Tua, Dolphins outlast Bears on Fields' record rushing day
CHICAGO (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns, Tyreek Hill had 143 yards receiving and the Miami Dolphins overcame a record-setting rushing effort by Justin Fields to beat the Chicago Bears 35-32 on Sunday.
In a game where neither team did much to stop the other, the Dolphins (6-3) had no trouble moving the ball against a gutted defense and made enough plays to come away with their third straight win.
Fields ran for 178 yards, the most by an NFL quarterback in a regular-season game. He had a 61-yard touchdown run and threw for three scores. He also became the first player since at least 1950 with at least 150 yards rushing and three TD passes in a game.
His performance ensured the Bears (3-6) had a chance late. They got the ball on their 28 after Miami punted with just under three minutes remaining. But on fourth-and-10 at the 42, Fields threw an incomplete pass to Equanimeous St. Brown, sealing Chicago's fifth loss in six games.
Tagovailoa, the NFL's top-rated passer, had all the time he needed to throw after the Bears traded pass rusher Robert Quinn and star linebacker Roquan Smith in the past two weeks.
He completed 21 of 30 passes for 302 yards and posted a 135.7 rating.
Hill, the NFL's leading receiver, caught seven passes, including a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Jaylen Waddle, fourth in the league in yards receiving coming in, added 85 yards and a touchdown.
Jeff Wilson Jr. had a TD catch in his first game since a trade-deadline deal from San Francisco.
Chicago, tops in the NFL in rushing, had 252 yards on the ground with Fields leading the way. The Bears joined the 1976 Steelers as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to run for at least 225 yards in four straight games.
Fields completed 17 of 28 passes for 123 yards, with two touchdowns to Cole Kmet and one to Darnell Mooney.
The Dolphins needed just four plays to go 75 yards on the opening drive of the second half, with Tagovailoa finding Waddle in the end zone for an 18-yard TD that extended their lead to 28-17.
Fields then scrambled 61 yards to the end zone, the longest run of his career. Trevon Wesco caught the 2-point conversion, pulling Chicago within three.
But the Dolphins answered, with Tagovailoa hitting Wilson for a 10-yard score that bumped the lead to 35-25.
Fields made it a three-point game early in the fourth with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Kmet. The Dolphins — aided Eddie Jackson's pass interference on a deep ball to Waddle — drove to the Chicago 14, only to come away empty-handed when Tagovailoa underthrew Durham Smythe on a short pass.
INJURIES
Bears: CB Kindle Vildor (ankle) was hurt in the first quarter trying to guard Hill on a throw to the end zone that resulted in a pass-interference penalty that set up a touchdown.
UP NEXT
Dolphins: Host Cleveland next Sunday.
Bears: Host Detroit next Sunday.
