The Miami Dolphins and the Chicago Bears are playing live on the NFL preseason schedule on Thursday night and the matchup from Soldier Field starts at 8 pm ET and the game has some notable storylines, including whether Jay Cutler will play, how Ndamukong Suh will start his Fins career and whether the Bears can rebound heading into the start of the season.
The Dolphins have been an active team this offseason and they have added Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings and Jordan Cameron to the offense through free agency. The team brought in DeVante Parker and Jay Ayaji in the draft and those players are expected to help the offense be more explosive. Ryan Tannehill received a major contract extension from the team and now he is there long term and is looking to get in groove with his weapons.
The team has Stills and Jennings coming into things with Jarvis Landry and that should give the passing game more to work with. Lamar Miller and Ajayi are going to give Tannehill a solid rushing game and that could make the Dolphins offense more consistent. The Dolphins open the preseason with the Bears and then the team will play against the Panthers on the road.
The first home game for the Dolphins comes against the Falcons and then the team will play the Buccaneers to finish off the preseason schedule. The team opens the season with the Redskins on the road and then they will play the Jaguars away. The Dolphins open the season at home with two divisional games in Weeks 3 and 4 with the Bills and Jets and then the team lays against the Titans on the road.
The Texans are next on the schedule and then the team plays against the Patriots on the road in prime time. That could be the first matchup with Suh and Tom Brady on the field at the same time with Suh a Dolphin and that will be a sight to see. The team has three of four games on the road next and four of five including the Patriots game and that includes the Bills and Eagles on the road. The team then plays against the Cowboys at home before heading to NY to play the Jets.
The Bears come in with the Colts and Bengals on the road after playing the Dolphins, while the Browns are the final team on the schedule. The Bears open at home against the Packers and the team will play against the Arizona Cardinals next. The Seattle Seahawks are next on the road and the team plays three of four on the road including Seattle. The team has the Raiders, Chiefs and Lions after the Seahawks.
