When they visit the Dolphins Sunday in Miami, the Bears will be seeking to win four consecutive games in the same season for the first time in six years. The last time they accomplished that feat was in 2012 when they won six straight in Lovie Smith's final year as coach.
The Bears return to action following their bye week looking to pick up in Miami where they left off two Sundays ago when they crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-10 at Soldier Field. "If there's any type of locker room that I would expect to come in from a bye week and not really miss a beat, it would be this locker room," said receiver Allen Robinson II.
Coach Matt Nagy gave players the entire week off just as his mentor, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, does in Kansas City. Reid is 16-3 in games immediately following a bye during his NFL career. The Bears returned to practice Monday, had a day off Tuesday, and will practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in preparation for Sunday's game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The Bears (3-1) enter Week 6 in first place in the NFC North, ahead of the Vikings (2-2-1), Packers (2-2-1) and Lions (2-3). The Vikings host the Cardinals Sunday, the Packers host the 49ers Monday night and the Lions are off this weekend.
Offense trending up
The Bears offense will look to build on its explosive performance against the Buccaneers. Mitchell Trubisky made history in the 48-10 win, becoming the first Bears quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a half. The second-year pro finished the contest by establishing career highs with 354 yards, six TD passes and a 154.6 passer rating. He also rushed for 53 yards on three carries, including runs of 26 and 23 runs.
In the first two quarters against the Buccaneers, Trubisky completed 14 of 18 passes for 289 yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He threw TD passes of 39 yards to tight end Trey Burton, 14 yards to Robinson, 9 yards to running back Tarik Cohen, 20 yards to receiver Joshua Bellamy and 3 yards to receiver Taylor Gabriel.
On their five first-half touchdown drives, the Bears ran just one third-down play and scored in an elapsed 2:40, 3:34, 2:34, 1:46 and 3:12.
A wounded animal
The Dolphins no doubt will be in a sour mood after seeing their 17-0 lead last Sunday in Cincinnati turn into a 27-17 loss. The Bengals outscored Miami 24-0 in the fourth quarter.
"Every loss hurts," said Dolphins coach Adam Gase. "When you put 110 hours in a week and get kicked in the [groin] like that, it [ticks] you off. This isn't like a 9-to-5 [job]. We have a lot of people putting a lot of work into this stuff. You're going to be mad [Monday and Tuesday]. When Wednesday comes, you have to forget about it and move on to the next one."
Mack attack heads south
Asked how to slow down Bears All-Pro pass-rusher Khalil Mack, Gase said: "You're not going to slow him down." Mack was named the NFC defensive player of the month for September for his performance in the first four games of the season.
Mack has recorded a strip/sack in each of the first four contests and returned an interception for a touchdown in the season opener in Green Bay. The fifth-year pro is the first NFL player with a sack and a forced fumble in four straight games since the Colts' Robert Mathis in 2005. Mack is also the first player to record four forced fumbles in the first four weeks of the season since the Jaguars' Tony Brackens in 1999.
Your turn
We want to know what you think. So tell us by clicking on the box below. We will select some of the best replies and post them on ChicagoBears.com Thursday.
