For the longest time, there was barely any difference between the Bears and Dolphins. They were two teams living off glory days that happened before much of their current fan base was born, drifting aimlessly without a quarterback into mediocrity and irrelevance.
But now the Bears have plunged to the bottom of the league while the Dolphins are eying a championship run. So what happened?
The Dolphins have found everything the Bears haven’t, and that starts at quarterback. Tua Tagovailoa still has to climb to prove he’s one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, but he’s well on his way. After throwing four touchdown passes in a 70-20 win over the Broncos on Sunday, he leads the league in passer rating (121.9) and is top-five in yardage, completion percentage and touchdown passes.
Even before this hot start, Tagovailoa was viable. Whereas Justin Fields struggles to reach 200 yards passing, Tagovailoa averaged that number over his first 10 starts. He had three 300-yard games over his first two seasons, while Fields has yet to hit that number and is fresh off managing just 99 on 11-for-22 passing in a blowout loss to the Chiefs.
The Dolphins have augmented Tagovailoa’s skill by putting virtually everything else in place around him. There’s clear compatibility between him and coach Mike McDaniel and they’ve surrounded him with brilliant talent. He might not ever be as good as Patrick Mahomes, but he appears to be good enough to give the Dolphins a chance against him for the next decade.
The Dolphins are No. 4 in the power rankings this week, and we’ll find out fairly soon whether they’re actually that good. They visit the Bills this week and the Eagles in Week 7, then face the Chiefs in Germany in Week 9.
Here’s how the NFL stands after three games:
1. Eagles (3-0)
2. 49ers (3-0)
3. Chiefs (2-1)
4. Dolphins (2-0)
5. Bills (2-1)
6. Browns (2-1)
7. Ravens (2-1)
8. Lions (2-1)
9. Cowboys (2-1)
10. Bengals (1-2)
11. Seahawks (2-1)
12. Packers (2-1)
13. Jaguars (1-2)
14. Chargers (1-2)
15. Saints (2-1)
16. Steelers (2-1)
17. Colts (2-1)
18. Falcons (2-1)
19. Buccaneers (2-1)
20. Commanders (2-1)
21. Patriots (1-2)
22. Rams (1-2)
23. Giants (1-2)
24. Cardinals (1-2)
25. Texans (1-2)
26. Jets (1-2)
27. Titans (1-2)
28. Raiders (1-2)
29. Vikings (0-3)
30. Broncos (0-3)
31. Panthers (0-3)
32. Bears (0-3)