The Dolphins and Bears kick off their 2021 pre-season schedules on Saturday afternoon with Miami travelling to Soldier Field in Chicago.  The teams will be about as familiar as possible with each other after joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the game.

Chicago is a 3.5-point favourite to win on the NFL pre-season odds, with a total of 35.5.

NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis

These teams haven’t met in the pre-season since the Bears won 27-10 at Soldier Field in 2015.  The Dolphins got the better of Chicago the last time they met in the regular season, a 31-28 overtime game in Miami.  The Bears’ Mitch Trubisky, who is now fighting for the backup QB job in Buffalo, threw for 316 yards, three TDs and an INT.  Brock Osweiler (now retired) led the Dolphins with 380 passing yards, three TDs and two INTs.

Sports Interaction’s NFL futures odds have both teams favoured to miss the playoffs this year.  Miami is -159 to miss out and Chicago is -233.  The Dolphins are -154 favourites to go Under their regular season win total of 9.5.  The Bears are also favoured, at -133, to go Under their win total of 7.5.

Miami Dolphins

Miami will have a lot of options in this game as every active player made the trip to Chicago for the joint practices.  Head coach Brian Flores has said he plans to play his starters, but he hasn’t determined for how long.  There’s been word second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is already on the hot-seat in Miami, so expect to see him get a decent amount of reps.  Offensive guard Solomon Kindley should also get lots of action.  The second-year player started 13 games last season, but has fallen down the depth chart.  I’d expect Miami to give him every opportunity in the pre-season to retake the starting job.

Look for the Dolphins’ coaches to play around with the offensive line in this game.  Offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg has been moved over to guard, while Jesse Davis is versatile and can play multiple positions.  Tight end Hunter Long is day-to-day and his status is unclear.  Receivers Will Fuller V, DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson have also missed time this week.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are already facing some injury issues and practiced Tuesday without five key offensive linemen.  With a new quarterback in Andy Dalton, head coach Matt Nagy plans to play his starters more in the pre-season, although likely not much in the first game.  Certain players like rookie QB Justin Fields could see more action.  Fields is a backup for now, but after a strong training camp he’ll challenge for the No. 1 job soon.  Keep in mind, Nick Foles is also on the roster, but he’ll likely be traded so I wouldn’t expected him to see the field much.

Don’t expect veteran Khalil Mack to get many reps or possibly even suit up for the first pre-season game.  Linebacker Alec Ogletree, on the other hand, should get a lot of action.  He’s had at least one interception in every practice since singing on August 4 and is pushing hard to make the final 53-man roster.

NFL Prediction: Who Will Win Dolphins vs. Bears?