(Chicago, IL) —Â Despite a 10-3 lead at halftime, the Miami Dolphins (0-1) fell to the Chicago Bears (1-0) Â in their preseason opener by a score of 27-10 on Thursday night at Soldier Field.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who picked apart a rebuilt Bears defense, threw for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive by completing six of seven passes for 56 yards. On fourth and goal, Tannehill hit wideout Jarvis Landry for the touchdown with 6:59 remaining in the first quarter.
Tannehill’s counterpart, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, finished his outing going four of seven for 42 yards, while Chicago backup quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a solid outing with 151 yards passing on 17 of 27 attempts.
As for the Dolphins’ backups in the 2nd half, things did not go very well as Miami was outscored 24-0 by Chicago to finish the game. The Dolphins’ third and fourth string quarterbacks, McLeod Bethel-Thompson (five of 12 for 71 yards and two interceptions) and Josh Freeman (five of 16 for 76 yards and one interception) did not do much too impress during their time on the field.
On the ground, Miami running back Lamar Miller made the best out of his limited touches as he galloped for 32 yards on only three carries with the first-team offense. For Chicago, their running game gashed the Dolphins for 166 yards and two rushing touchdowns, including a 54-yard touchdown run by Senorise Perry late in the fourth quarter.
Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, a sixth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2o13, led the Dolphins in receiving with four catches for 49 yards, while wideout LaRon Byrd made an outstanding diving catch for a gain of 34 yards.
Miami, who finished with an underwhelming 8-8 record last season, looked quite good until Chicago’s reserves came into the game. After they finished their 2014 season with a 5-11 record, the Bears hired general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox while overhauling the defense, but there clearly is still work to do.
Up next, the Dolphins travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers for their Week 2 matchup of the preseason. The contest, which is slated to kick off shortly after 7:00 pm ET, will be broadcast live locally on CBS4 Miami.
