The Chicago Bears’ defense took full advantage of Miami’s injury woes on Thursday night, to send the Dolphins crashing to a 16-0 defeat.
Chicago’s defense gave up just 187 yards and allowed only one third-down conversion in a dominant performance against a Miami offense led by third-string quarterback Tyler Thigpen.
The Bears improved to 7-3 and edged ahead of Green Bay atop the NFC North Division, while the Dolphins slipped to 5-5.
Not only did the Dolphins lose the game, they lost two more starters.
Top receiver Brandon Marshall departed in the second quarter with an injured right hamstring, while center Cory Proctor left six minutes into the game with an injury to his lower left leg.
The latest injury blows came after Miami lost starting quarterback Chad Pennington and backup Chad Henne to injuries in a victory over Tennessee Sunday last week.
That left Thigpen to make his first NFL start since 2008. He was sacked six times — three of them by Julius Peppers.
Two field goals by Robbie Gould gave the Bears a 6-0 halftime lead.
Marshall had caught three passes for 41 yards before he was hurt, but he also incurred a 15-yard penalty for tossing the ball to Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler, a former teammate in Denver.
With the Dolphins unable to mount an offensive challenge, the Bears put the contest out of reach in the third quarter when Gould notched another field goal and Matt Forte capped a 13-play, 60-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
RSS