Dolphins Tie With Bears in First Preseason Game

The Dolphins then got a gift when Ethan Bonner broke up a tightly contested pass, leading to an easy interception for safety Patrick McMorris. However, Wilson took a bad sack on the ensuing drive, allowing the Bears to kick a field goal to make it 14-10 at halftime. 

Neither team came out of the half playing particularly well, as it took a Quinn Ewers fumble inside the five-yard line to set up the Bears for a quick scoring drive to go up 17-14. 

Ewers took over for Wilson after the first drive of the third quarter and did not get off to a good start. He missed a wide-open receiver on his first throw and then had the strip sack. 

Miami leaned on rookie running back Ollie Gordon II to take back the lead on the following drive. He had six carries for 28 yards and a touchdown on that drive. This was also when Mattison went down. 

The Bears scored on the next drive to retake the lead at 24-21. They were aided by a few Dolphins’ penalties, but Miami answered with a field goal drive to tie the game at 24. 

A few drives later, Ewers threw three consecutive interceptions and fumbled on fourth down, preventing Miami from trying a winning field goal. Still, the Dolphins’ defense did hold firm to keep the game tied. 

Offensive Recap

The Dolphins’ offense didn’t exactly rack up yards after the first drive. It finished with 272 total yards, including 171 passing yards and 101 rushing yards. 

Tahj Washington and Malik Washington were the biggest bright spots in the receiver room. Tahj finished with three catches for 54 yards, and Malik had four catches for 18 yards. Both players were separating at will against the Bears’ man coverage. 

All four of Miami’s running backs had good flashes. Gordon, Wright, and Mattison had touchdowns, and De’Von Achane averaged 7.3 yards per rush on his only three carries. 

The left side of the Dolphins’ starting offensive line — Savaiinaea and Patrick — got a ton of push early in the game. The only disappointment from the starting group was right tackle Larry Borom, who missed a couple of blocks. 

In fact, the Dolphins’ backup offensive lineman might’ve had the worst day of any position group on the field Sunday. Germain Ifedi was rough in his limited action, and Kion Smith got run over on the play when Ewers fumbled. 

The other group to be concerned about is the backup quarterbacks. Wilson finished completing five of nine passes for 96 yards, but he took four sacks and looked overwhelmed in the pocket quite a bit. 

Ewers struggled from start to finish. He completed just five of his 19 passes for 91 yards and had two fumbles. The Texas product was not accurate or playing on time at any point, and his ball security out of the pocket was rough. 

Defensive Recap

In total, the Dolphins’ defense allowed 295 total yards, with 205 coming through the air and 90 coming on the ground. 

By far the biggest standout for the Dolphins’ defense was UDFA edge rusher Derrick McClendon. He had two tackles for loss, one sack, and likely several other pressures. 

McClendon is on the outside looking in for reps in the edge rusher room. Chop Robinson, Bradley Chubb, and Jaelan Phillips are locked in, making it a big battle between Quinton Bell, Cameron Goode, Grayson Murphy and McClendon. 

Murphy had a sack in the game, but McClendon stood out a lot more. 

Rookie first-round pick Kenneth Grant didn’t technically start the game, but he played plenty of snaps in the first half. He had four total tackles, one pass defended, and should get credit for at least one QB hurry. 

It’s hard to judge how the Dolphins’ secondary played off the TV angle, but the Bears' receivers appeared to have plenty of space throughout the game. It should be noted that safety Elijah Campbell left the game early with a lower-body injury. 

Special Teams Recap 

There’s a fair argument that Miami’s special teams was its best unit. Jason Sanders nailed his only field goal attempt and all of his extra points. He was penalized for a kickoff not reaching the return box, but outside of that, the Dolphins were great on special teams. 

The Dolphins got three kickoff returns of at least 37 yards, with Dee Eskridge, A.J. Henning, and Erik Ezunkanma got one apiece. The Dolphins also got solid punt returns from Malik Washington (19 yards) and Eskridge (16 yards). 

On the flip side, Miami did not allow a kickoff to go further than 22 yards (20 is a given), and no punt returns went for more than 10 yards. 

In the punter battle, Jake Bailey got the first shot, and he landed his only punt inside the 20. Ryan Stonehouse had a 50-yard punt on his only attempt.