Things almost went perfectly for the Chicago Bears during their bye week. Not only did they get the news that wide receiver Anthony Miller will return from his shoulder injury, events away from Halas Hall also broke their way. The Green Bay Packers lost to the Detroit Lions, giving them some breathing space in the NFC North. Not only that but their opponent for next week? They might be a bit shell-shocked.
The Miami Dolphins got off to a roaring start in 2018. They went 3-0 in their first three games, playing like a well-balanced team that could win a number of ways. Things change fast though in the NFL. It started, as it typically does for the Fins, in Foxborough where the Patriots absolutely hammered them 38-7 in week four.
No big deal, right? It’s one game and the Patriots are a tough team. All the Dolphins had to do was come out strong the next week and assert what happened was a fluke. For 45 minutes in Cincinnati, they did just that. Then things went completely off the rails.
Chicago Bears might catch Dolphins desperately playing damage control
This might actually be who the Dolphins really are. Their first three wins were against the Titans, Jets, and Raiders. Two of those have losing records and the other just lost to the Buffalo Bills. So one could call that an easy schedule. The moment they run into the AFC champion Patriots and a 3-1 Bengals team? They lose two-straight. In pretty brutal fashion no less.
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Ryan Tannehill has looked especially bad. The quarterback had just 100 yards and an interception against New England. He followed that up with 185 yards, 1 TD and two more interceptions. Can one say he’ll be ready to go against the Bears defense and that ferocious pass rush? Not based on the most recent evidence.
If Ryan Tannehill pulls off a miracle backdoor cover here I'll never make fun of him for pretending to be an actual dolphin again. pic.twitter.com/sWxTx70dMU
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 7, 2018
Then there’s the mental part of all this. Miami is reeling right now. They’ve been wounded and instead of stopping the bleeding, it’s only getting worse. Not only did they get crushed by their hated rivals, they followed that by coughing up a 14-point lead in the 4th quarter. They have zero momentum and worse still they lost left tackle Laremy Tunsil to a concussion, leaving his status for next Sunday in doubt.
There isn’t much for this team to feel good about. Now they get a well-rested and healthy Bears team coming in who will have had two weeks to prepare. While no game is a gimme, Chicago has every reason to feel confident going into this one.
