The Chicago Bears come out of their bye week with little to complain about. They’re 3-1, lead the NFC North division and are relatively healthy. Anthony Miller is back from his shoulder ailment and it seems Prince Amukamara is recovered from his hamstring issue as well. Only Eric Kush and Marcus Cooper appeared on the injury report and both were limited in practice. All in all the Bears should be at full strength Sunday.
The same cannot be said for their opponents. In truth, the Miami Dolphins look like a team teetering on the edge of an abyss. They started the year 3-0 and now they’re 3-2 after an outright disastrous road trip. Cracks have begun to show in the foundation. Head coach Adam Gase has tried to exude an air of calm, but it’s hard to ignore the reality.
Some have exclaimed a fear that the Dolphins might end up being a trap game. This because the Bears will host the New England Patriots at Soldier Field next week. It would be easy to look past Miami in that sense. However, this team knows they can’t afford to overlook anybody. Still, it’s hard not to see the writing on the wall for that team for a number of reasons.
Dispirited
The past two weeks couldn’t have gone much worse for the Dolphins. They rolled into Foxborough after their 3-0 start with all sorts of confidence. The Patriots were 1-2 and struggling to find any sort of rhythm. Perhaps Miami got lured in by that rather than taking a team that had owned them for over a decade seriously. The Patriots reminded them in short order with a humiliating 38-7 beatdown.
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Yet the pain was only beginning. A week later they traveled to Cincinnati where it looked like they regained their original form, putting up a 17-0 lead. They led 17-3 going into the 4th quarter. That’s when the wheels came off. The Bengals scored 24 unanswered points including two defensive touchdowns to stun Miami 27-17. It was an absolute gutpunch and things have only gotten worse.
Injuries
If all of that weren’t bad enough, now the Dolphins are dealing with some key injuries to their roster. Defensive end Cameron Wake was out of the Bengals game with a knee problem and it looks like he hasn’t progressed enough to this point that he can give it a go Sunday, which is a huge loss for their pass rush. Cornerback Bobby McCain is already declared out dealing with a knee injury of his own, as is fellow defensive end Andre Branch.
Miami DE Cam Wake was not in practice again today per @schadjoe
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) October 12, 2018
The offense isn’t immune to problems either. Their left tackle Laremy Tunsil left the Cincinnati game with a concussion. He’s since cleared the protocol but it’s uncertain whether he’ll be 100% on Sunday. One of their key receivers, Jakeem Grant is questionable with a shoulder issue. All in all this is not only a deflated but a banged up football team.
The Bears have every advantage they could ask for going into this game. They’re more rested. They’re healthier and they’re hot coming off three-straight wins. The only way they could lose is if they don’t take the Dolphins for what they are which is a good team that’s in a bad place at the moment.
