Preview: Dolphins at Bears

[October 17, 2014]  SportsDirect Inc.
 
 Although the Chicago Bears prevented a three-game losing skid with a win last week, they'll need a repeat performance on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins to avoid an 0-3 start to the season at Soldier Field. Matt Forte rushed for a pair of second-half touchdowns and reeled in double-digit receptions for the second straight contest in Chicago's 27-13 victory over Atlanta last week. Jay Cutler threw for 381 yards and found a familiar target in Brandon Marshall (six receptions for 113 yards), who wasn't shy about saying that his former organization was "a quarterback away from having a (good) team" in 2010-11.

Marshall was summarily traded to the Bears upon coach Joe Philbin's arrival in South Florida while Ryan Tannehill replaced Chad Henne upon being drafted with the eighth overall pick by the Dolphins in 2012. Tannehill's tumultuous tenure has seen its ups and down, and the 26-year-old continued that trend by tossing two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 27-24 loss to Green Bay last week. The Dolphins' defense didn't do him any favors, either, as it allowed Aaron Rodgers to cap a 60-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring strike to tight end Andrew Quarless with 3 seconds remaining.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Bears -3.5 O/U: 49
 

ABOUT THE DOLPHINS (2-3): Lamar Miller is expected to see an increase in his workload with veteran Knowshon Moreno suffering a season-ending knee injury last Sunday. Miller has collected three touchdowns in the last two contests, but faces a Bears rush defense that ranks 10th in the league (103.7 yards per game) - and allowed just 42 to the Falcons last week. Mike Wallace continued his strong play this season by reeling in five receptions for the third time in four weeks while adding his fourth touchdown in five games versus the Packers.

ABOUT THE BEARS (3-3): While Forte (league-leading 46 receptions) and the high-octane offense receive plenty of fanfare, Chicago's defense has steadily improved after a rocky debut. Defensive end Willie Young recorded a pair of sacks last week and leads the league with seven. The Bears' defense ranks third in takeaways with 12 and could add to that total versus Tannehill, who has thrown five interceptions this season and 35 in his short career.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Marshall (6-4) and fellow Chicago WR Alshon Jeffery (6-3) hold a distinct height advantage over Miami CBs Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan. "Unless we sign Luol Deng, he just signed with the (Miami) Heat ... we're (both) 5-10, so we've just got to deal with it," Pro Bowler Grimes said.

2. Dolphins WR Brian Hartline was held without a catch last week and has just 16 receptions after amassing a career-best 76 last season.

3. Bears S Ryan Mundy has been fined $22,050 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Falcons WR Roddy White last week.

PREDICTION: Bears 31, Dolphins 17

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.