How the Miami Dolphins became our existential threat Jim Dooley’s team was 52 years old and winner of eight championships and hurting. The year was 1971 and Dooley’s Bears had not been to the postseason since winning the 1963 NFL championship. After starting the season 6-3 Authentic Anthony Miller Jersey , they got whipped by the Lions and faced what Dooley called a “super-must” game on Monday Night Football: the team had to win out to make the playoffs.Their opponent, the Miami Dolphins, was in the opposite position in every way. They were young — six years in existence, and only two in the NFL. They were undecorated — the year prior they reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.They were good. On that day, the Dolphins held the NFL’s best record, 8-1-1.That game in November of ‘71 was the first between these two teams. The storied Bears desperately needed a win. The upstart Dolphins had victories to spare. And what happened? Dolphins 34, Bears 3.This was the beginning of a short, tortured history for Bears fans, one that proceeds to its 13th chapter this Sunday and one that Bears fans ignore at our own peril. You can’t exactly call it a rivalry, but the history certainly poses an existential crisis to me, at least, and presumably other Bears fans bothered by this breakdown in birthrights.Because here’s what bugs me about the Dolphins as it relates to our beloved Bears: this is a franchise we’re supposed to trounce. Generally speaking, the big bad Midwestern Bears weather get-off-the-bus-running-and-let’s-get-grimy charter franchise is supposed to mop the floor with a football team from Florida born in the AFL. That has not been the case. As Bears fans, we take our relationship with certain teams more seriously than others. When we lost to the Packers in Week 1, for instance, we experienced that as more than just one game in the standings. We had identity angst: “Oh no, we STILL can’t beat the Packers.” We lamented the impact that the loss had on our all-time series record. We absorbed the deeper despair of lumbering out of Lambeau with yet another loss.This is natural with the Packers and certain other teams, because obviously there are divisional rivalries, geographic rivalries and longevity rivalries. The Dolphins fail all three of these, so we don’t pay them much mind beyond the limited scope of our head-to-head matchups.Yet in the same way that losing repeatedly to Green Bay is bad for our psyche Authentic Mitchell Trubisky Jersey , or becoming underdogs to the Lions is bad for our psyche, this terminal battery at the hands of the Dolphins leaves lasting scars. We simply don’t acknowledge them.We should.Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1985. (via Newspapers.com)Consider this:In 12 contests, we have won only four times. Did you hear me? We are 4-8 lifetime against a football team from South Florida. Not one of our four wins offered any lasting merit. We played the Dolphins three times in the 1970s — ‘71, ‘75, ‘79 — losing all three games by a combined score of 111-32. During that time, the Dolphins became an NFL powerhouse, winning two Super Bowls, appearing in a third and notching the NFL’s only undefeated season ever in 1972.Whose record did they break when they won that Super Bowl? Why, ours of course. We went undefeated in 1934 and 1942, losing the NFL championship each time.Then we get to the famous match in 1985, as the 12-0 Bears rolled into Miami to face the 8-4 Dolphins.We all know how that went down: Dolphins 38, Bears 24. With that, we lost our shot at going undefeated and had to forever hear about it from Dolphins fans who can still claim that their ‘72 team was the greatest of all-time.On opening day 1988, we finally got our first win against Miami, a 34-7 shellacking at Soldier Field. But that was Week 1, and it’s tough to really hang your hat on a Week 1 victory when you’re trying to make up for four losses including the ‘85 game.“I don’t put too much stock in the first game,” Mike Ditka said after the win. “I said that before in the preseason.”Our next game against Miami was 1991, also at Soldier. We blew a 13-3 4th quarter lead and lost 16-13 in overtime.We won a forgettable game in ‘94 Womens Prince Amukamara Jersey , 17-14, for win #2 in the series.We had our most memorable win in 1997, erasing a 33-18 4th quarter deficit to win 36-33 in overtime. This was made both more memorable and less relevant because we were 0-7 at the time.We lost 27-6 at the end of a doomed 2002.Our next game against the Dolphins was 1985-lite. That was 2006, with a 7-0 record against a 1-6 Dolphins team led by Joey Harrington. I was in the Soldier Field stands that day. The Dolphins took a 14-3 lead in the 2nd quarter on a Jason Taylor pick-six off of one of the