Windy City Gridiron
The most important thing about preseason isn’t the final score or even the playing time; it’s getting out of there with no serious injuries. The Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins managed to do just that on Sunday afternoon. There were a few players dinged up in yesterday’s 24-all tie, but as of yet, none look to be long-term.
This was Chicago’s first preseason tie since 1973, which also came against the Dolphins. Thankfully, the NFL eliminated preseason overtime in 2021, because no one needs to have a winner in practice games.
The game may have ended in a tie, but the Bears outgained the ‘Fins (295 yards to 272), had more first downs (22 to 16), and had the time of possession edge (33:10 to 26:50).
Miami had an edge in third-down efficiency (43.8% to 42.9%) and fourth-down efficiency (40% to 25%).
Both teams held out several starters after letting their number ones get plenty of scrimmage time on Thursday during the joint practice at Halas Hall. The Bears’ next preseason game is Sunday, August 17, against the Buffalo Bills, and they’ll host a joint practice the 17th.
Before we get into some more numbers, here are all the Bears who did not play against the Dolphins.
And here is how the Bears started the day on both sides of the ball.
Here are the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats.
With so many players participating for the Bears, I’ll split the snap count lists into two for both the offense and the defense. Also, keep in mind that the special teams’ snaps in these preseason games are often an indication of the reserve players the coaches have in mind for the third phase.
Tyson Bagent got the start, and he went 13 of 19 for 103 yards, with 1 TD and 1 interception for a passer rating of 77.3. He was sacked twice, and he had a nine-yard scramble.
Bagent’s touchdown pass went to Maurice Alexander, who caught 4 for 19 yards.
Rookie tailback Kyle Monangai (5’8”, 207) led the Bears with 30 rushing yards on six attempts, and he had a challenging rep in pass protection against 6’4”, 268-pound Bradley Chubb. “Yeah, that’s a big human,” Monangai told Zack Pearson of the Bear Report. “That’s what’s asked of me in the offensive backfield. If I have to go block a 6-foot, however tall he is, defensive end. I gotta go do it. The chance to go against a Pro Bowl pass rusher like that, it makes me better.”
Fellow rookie draft picks Colston Loveland (1 reception for 8 yards) and Luther Burden III (2 for 29) also got in on the action.
I’m still working out the formatting kinks of our version of WordPress, so this image may be off.
Case Keenum started the third quarter, and he completed 8 of 10 passes for 80 yards, with 2 TDs and a passer rating of 139.6. He had a 2-yard run and was sacked...
