The punt return and coverage units have been bright spots for the Cincinnati Bengals this season, and they provided two more big plays Sunday in the 17-13 loss to Miami.

The first one came on the team’s first punt when rookie linebacker Vontaze Burfict alertly pounced on the ball after it glanced off the foot of the Dolphins’ Reshad Jones. The play gave the Bengals a first down at the Miami 26 and led to a Mike Nugent 42-yard field goal for the first points.

The second came with 10:34 left in the game when Jeromy Miles dove and swatted the ball back into the field of play just before it landed on the goal line for a touchback.

The Dolphins challenged, claiming Miles stepped on the goal line, but the call was upheld.

“I try to control my body as much as I can, and I think the coaches do a good job simulating things in practice,” said Miles, who also downed a punt at the 2 in the first half. “When you go out there, it’s just like on offense or defense, you try to make plays to help the team win.”

The Bengals rank fifth in the NFL in punt return average at 13.6, and defensively they rank fifth in the league by allowing 5.9 yards per return. Eleven of Kevin Huber’s 20 punts have been downed inside the 20.

“(Huber) has done a great job throughout the season, and our guys covering have done an excellent job of downing those punts inside the 5-yard line,” head coach Marvin Lewis said. “We just have to keep that up. Conversely, when they had those opportunities, we got touchbacks. Our guys did a good job of getting their punter off-rhythm and doing what they needed to do to provide for the touchback.”

Lost sack: Originally credited with an NFL-best 17 sacks through four games, the Bengals have lost one to a league scoring change.

Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said the issue was a second-quarter play at Washington in Week 3 where Carlos Dunlap tackled Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and forced a fumble. The league changed the stat from a sack to a tackle for loss because it was deemed to be a running play.

The Bengals added two more sacks Sunday against Miami to bring their official total to 18, which ranks tied for first with Green Bay and Chicago heading into the Monday night game between Houston (13 sacks) and the New York Jets (five).

A.J. accolades: On Monday the NFL announced that Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is the eighth player in league history to reach 100 career receptions in 20 or fewer games. His nine catches against the Dolphins on Sunday put his total at 101, tying him for third-fastest all-time. The only two players to reach 100 faster are Anquan Boldin (16 games) and Reggie Bush (19).

On Sunday the Elias Sports Bureau said Green was the first player in NFL history to record at least 100 catches, 1,500 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns by his 20^th game.