Bears defense shines in win over Dolphins
Published 10:06 pm Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Bears running back Tyreshon Freeman runs for a first down against the Dolphins in a game Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium. The Bears won the game 14-6 to move to 7-0 on the season. –Daniel Evans
The Bears defeated the Dolphins 14-6 Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium in a game featuring undefeated teams.
The Dolphins were the first team to score on the Bears all season, but the score did not faze a Bears defense that is still surrendering less than one point per game on average.
“We had a little letdown. They were successful but at the end of the game we came out on top and we were the better team,” Bears head coach Cajun Pritchett said. “I congratulated Joe [Dailey] on the good game they played but we were the better team tonight.”
Dailey, the Dolphins head coach, said his team did not execute well enough to win Tuesday night.
“I told them you’ve got to go out and execute and not be scared,” Dailey said. “Today they went out and they didn’t think about playing until the last quarter. You’ve got to start off with you’re A-game in the beginning.”
The Bears jumped out on the Dolphins early, which Pritchett admits was part of his strategy coming into the game.
“That was my whole plan,” Pritchett said. “I told my coaches all week that the way we were going to beat this team was to jump out by two touchdowns on them.”
The plan worked, with Derrick Edwards Jr. and Tyreshon Freeman scoring touchdowns in the first half to give the Bears a 14-0 halftime lead.
The Dolphins offense was unable to move the ball in the first half and a fumble stopped their best drive. In the second half, the Dolphins offense looked much better and when Edward Garner scored on a run off left tackle with 9:00 left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins became the first team to score on the Bears all season.
On the ensuing drive, the Bears were running out the clock when the Dolphins recovered a fumble. With the ball at their own 40-yard line and 2:00 on the clock, it looked like the Dolphins were destined to the tie game.
The Bears defense had other ideas, stuffing the Dolphins on three consecutive runs to end the game.
“I’ve got confidence in my defense,” Pritchett said. “I put it in their hands and they did the job.”
The teams could meet again in the playoffs, something Dailey believes will happen.
“In my heart, I believe we are going to meet them again in the playoffs, so we will be better equipped,” Dailey said. “I’ll take this loss but we are going to be ready for them next time.”
