Bengals center and captain Ted Karras says one of the sweetest things in the NFL is running the ball in the red zone.

Then Sunday in Miami, where Jackie Gleason made "How sweet it is!" famous, the Bengals offensive line produced the sweetest of touchdowns. A four-run bolt by Samaje Perine that gave the Bengals the lead for good and a 12-yard glide by Chase Brown that added on in the 45-21 rout of the Dolphins.

It marked the first time since Sept. 29, 2024, that Bengals running backs had rushed for two zone red-zone scores in the same game, another example of the offensive line playing its best ball in the Zac Taylor era.

Since quarterback Joe Flacco arrived on Columbus Day and through his six starts and Joe Burrow’s last four, the Bengals have the second-most passing yards in the NFL, the fourth-most passing yards and the eighth-most points. They're doing it while allowing 16 sacks, tied for the third fewest in that stretch.

"Guys are winning one-on-one blocks and combo blocks, and we're just executing at a high level," Karras said Monday. "We have a lot of great game plan runs and core runs that fit our personnel. Hat on a hat and getting downhill. Chase and Samaje are really running hard and running this offense well."

Exhibit A is Perine's score, an example of the double-team blocks known as duo that have energized the run game. Karras calls it "32 duo," this year's bread-and butter. What makes it go, Karras says, is being able "remove," the front coming off the ball. The other factor is the back having enough patience to give the double-team time to consume.

It's been a staple of years past, but not like this with the amount of "removal," combined with the patience of vets like Brown and Perine.

So, on that first red zone run, Karras teamed with rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild to wipe out defensive tackle Benito Jones as Perine patiently waited before shooting by. On the other side, right guard Dalton Risner and right tackle Amarius Mims eliminated Jordan Phillips.

Since Flacco's debut, the Bengals have averaged 4.6 yards per rush, tied for the NFL's fourth highest. At 5.2 yards per, Brown is one eight backs with at least 132 carries to average at least five yards per carry.

First-year offensive line coach Scott Peters points to the positives of "Duo," the concept he learned from Bengals Hall of Fame O-Line guru Jim McNally, a gap run that allows linemen to get downhill quickly without pulling.

"We're trying to come off the ball right now. Be physical inside. That's a brand we believe in," Peters said. "Because I think when you have an offense where you throw the ball a lot, it's an opportunity to take it to the defense, and the guys have taken ownership of that."

As Karras said, they've been winning their one-on-ones, too. On Brown's 12-yarder, there were three. Karras reached the NFL's leading tackler, Jordyn Brooks, and shielded him off while Risner blew up defensive tackle Zeek Biggers, and tight end Drew Sample walked back safety Ifeatu Melifonwu.

"If we can keep that going," Karras said, "It's going to be a good end to the 2025 campaign."

JD's Moment

Bengals veteran nickel cornerback Jalen Davis didn't notice on Monday.

Safety Jordan Battle had Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, an Alabama teammate, sign his No. 17 jersey after the game, and it was displayed on the chair in front of Battle's locker.

Davis' locker is next to Battle's. It was Waddle who Davis was covering late in the third quarter Sunday when he made a textbook find-the-ball leaping interception, the first of his career in his eighth NFL season and 62^nd game.

That would be Davis, an undrafted free agent of the Dolphins in 2018, vs. Waddle, the sixth pick in the 2021 draft.

"Best vs. the best," Battle said. "You go up against Jaylen Waddle and catch a pick. That makes him one of the best, right?"

It certainly made him the center of his adoring teammates Sunday. Taylor calls him "a fan favorite," in the locker room, and here's why:

"He's been with the Bengals since 2020 as a special teams regular during the playoff runs in 2021 and 2022, and a practice squadder the last two years. After getting called up for two games last year, he didn't get the nod again until last month when Cam Taylor-Britt went down for the season.

Instead of turning to youth as they have lately, defensive coordinator Al Golden called on the 29-year-old Davis. He was already going with two rookie linebackers and felt he needed the experience. It meant moving Dax Hill from the inside to the outside to make way for Davis, and Hill has been so good out there they may very well have found one of their 2026 outside starting cornerbacks.

"(Davis) really settled us in. He gets lined up really quickly. He puts everybody at ease around him," Golden said Monday. "People don't realize how intertwined the nickel safety and linebackers are, pre- snap. We have a saying. The nickel drives the bus, and he does.

"He's got to make great decisions. That's what we needed at that point. We needed somebody who's a veteran there. We couldn't afford to have another guy that was kind of training on the job, And he really, he really settled us down, allowed the two young guys (linebackers) inside to take that next step, and took a took a chip off the plate of the safeties too."

It's been quite a five-game stretch. Along with that pick, Davis has racked up the first three starts of his career, the second sack of his career and the third pass defensed of his career. All the while playing 177 snaps. It's more than double the most he's ever played in a year, which was 72 in 2020.

"Personally, it's the happiest moments of my life," Davis said. "Eight years and I'm finally able to play some football. Be a starter out there.

"But it's not the best time as a whole team. You want to be in the playoffs and play for a championship."

Golden wondered aloud just how many transactions Davis has been through in his career. Local 12 digital sports columnist Richard Skinner showed Golden the list in the media guide, and even the NFL coaching vet gaped.

Davis working on his 21^st NFL move.

"It's a lesson for a lot of the young guys in the room. You just put your head down," Golden said. "(You) could probably ask him how many times he's been cut, signed to the practice squad, active roster, traded, all those things. Here he is, eight years into it. He's pretty much at this point, guaranteeing a ninth."

Now, Davis has some college cred and jokingly challenged the media to do its research when asked when his last interception came at Utah State.

"When I had three in a game," Davis said.

Those were the last of the 11 in his career that day against Brigham Young, when he took two to the house from 30 and 50 yards. Three weeks before against Idaho State, he had two picks and took one 25 yards for a pick-six ...

Slants and Screens

Battle noted it was the first time since he's been a starter that he got pulled from a game because his team was in command. Someone reminded him that he also got pulled from the last game he played at Hard Rock Stadium.

"I got ejected from the national championship game for targeting," Battle said of the incident in the game Alabama beat Ohio State for the 2020 title. "This was a much better feeling for sure."

Battle, a Fort Lauderdale product, continues to solidify his spot for the future. A week after his fourth interception, he forced his second fumble. He said he had 24 people there and the number grew during the game.

"You could hear them," Battle said. "They were talking to people in other sections, and after the game there were about 30 in the (postgame) family and friends section." …

Taylor said wide receiver Tee Higgins came through the game OK after he got the nod to play following a visit to a specialist in Pittsburgh on Thursday morning in the wake of missing two of the last three games with a concussion. Taylor didn't think Higgins would be back for practice that day, but he walked out just as it began …

With Christmas on Thursday, the Bengals have the schedule this week of a Monday night game with Arizona coming in for a 1 p.m. game Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Monday was off with a light workout Tuesday ...