worst balls Rex ever threw, and ran all over us with Ronnie Brown (157 yards on 29 carries) en route to a 31-13 Bears loss, our first of the year.They got us again, ya know?In 2010 we beat them 16-0 in the second most boring Bears shutout I’ve ever watched. That was a playoff year and our third straight win, so perhaps this is the most significant win we’ve had against the Dolphins.That said, when was the last time you reminisced about our sparkling 16-0 blanking of the 2010 Dolphins? You haven’t and you know it.From the Chicago Tribune, Oct. 20, 2014. (via Newspapers.com)Lastly, there was the 27-14 loss in 2014, AKA the “Brandon Marshall ‘Unacceptable’ Game.” You remember: Brandon used the word “unacceptable” 17 times in a postgame interview, and probably yelled at Robbie Gould in the locker room.The next two games of this season were the back-to-back 50-poppers from the Pats and Pack, a three-game stretch that spelled the end of the Trestman/Emery era.Now add to that these insult-meets-injury scenarios:Super Bowl wins: 2-1 DolphinsSuper Bowl appearances: 3-2 DolphinsDon Shula passed George Halas for most wins by a coach in NFL historyThe Bears lost a Super Bowl in MiamiThe Dolphins punked out in the ‘85 AFC championship game, denying us our rematchRecent history doesn’t do us much better. Yes, the Dolphins have only reached the playoffs twice since 2002, with just three 10-win seasons. But the Bears have only reached the playoffs three times in that span, with four 10-win seasons.The Dolphins perfectly encapsulate our long, Bear Down nightmare. They represent the gap between our century-long greatness and our 30-year failure. They are the embodiment of the cruel irony that “old school” doesn’t bring new wins. They are the unrequited lust for our own historic stature.My point http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/adrian-amos-jersey , my fellow Bears fans, is that we have to take this game more seriously beyond just a win or a loss. Beyond whether Mitch develops further, Floyd gets a sack, Nagy calls a good game or James Daniels plays well at guard, a deeper, more lasting emotional toll is at stake. We are 3-1 and coming off a remarkable victory. We can fumble that momentum away at the hands of our secret adversaries or keep it rolling. In doing so, we can shove the Dolphins into the abyss and correct a trend long in need of rectification. It is time to turn the tide against this team. It is time to march them back to their beach.---Jack M Silverstein is Windy City Gridiron’s Bears historian, and author of “How The GOAT Was Built: 6 Life Lessons From the 1996 Chicago Bulls.” He is the proprietor of Chicago sports history Instagram “A Shot on Ehlo.” Say hey at @readjack. The Bears had their best performance of the year heading into their bye week, which was a mixed blessing.On the one hand, it was a nice game to put fans at ease and squash two weeks of ‘what’s wrong with the Bears’ and other such sports radio nonsense. Likely they would’ve revolved around Mitch Trubisky and his growth.The other side of it though was disappointing because now there is genuine excitement for Bears games, so having to wait a whole other week to watch a game and have something fresh to talk about was a bummer.Hopefully, fans spent some time with their loved ones and the people that are typically ignored in favor of the Bears and now can return to their couches for latter three-fourths of the NFL season.This week the Bears are heading to Miami to face the Dolphins, with former Bears coaches Adam Gase and Dowell Loggains on the opposing sideline. It should be a good road test for the Bears, but on paper, Miami is reeling after a 3-0 start.I always say, weird things happen when these two teams meet. Whether it was 1985 or 2006, there have been some upsets by the Dolphins and a lot of blowouts. Nine of the 12 meetings between these teams was decided by two or more scores.Hopefully the Bears are on the correct side of any lopsided score this weekend.Miami DolphinsSB Nation site: The PhinsiderGame day/time/TV: Sunday, noon CT, FOXRecord: 3-2Last week: 27-17 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati. The Dolphins led 17-0 at one pointBears all-time record against: 4-8 (For more on that check out Jack’s piece)Last meeting: 27-14 loss to the Dolphins at Soldier Field in 2014. That was the game Brandon Marshall melted down after and began the awful spiral toward the end of the Marc Trestman era. Historical match ups: The Bears have had some clunkers against the Dolphins, again Womens Aaron Lynch Jersey , check out Jack’s piece. Everyone knows about 1985, so I’ll mention 2006, when the 7-0 Bears hosted Miami and Ronnie Brown went wild. Brown had 157 rushing yards and Rex Grossman threw three