The Chicago Bears were unable to capitalize on a chance to tie or take the lead in the last two minutes of the game against the Miami Dolphins, and ultimately fell 35-32 in front of the home crowd. It was one of those losses that actually left me feeling somewhat good about the performance, but there were still some lackluster efforts that need to be addressed.
The Chicago Bears’ defense did not do enough to slow down the Dolphin’s offense
Player One: Chicago Bears pass rush
We knew this would be an issue against the Dolphins team that uses a quick strike offense. With no Robert Quinn and edge rushers that are struggling to win their one-on-ones, it was going to take a team effort to get to Tua Tagovailoa. Unfortunately, they were not able to affect the game and it led to a hard time in the secondary as well.
When Tua is not under pressure, he is smart enough to find the open guy. Now that they have focused on protecting him and getting the ball out faster, Tua has been playing at an elite level for the last few weeks. This was the case today as he did not get sacked one time. The Bears were able to make him uncomfortable on a couple of attempts, but for the most part, his pocket was clean.
This led to a big ask of the Bears’ secondary which is hard to do against the offense of Miami. When Tua had time to throw, he could dissect the defense and get the ball in the hands of his playmakers. It all starts up front with the pass rush, and they failed to contribute their part on the defense.
It really is a shame because the Bears just lack talent on the defensive line. Dominique Robinson is still developing and Trevis Gipson is just not a good enough pass rush. Al-Quadin Muhammad is serviceable at best.