury."We just got crushed," coach Adam Gase said.NOT MOVING THE CHAINSThe Dolphins have converted 31 percent of their third downs, which ranks third-worst in the NFL. They were 3 for 11 against New England and had the ball for less than 24 minutes."We were bad on third, we were bad on second, and we were bad on first," quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. "It's all tied together. When you're in third-and-long situations, which we were, you're not going to be in good situations. It really comes down to first and second down, being efficient and keeping it third-and-manageable."Tannehill has often been knocked for his play on third down. This year his quarterback rating is 72.8 in those situations, compared with 106.1 overall.LETTING THEM MOVE THE CHAINSThe Dolphins will be going against a defense that's last in the league by far on third down, allowing opponents to convert 57 percent of the time. It's the biggest problem with a defense that's ranked 29th overall and has allowed the 10th-most points in the league.Cincinnati hopes that getting Burfict back from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancers will help fix the problems."I feel like he balances everything out Deatrich Wise Jr Jersey ," Kirkpatrick said.AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Davie, Florida, contributed to this report. Tom Brady held his breath as he watched the final play unfold from the sideline.He saw Mitchell Trubisky heave the ball toward the goal line, Kevin White haul it in and a swarming defense keep the ball out of the end zone. That was just enough to preserve another victory for New England.Brady threw for three touchdowns and the Patriots hung on to beat the Chicago Bears 38-31 Sunday when White got stopped at the 1 on a 54-yard pass from Trubisky.About four or five defenders swarmed White after he leaped to haul in that long heave and spun toward the goal line. Some Bears players tried to push him across. But he got stopped just short of the goal line, sealing the fourth straight win for New England."You hold your breath when I saw him jump up and catch it," Brady said. "I didn't have the angle on the goal line. He was getting close to the end zone. They were pushing and we were pushing. It was probably a half yard or a yard, pretty close. Good for us to hold them out."Even if the execution wasn't perfect."Just too many people around the ball," said Josh Gordon, who was in on the play. "I went up to grab it. Somebody else went up to grab it. There was pushing and pulling, everything like that. He ended up with it so it was a great play. ... Fortunately enough, we were able to hold him out of the end zone."As for White?"Just tried to fight and get in," he said. "Tried to change the game, make a big-time play. So after I caught it, I thought I had a chance, like I said Limited Rex Burkhead Jersey , for a split-second and once I felt a bunch of guys I knew it was over."The Patriots (5-2) also got two special teams touchdowns and came out on top even though they were without Rob Gronkowski.The five-time Pro Bowl tight end missed the game because of ankle and back injuries. But New England squeezed past the Bears (3-3).UNBEATEN AGAINST BEARSBrady improved to 5-0 against Chicago, one of five teams yet to beat him. He was 25 of 36 for 277 yards and an interception.Cordarrelle Patterson ran a kickoff back 95 yards for his sixth career return TD. Kyle Van Noy became the first New England player in 22 years to return a blocked punt for a touchdown.Gordon caught four passes for 100 yards. He spun past a tackler on a 55-yarder early in the fourth that put the ball on the 1 and set up a 2-yard reception by James White to make it 38-24 with 8:40 left.White had 57 yards receiving and two TDs. He also ran for a team-high 40 yards.Julian Edelman had a touchdown catch. Rookie running back Sony Michel left in the second quarter because of a knee injury. But the Patriots beat the Bears for the eighth time in nine games since the 1985 team got routed in the Super Bowl.CONSECUTIVE LOSSESChicago has dropped two in a row after winning three straight to take sole possession of the NFC North lead for the first time since 2013. The Bears' three losses are by a combined 11 points."Coming up 1 yard short and not tying the game and going to overtime, that's not good enough anymore," Trubisky said.Star pass rusher Khalil Mack was largely a non-factor after being listed as questionable because of an ankle injury he suffered last week at Miami, often dropping back in pass coverage. And Trubisky struggled with his accuracy, though coach Matt Nagy didn't quite see it that way."A lot of people were out of rhythm," he said.The second-year pro completed 26 of 50 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for a career-high 81 yards and a score.Trey Burton had nine receptions for a career-high 126 yards, including an 11-yard TD with 4:13 remaining.BLOCK, RETURNVan Noy is the first New England player to return a blocked punt for a TD since Tedy Bruschi against Baltimore in 1996.He scooped up the ball and returned it 29 yards after Dont'a Hightower blocked Pat O'Donnell's attempt, giving the Patriots a 31-24 lead with just under six minutes left in the third.It was also the first blocked punt return for a TD against Chicago since the New York Giants' Tom Flynn recovered one in the end zone on Sept. 14, 1987.NATIONAL ANTHEMThere were no protests by either team.INJURIESPatriots: Michel had to be helped off the field after he got twisted around by Bilal Nichols as he was tackled on the first play of the second quarter. He lost a fumble on the play and needed assistance to get to the sideline. In the previous three games, Michel rushed for 316 yards and four touchdowns.UP NEXTPatriots: Visit Buffalo on Oct. 29.Bears: Host the New York Jets on Oct. 28.