picks.Offense: The Dolphins come in ranked 30th in offensive yards and 28th in points.Former Bears offensive coordinators Adam Gase and Dowell Loggains can’t manage to get more out of their offense than the 28th most passing yards or 22nd most rushing yards.Miami has the least passing attempts in the league and ranks near the bottom in several offensive categories, according to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post:The Dolphins are led by Ryan Tannehill (65.9 cmp./972 yds./8 TDs/5 INTs), who may finally be on his last leg as a starting QB. Catching his passes are Albert Wilson (17 rec./204 yds./2 TDs), Danny Amendola (16/151/0), Kenny Stills (14/241/3) and Jakeem Grant (11/152/2). Running the ball are veteran Frank Gore (47 car./202 yds./0 TDs) and Kenyan Drake (39/153/1). Drake has also added 17 receptions for 124 yards and a TD as a pass catcher.Numbers-wise, there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference from what Loggains was doing with the Bears last year, except that his QB has more experience and better weapons.Defense: The Dolphins defense ranks 16th in points allowed and 22nd in yards. However, their pass defense is one of the best units in the league, while they rank 20th in pass yards allowed, they have allowed the third-fewest touchdown passes (3) and have the most interceptions in the league (10).The rush defense ranks 20th in yards allowed but has faced the fewest rushing attempts against them and are allowing a middling 3.7 YPC.That said, this defense gave up 52 points over the first three games of the season and has given up 65 points in the past two weeks. They lack a dangerous pass rush, having notched just eight sacks, which leads them tied for the third-fewest in the league.The defense is led by LB Kiko Alonso (33 tkls/2 FF/ 2 INTs), rookie safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (15 tkls/3 PDs/1 INT) and Xavien Howard (3 INTs/5 PDs). Reshad Jones is the other safety and he’s a playmaker too (2 INTs/4 PDs/2 TFL). Miami has two players with two sacks each; Jerome Baker (2 TFL, 2 QB hits) and William Hayes (3 TFL, 2 QB hits) and four with one each. Cameron Wake (1 sack/1 TFL/3 QB hits) and Robert Quinn (1/1/3) are among those four.Injury report: The Dolphins listed 16 players on their Thursday injury report. For brevity, I am only going to list those that weren’t full participants during Thursday’s practice:Limited: LB Chase Allen (foot), DE Andre Branch (knee) Authentic Tarik Cohen Jersey , TE A.J. Derby (foot), WR Jakeem Grant (shoulder), WR DeVante Parker (quadricep), TE Durham Smythe (ankle), OT Laremy Tunsil (concussion)Did not participate: RB Frank Gore (Not injury related), CB Bobby McCain (knee), DE Cameron Wake (knee)CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BEARS INJURY REPORTKey match ups: The Bears receivers are going to be tested against this secondary and Mitch Trubisky is going to have his decision making tested.Miami clearly has some ballhawks in their secondary and as a team have forced a turnover in every game this year.On defense, the Bears secondary will want to avoid getting beat deep by Kenny Stills. Gase, like Nagy, is good at spreading the ball around; six Dolphins already have touchdown catches and five have double-digit receptions already.Tannehill has been sacked 11 times and with Tunsil on the injury report and a couple of other OL starters already on IR, there will be some chances to get pressure on Tannehill and make him uncomfortable.What to watch for: Let’s see how the Bears come out of the bye week and see if they can come out with a strong performance on the road and keep the good plays going.If the Bears are going to be a true playoff team, this is a game that they need to win.Key stats: Both defenses have 11 takeaways, but the Bears are +6 in the turnover margin, while Miami is +2The Dolphins have the most interceptions in the league with 10, the Bears are tied for third with eightThe last time the Bears beat the Dolphins on a Sunday was Nov. 13, 1994Miami scored 75 points in the first three games of the season but have scored just 24 in the last two gamesThe Bears scored 63 points in the first three games of the year but scored 48 in their fourth gameThe Dolphins are 30th with 15.4 first downs per game. The Bears allow 15.5 first downs per game, first in the league.Prediction: I feel like weird things happen when these two teams meet. There have been a lot of lopsided scores or they were decided by a field goal. No in between. I think it will be closer than Bears fans want it to be but I think they win 24-23. To see my pick against the spread and the O/U, click here to see my article on Sports Bet Collective (first article is free with sign up).Do you think the Bears can win Sunday?