MIAMI _ Bengals safety Jordan Battle came back home Sunday here at Hard Rock Stadium to have the last laugh with two first-half interceptions of quarterback Malik Willis that set the script for the 31-24 victory over the Dolphins.

"I told my friends I appreciate them for coming out and supporting me and seeing me play for the first time. It was cool," said Battle, "from a few blocks north," in Fort Lauderdale.

But it wasn't cool. In fact, at a suffocating south Florida 90 degrees, it tied for the hottest game in Bengals history along with the 2002 opener at Paycor Stadium.

Battle had taken some heat last week when he revealed some Bengals' defensive secrets. But he learned his lesson. When asked if Willis taped the ball before throwing Battle's second interception, Battle smiled and offered, "I don't know."

But what he did know on third-and-four from the Dolphins 29 late in the first half is that Willis was in a scramble drill.

"Just playing my position. Staying in coverage. Not trying to rush him when he gets out of the pocket," Battle said. "Just feeling routes behind me. I saw him throw it and I just broke on it."

That turned into quarterback Joe Burrow’s third touchdown pass of the day to not Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. A two-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tanner Hudson with a minute left on the way to the Bengals' 21-7 halftime lead as Battle celebrated his first double-pick game since he had two for Alabama against Mississippi State.

Another Ja'Marr Gem

Not only did Bengals All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase play after getting out of concussion protocol Saturday, he knocked out the Dolphins with another jaw-dropping touchdown catch he has made the norm this season.

"I'll just let ya'all rank them at this point," said Chase as the highlights start to run together.

This one was a classic time capsule. Burrow climbed the pocket as Chase ran a double move, and he heaved it 45 yards into the end zone, where cornerback  Jason Marshall Jr. was mauling Chase from behind.

Burrow put it on Chase's right shoulder, and as he was going down getting hacked, he caught it with a bicep or an elbow, he's not sure.

Ballgame. 28-10 in the last minute of the third quarter.

"I stuck the corner outside, and Joe led me inside," Chase said. "I just had to get the high point and get the flag, and he didn't give it to me."

The toughest part of his week, he says, wasn't coming back from the concussion. Chase, a famous late-sleeper, says getting into Paycor by 7:30 a,m. for the daily concussion protocol before the meetings was the real challenge.

"That's a protection I really like. It buys me time and space to push the ball down the field," said Burrow as his offensive line shifted left and opened up the middle of the pocket for him to throw.

"And when you can push the ball down the field with the guys that we have, and we can buy that kind of time, you see what No. 1 can do whenever the ball's in the air. Obviously, unbelievable play. We don't want to take it for granted, but we're used to it at this point, you know?"

Running On Empty

The Bengals pounded the ball early on the Dolphins, when they kept it more than neartly ten minutes in the first half and the Dolphins never seemed to catch their breath in the historic heat after that.

Of course, Burrow was at his NFL all-time accurate best as he hit 17 of 21 in the first half on the way to converting nine of 13 third downs. But the Bengals, in the wake of a Zac-Taylor-low 23 yards rushing last week, made sure they ran it 31 times for 117 yards.

"Leek week was last week. We put that one behind us," Taylor said. "I thought we had a good week of practice. I thought our linemen really came off the ball during practice. I felt confidence coming to this game. I thought our guys finished the right way. All the guys that ran down those runs."

Perine led the way with 68 yards on 14 carries, his biggest day in 50 weeks since he had 94 on nine carries against the Jets.

"He's just Mr. Reliable and he has been my entire time here since he's been on our team," Burrow said. "You can count on him to fall forward and get us an extra two. You can count on him to win against the linebacker in coverage. He's such a valuable piece for us and certainly doesn't get enough credit for it."

The Hudson Drive

Hudson kept his own touchdown drive alive with a marvelous eight-yard catch on third-and-seven in the middle of the field when he moved with the grass with a scooping catch in front of the linebacker and he got behind another one for the touchdown.

"He's just Mr. Dependable, whether he's on the practice squad, whether he's on the roster; he's going to show up," Taylor said. "He's been who we thought he was. Tanner shows up and makes plays, never complains. Erick (All) goes down for a play, he's in. Mike goes down for a play, he's in. He knows them all, he can play them all. I just need the defense to decide who he is, so we know if we're going to get base or nickel when he's in there."

The Dolphins have estimable linebackers, particularly  against the run. But they couldn't keep up with Burrow's deep well of receivers, never mind Chase and Higgins.

That's how Burrow started the scoring after Dohnte Meyers opened the game with an 81-yard kick return that matched his uniform jersey.

On third-and-goal from the 6, Burrow got tackling machine rookie Jacob Rodriguez (who the Bengals loved in the draft) on Gesicki across the back line of the end zone and rifled it to ease the jitters back home facing a winless club.

"That's how we drew it up if we got that coverage," Gesicki said. "It wasn't like man, but he ended up him matching me. Shout out to the coaching staff for giving me a chance there."

On another third-and-six from the six in a 7-7 game, running back Samaje Perine, with the safety wide to take away Chase, was able to run an angle route on Rodriguez in the middle of the field for a 14-7 lead.

Burrow noted the handiwork of pass game coordinator Justin Rascati.

"The first touchdown was a great call. Rascati works really hard on those red-zone plans and that was one drawn up for that coverage, so that was a great beater," Burrow said. "The second one, Samaje just went and won on a choice route , and the way that they were playing, that was really the look that we wanted."

And then, Hudson is Hudson.

"Tanner made an unbelievable play on third down. He made a great play in the red zone," Burrow said. "Dohnte won against man coverage on third down. Mike's going to be Mike, obviously. I don't

know how many touchdowns he has, but it feels like every time he catches it, it's a touchdown. Samaje made a big time play down there as well."

Slants and Screens

Both Burrow and head coach Zac Taylor weren't particularly pleased with the particulars of this one as they head into the bye week. Taylor detested two 15-yard penalties, and Burrow didn't like a fumble (running back Chase Brown) or field goal inside the 10.

"A lot of frustrating things on our end. We had two personal fouls. We fumbled twice in the red zone. We caught a kickoff on the four-yard line," Taylor said. "We had a penalty on a field goal that led to a touchdown, gave them four points, and gave up over 200 yards rushing. Plenty to clean up. The bye hits us at a great time." …

How dominant has edge Boye Mafe been? When told it was Mafe who tipped the Willis pass on his first interception, Battle said, "Of course." Mafe, among the NFL leaders in pressures, added his third sack of the season …

"Our goal was to make him throw from the pocket. Put him in duress," Mafe said. "That was the main thing we had to do this game. Not give him a chance to get time and make decisions."

Mafe had a tipped pass on the first play of last week's game against Jacksonville. But that one fell harmlessly to the ground.

"Whenever a DB gets a PBU or a D-lineman gets a pressure, capitalize on it. Play off each other," Mafe said. "That's what I was alluding to last week is play as one. " ...

Drafted by the Dolphins in 2018, Gesicki, with his fourth touchdown of the season and leering at his career-high six, had a nice, long celebration. Especially with his son in the stands a few days after celebrating his first birthday,

"A long griddy, of course," said Gesicki, who then took time to wave to his family behind the Dolphins bench. "I wanted him to have some place cool, and those seats are big and kind of underground." ...