Although most Chicago Bears starters won’t be playing in Sunday afternoon’s preseason opener versus the Miami Dolphins, they did get the opportunity to test themselves against Miami’s first-team offense and defense during Friday’s joint practice. The result, especially for the Bears defense, was a resounding victory that prompted the following headline to be written by Brendan Sugrue of Bears Wire:
Bears may have broken the Dolphins in Friday’s joint practice
Now a headline like that one is certainly an attention-grabber, but what Bears fans should actually be excited about is the results of the practice that prompted it.
By all accounts, Dennis Allen’s defense put on a clinic that was worthy of any and all hyperbolic praise. And keep in mind, this isn’t the New York Jets, the Tennessee Titans or the New Orleans Saints that the Bears did this to. Sure, the Miami Dolphins are a flawed football team that very few analysts are high on going into the 2025 season, but this is a still an offense that, when healthy, has proven to be dynamic and at times dominant during the Mike McDaniel era.
And yet the results of Friday’s joint practice painted a picture in which it was the Bears defense that was by far the most dominant unit on the field.
“The Bears’ defense forced multiple turnovers and consistently applied pressure to the Dolphins’ offense,” writes Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was picked off three times throughout the day after reportedly throwing just one interception in all of training camp.”
It wasn’t just the three picks — one by Tremaine Edmunds, one by Kevin Byard and one by Jaquan Brisker — that turned heads of those in attendance. The Bears were the more physical of the two teams, bullying the Dolphins all afternoon long. And after they walked the walk, the Bears were ready to talk the talk.
Kevin Byard Talks Dolphins Domination
After the dust had settled, safety Kevin Byard stepped to the mic to talk about Chicago’s dominant showing in Friday’s chippy practice.
“It’s just how we feel as the defense,” Byard said in his press conference after practice. “We’re going to try to set the tone. We’re going to not let anybody just think they’re going to do what they want to do to us.”
Part of setting the tone, apparently, is talking trash when necessary. And evidently, Byard found it necessary to talk some trash to Dolphins receiver Dee Eskridge, who got tangled up with Byard during a red-zone blocking drill.
“I made sure I had him and let him know that he’s a little boy,” Byard said of the 5-foot-9, 190 pound receiver.
In the end, Byard summarized Chicago’s practice performance like this:
“If we play the way we practiced today on defense, we’re going to be pretty damn good.”
How Good Can Bears Defense be in 2025?
It’s worth noting that the Bears defense was not at full health on Friday afternoon. A pair of cornerbacks — Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon — were absent, and there’s hope that both will be good to go by the time the regular season begins. If they are, there’s no telling how good this group can be in Dennis Allen’s first year at the helm.
Dominant defenses are a trademark of the Chicago Bears, and it’s possible this unit could be the next in line to be christened “The Monsters of the Midway.” But before we go too far and assume this group will be as impactful as the 2005 or 2018 units — we’ll need to see them put forth an effort like this one when it matters.
But with that said, all of the pieces may be in place for this group to be one of the league’s best in 2025. From a personnel standpoint, there are very few weak spots on the roster, and the biggest concern — the defensive line’s inability to generate quarterback pressures — may be mitigated by the fact that historically, Dennis Allen defenses have proven to be able to get after the passer.
So what does that mean for 2025? The best case scenario will get Bears fans even more excited than the aforementioned headline. It’s possible this could be a top-five group this year. One that consistently bullies opponents just as the Bears did to the Dolphins on Friday afternoon. And if Ben Johnson’s offense can get rolling within the first few weeks of the season, look out.
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