With few of the Bears’ and Dolphins’ best players on the field for much or any of their preseason opener Sunday, they wandered to a 24-24 tie. It was the Bears’ first preseason tie since a 9-9 game against the Dolphins in 1973.
Here’s how they got there:
Who is QB2?
The battle to be Caleb Williams’ backup isn’t over. Tyson Bagent played the first half and finished 13 of 19 for 103 yards with a touchdown and an interception for a 77.3 passer rating, while veteran Case Keenum completed 8 of 10 passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns for a 139.6 rating.
Big stand
In Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s only action, he drove them to first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, but couldn’t score. On fourth down at the 1, linebackers Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite stuffed running back Jaylen Wright for a three-yard loss.
Ending with a fizzle
Each team had two chances to win at the end, but neither made it very far with the bottom of the depth chart. Bears coach Ben Johnson bypassed a 53-yard field goal with 1:54 left in favor of going for it on fourth-and-three, but failed. The Dolphins then got to the Bears’ 40-yard line but went backward. The Bears had it again at the Dolphins’ 41 with 26 seconds left before ending up in fourth-and-15. On the final play, the Dolphins made it to the 21-yard line with a lateral play before the Bears ended it.