The Chicago Bears defense doesn’t fear anybody in this league. That’s the level of confidence they play with. However, they’re not cocky to the point of arrogant. They give proper respect to their opponents and were preparing to face a fairly competent quarterback in Ryan Tannehill today in Miami. That will no longer be the case.
Word began to filter out of South Beach at the end of the week that Tannehill was nursing an injury to his throwing shoulder. Never a good thing for a quarterback. He was declared questionable for the game. Since then nobody has been entirely sure what his status is. Even the Dolphins weren’t clear right up until close to game time.
However, it seems they finally got their answer. Tannehill was since downgraded to doubtful for the game, meaning veteran Brock Osweiler will get the start against Chicago.
And now @JeffDarlington is calling Dolphins' QB Ryan Tannehill "doubtful" for today's game against the Bears. More and more, it's looking like Brock Osweiler vs. the Bears.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 14, 2018
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Source confirms : Brock Osweiler starts at QB today for the Dolphins. @3YardsPerCarry mentioned this possibility first on Friday.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) October 14, 2018
Chicago Bears defense has a score to settle with Osweiler
Most people would care not to remember but Osweiler has been a nagging thorn in the side of the Bears defense for a long time. They faced him twice in 2015 and 2016, losing both games with him throwing four touchdowns to just one interception and a 105.6 passer rating. In fairness, neither of those Bears defenses were remotely close in terms of quality to the one he’ll have to face today.
Osweiler has looked far more ordinary when confronted by top five defenses in the past. He’s also not a big fan of Khalil Mack who has sacked him six times in their last two regular season encounters.
Brock Osweiler has started against a top 5 defense five times in his NFL career. He's 1-4 in those games with the following stat line:
110 completions
192 attempts
57.19 completion %
1055 yards
3 TDs
4 INTs
69.46 passer rating
9 sacks#Bears— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) October 14, 2018
No doubt the Dolphins will try to establish the run game in this one. That’s how Osweiler beat Chicago in the past. Denver ran for 170 yards in 2015 and Houston ran for 129 in 2016. If the Bears can shut down the ground attack in this game and force Osweiler to throw, it could end up being a long day for Miami.
