In our Latin Times NFL Game of the week, the Miami Dolphins travel to the Windy city where they will try and send the Chicago Bears to their first 0-3 start at home since 2004. The Bears have been impressive on the road this season, but are 0-2 at Soldier Field, and need to impress against a Miami team that just lost Puerto Rican star running back, Knowshon Moreno, for the season.
The Bears looked sharp last week in their 27-13 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. Jay Cutler threw for a Bears career high 381 and will look to repeat that performance against the Dolphins thanks to the help of his Hispanic centers, Roberto Garza and Brian De La Puente. Both Latinos have had the responsibility of getting Cutler the ball as well as protecting him for most of the season and they’ve done a tremendous job thus far.
“We’ve seen signs in the first six weeks of the season of the type of team we can be and the way we can play the game,” said Bears coach Marc Trestman before Sunday’s game.
The Bears will rely heavily on their defense against the Dolphins as it held the Falcons last week to just 287 total yards and one TD. Despite being banged up, the Bears defense has a plus 2 turnover margin on the season and will look to jump on top of the injured Dolphins offense early and often.
The Dolphins announced this week that their star Latino running back, Knowshon Moreno, suffered a season-ending knee injury last week and that he would be placed on injured reserve. Moreno had been stellar for the Dolphins, especially in their opening day win over New England as he tallied 148 rushing yards in that game. The Dolphins will now rely on Lamar Miller and undrafted rookie Damien Williams to carry the load.
In addition to Moreno, the Dolphins also have Mexican-American quarterback, Matt Moore, on their roster. Moore will most likely start the game on the bench behind Dolphins quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, but Dolphins coach Joe Philbin has told the media in recent weeks that his starting quarterback is a week to week decision.
The Dolphins will look to rebound after suffering a gut wrenching loss on the final play of the game against the Green Bay Packers last week. The Dolphins played a surprisingly efficient game, especially on defense until the final minute of the game when they allowed Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to drive the length of the field, and then, after throwing a fake spike, found tight end Andrew Quarless for a four-yard touchdown with almost no time left on the clock. The Dolphins lost the game 27-24.
“I think the Chicago Bears don’t give a rip what happened against the Green Bay Packers,” said Dolphins quarterback Cortland Finnegan who mistakenly tackled Packers rookie receiver, Javante Adams, out of bounds, instead of tackling him in bounds which would have presumably ended the game. “So we’ve got to go out there and give them our best.”
My Prediction: 27 -21 Chicago Bears
Betting Odds Courtesy of Bovada.lv:
Miami Dolphins: +3.5 (-120) / +145 Moneyline
Chicago Bears: -3.5 (Even) / -165 Moneyline
Over/Under: 48
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