Senorise Perry produced the Bears' two longest plays in Thursday night's preseason-opening win over the Dolphins with a 54-yard touchdown run and 42-yard kickoff return.
Late in the fourth quarter, the second-year running back from Louisville took a handoff from quarterback Shane Carden and bolted up the middle before outrunning linebacker Neville Hewitt.
"I saw a clear opening with the offensive line [creating a hole] and I just took it," Perry said. "I had one man to beat and I just ran faster. That's what I do."
Perry is locked in a fierce competition at running back with Jacquizz Rodgers, Jeremy Langford and Ka'Deem Carey for backup positions behind starter Kyle Long.
"It's extremely important to come out here and make plays with the Bears, especially because you never know how long you're going to be here," Perry said. "Just to come out here and show them that you can make plays is a great experience."
Perry led the Bears in rushing Thursday night with 89 yards on 10 carries. Last season he appeared in all 16 games, primarily on special teams, after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Perry was a two-year starter at Louisville, where he rushed for 677 yards and six touchdowns on 141 carries as a senior in 2013. In 2012, he ran for 705 yards and 11 TDs on 136 attempts before suffering a torn ACL in the 10th game of the season.
Roster news: The Bears held outside linebackers Lamarr Houston and Willie Young out of Thursday night's game. Both are recovering from season-ending leg injuries.
Cornerback Terrance Mitchell was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return to the game.
Flag day: The Bears drew 15 penalties for 83 yards, including seven false starts by seven different players. Two were called against starting linemen Will Montgomery and Jordan Mills.
"We had a ton of penalties," said quarterback Jay Cutler. "A lot of pre-snap penalties, stuff we can clean up. We'll take a look at that, make our drives a little more sustainable."
A holding penalty on cornerback Al Louis-Jean on a third-down incompletion turned a punting situation into an automatic first down late in the first half. Louis-Jean then got beat by receiver LaRon Byrd for a 34-yard reception on the next play, setting up a Dolphins field goal.
Catch this: Rookie receiver Cameron Meredith led the Bears with four receptions for 47 yards. The undrafted free agent from Illinois State caught passes of 15, 9 and 15 yards from Jimmy Clausen in a four-play span in the third quarter to set up a field goal.
Kicking it: Robbie Gould connected on all four of his field-goal attempts from 48, 23, 21 and 27 yards, while Pat O'Donnell averaged 48.2 yards on six punts with a long of 60 yards.
One-liners: The Bears scored one touchdown on five red-zone trips, settling for three field goals and running out of time at the end of the first half. ... Marc Mariani had a 28-yard punt return that was nullified by a penalty on Demontre Hurst for a block in the back.
