Dolphins, Bears Tie in Ben Johnson’s Debut | Miami Dolphins vs. Chicago Bears Preseason Game Recap

For more on week one of the NFL preseason, I’m joined by CBS NFL analysts and Gemini birthday twins Emory Hunt and Lijay Dabel. Guys, the Dolphins and Bears finished their first preseason game with a 24-24 tie. We saw Ben Johnson’s coaching debut for the Bears and it was Tua Takafoa’s first preseason start since 2021. Tua’s first drive was cut short with an impressive goal line stand by the Bears defense. So, Emry, let’s start with that. Uh what did you like from the Bears defense on Sunday? You already see guys Dennis Allen’s impact on defense and how aggressive they were. You saw the talk about the goal line stance. Noah SS right there running right down the A gap and blowing up the tailback as well as Ruben Hippoly had a fantastic day as well for a rookie out of Maryland. So you saw the impact of the run game, how well they did on defense. But the story was Austin Booker, the defensive end. Three sacks, three TFLs, four quarterback hits, and a force fumble. If they can get that type of production from a guy that’s a rotational in coming into the season opposite of or coming in in you know in conjunction with Montes Sweat this defense has not only the pieces to be successful but they have the depth as well. Yeah, Emry, that was their strength last year. Anyway, the defensive side of the ball. I flut was the defensive coordinator and the head coach. He leaves Dennis Allen comes in, but I’m right there with you. Austin Booker, he was a guy I was really excited about coming out of Kansas last year. Played in that rotational role, but the way he’s played throughout this preseason, he might get even more reps. I’ve been waiting for them to pair somebody opposite of Montes Sweat to your point, because he’s a guy that gets so much attention on that Dline. They just haven’t found a Robin to his Batman yet. So, could Austin Booker be that future guy? That is the big question. But Maline, you you started this segment talking off talking about Miami’s offense and the woes continue for them, right? Short yardage running. They cannot get it done. Third and fourth and short. You bring in a big back like Oi Gordon. You thought that would help. It doesn’t help. They still get stuff. And the thing about it, guys, this wasn’t even the starters from the Chicago Bears defense. These were the backups, and there’s no disrespect to them, but if you’re this Miami def uh offense and you want to come in with a new mindset, refortified offensive line, you want to be more physical, you got to get it done in those got to have it situations. It reared its ugly head again. And this is why people continue to say this isn’t a tough team. Well, Alicia, you took the words right out of my mouth right there. The Dolphins, they look like they’re still working on the kinks in that run game. What did you notice there other than, you know, the the struggles? I think Emory hit it right on the head, right? Su just comes straight through the A gap. So, missed assignments by the offensive line up front, especially in those short yardage scenarios and situations. Everybody has to be on the same page because things happen that much quicker when you’re only trying to get one yard, especially around the go the goal line uh situation. Everything is condensed and shrink down. So, you have to be on your P’s and Q’s. Everybody has to be on one accord when you’re trying to pick up that extra yard. But then it just comes down to the offensive line being more physical than the defense. I felt like the defensive line and linebackers were more physical than Miami once they got towards the goal line. You talked about it Min was able to move the ball up and down the field. Taj Washington look good, especially with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Wadd not playing. But to me, it comes down to physicality and then executing. And that’s where Miami has struggled the last year and today when it comes to their uh short yardage run game. You know what it’s like when you run the football guys in Miami scheme, it’s like going from running the football in a parking lot to running the football inside of a classroom. And when you get inside the green zone. So once you get inside the 10 yard line, the 5 yard line, you have to go north and south because the field shrinks. And if you can’t get off the ball, blow guys off the ball, uh, or fire off off the football, that’s going to be a problem. And right now, Miami is trying to show you that, hey, we’re we’re a tough, physical football team. I know that’s what they wanted to address in the offseason, but you just can’t turn on toughness. You can’t turn on physicality. You have to practice that. And if you’re practicing east and west, when it’s time to go north and south versus a team, as we saw with Dennis Allen, what he loves to do, and also Ben Johnson, they go north and south. That’s going to be an issue. And I listen, Ali Gordon would be the guy in my opinion because they were trying to run with those speed guys down the uh inside interior of the offensive line. It wasn’t working. So, you got to lean into a guy like Ali Gordon to help that run game uh impose their will in those short yard situations. Great analogy from the former Louisiana running back right here going from running in a parking lot to a classroom. A little bit more crowded there. Uh you guys, I want to talk about the quarterback play. Of course, you know, Dolphins starter Touaka Vioa got a couple reps in there. A lot of noise about Caleb Williams coming out of Bears camp, but what did you like, Emory, from what you saw from Case Keenum or perhaps Zach Wilson? Well, listen, the Dolphins was able to pass protect rather well in my opinion. So, I thought when you had a Jonah 7 doing his thing and on the other side, when you look at the Bears offensive line, Theo Benedict started at right tackle, I thought he did a great job second year out of Canada. Braxton Jones, the left tackle, did a great job, and he’s in a battle for that spot. And I like that they got in Jordan Matt McFaden at the left guard spot. He played really well. So we saw this team working through the offensive line which subsequently had had Case Keenum have success and Tyson Beant have success. And then Zach Wilson I thought for him it’s all about making sure you hit the layups. He missed a couple of short throws that were wide open that would have been either touchdowns or big gains to keep this offense on the field. So those passes tend to they fell short and then you saw later in the game where Quers really had no shot in trying to bring those guys back to win because the pressure started to turn up. That’s a D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D Dis Allen trait and we saw that affect that offensive line which you know when you picking up blitzes it’s all about communication and you can’t expect your third or fourth team to have that. Now this one ended in a 2424 tie because we don’t do overtime in the preseason not since 2021 but let’s take a look at the standout performers from week one. Dolphins at Bears. Quinn Euer Tuatagoa putting up numbers for the Dolphins. Luther Burton the third and Coulson Loveland making their names known on the Bears side of things.

Leger Douzable and Emory Hunt join CBS Sports HQ to recap the NFL Preseason matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears.

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