Joe's Gameday Recap: Bears 16, Dolphins 0

On a night when the Bears had every reason to come out flat after a big win, they dominated a desperate opponent to climb to 7-3 on the year. Never in doubt after the first series, the Bears shut out the Miami Dolphins in a 16-0 win Thursday night.

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(7-3) Chicago Bears 16
(5-5) Miami Dolphins 0

Following the typical Lovie Smith gameplan, Mike Martz called a balanced offensive attack from the sidelines, using short passes to the outsides to take advantage of the Dolphin secondary. Jay Cutler had plenty of protection for most of his 25 pass attempts thanks to an improving offensive line. Martz called 68 offensive plays on the night, controlling the time of possession (37 minutes) and keeping Miami's defense on their heels. Thanks to Matt Forte's 97 yards and the only touchdown of the game, Martz was able to stick with the run all night and wore down defenders in the second half. Cutler tore apart the defense on third down and picked the perfect spots to scramble down the field. Solid field position from Devin Hester returns (or opponents kicking away from him) put the offense in charge on each drive. I'd like to see less field goals and more touchdowns, but I'll take a win like this any day.

The offense wasn't great, but they didn't need to be. Tonight belonged to a Chicago defense that shut down Tyler Thigpen and the Dolphin offense. Fresh most of the night because of the offense's success, Chicago notched six sacks on Thigpen, who looked scared on nearly every snap he took. Losing receiver Brandon Marshall in the first half didn't help things for Miami, who never mounted a serious drive. I was shocked they didn't try to establish the running game with more wildcat or power formations, gaining only 39 yards on 13 attempts. Julius Peppers was an absolute beast with three sacks and a tipped pass that led to a Charles Tillman interception. 

What wasn't great about tonight? J'Marcus Webb got owned on the outside of the line with regularity. Whether it was one of his four penalties or clearly missing blocks, Webb look slow and cumbersome. His poor play hid Chris Williams' various struggles of the night. Cutler had another awkwardly poor interception and made a few erratic throws, but that's going to come with his style of play.  Luckily the bad plays were far outnumbered by good ones.

Chicago played with speed and power, over-powering the Dolphins in every area of the game. I was relaxed the entire night. And I loved every minute of it. Feel good Bears fans. (Until next weekend when we play the Eagles. Ugh.)

Note from tonight: The NFL Network's Thursday Night Football crew sucks. Just horrid.