CHICAGO — The Dolphins’ Week 9 road game against the Chicago Bears followed a similar script as last week’s win over the Detroit Lions for much of the afternoon.
The Dolphins offense was explosive and efficient as it scored four touchdowns on its first five drives. The Dolphins defense struggled to stop the opposing offense, this time against quarterback Justin Fields and his NFL-record 178 rushing yards, until two keys stops late.
Fields’ fourth-down pass to wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown was dropped with under a minute remaining, preserving a 35-32 win for the Dolphins, their third straight victory.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 21 of 30 passes for 302 yards and threw three touchdowns for the second straight game.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill caught seven passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. He has now recorded the most receiving yards in the first nine games of a season and remains on pace for 2,000 receiving yards, which has never been accomplished in league history.
The Dolphins’ offense had its way for much of the game but a pair of drives that stalled on fourth-down attempts left them vulnerable late. Miami led 35-25 midway through the third quarter after a 10-yard touchdown pass by running back Jeff Wilson Jr. in his team debut.
But Field rallied the Bears, throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet early in the fourth quarter.
Facing fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 14, Tagovailoa was short on a pass to tight end Durham Smythe, turning the ball over on downs with a three-point lead and 7:50 remaining. But Miami’s defense forced two stops late and got some good fortune with the Brown drop to keep their winning streak intact.
Wilson and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb both made their team debuts after being traded to the Dolphins in a pair of trade deadline day deals Tuesday. Wilson rushed for a team-high 51 yards on nine carries and caught two passes for 23 yards.
