Whoever put money on the Miami Dolphins before Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears probably made a small fortune.

The Bears, undefeated at 7-0, were thirteen and a half point favorites on the 1-6 Dolphins. The Bears, ranked No. 1 in total offense, defense and special teams should have walked all over the Dolphins, who were reeling in a year where their major offseason acquisition, quarterback Daunte Culpepper, has been horrendous and playoff aspirations had quickly disappeared.

Also, the Dolphins quarterback was Joey Harrington, who Bears fans know well as being a huge bust for the division rival Detroit Lions, and last year was intercepted five times in a 38-6 rout by the Bears. Add to the fact that the Bears had won 10 straight home games, and this had all the makings of a blowout.

Well, it was, but it was the Dolphins who put the shellacking on the Bears, 31-13, with the biggest upset victory of the NFL season. It seemed like the Bears might have got caught up in their own hype, as they looked like a team playing without focus, making costly mistakes throughout the game. An undefeated season was improbable, but it shouldn’t have ended against the Dolphins.

This was a repeat of the Bears game against the Arizona Cardinals, where the Bears were heavily favored going into a game against a weak opponent, but managed to throw the game away before being rescued by some luck and solid defense at the end.

The Bears should have learned from the Arizona game not to take any team lightly. It seemed as if the lesson had been learned after they destroyed the San Francisco 49ers 41-10 a week ago. The rout made the Arizona game look like a fluke, but now it looks like the Bears have some real issues to address.

Let’s start with the defense, the heart and the soul of the team. They were gashed for 151 yards rushing by running back Ronnie Brown, after not allowing a 100-yard rushing performance at home since 2004. The front four not only couldn’t stop the run, but they couldn’t generate pressure on Harrington. The defensive philosophy is based on the ability of just the front four to get pressure on the QB, so when they are off their game, it throws the whole defense off.

The secondary also looked like a weakness, as the corners were beat many times by Dolphin receivers with a noticeable lack of help by the safeties. If Harrington had been more accurate, he could easily have had a couple more touchdowns, as he overthrew wide open receivers a few times.

This game makes the absence of safety Mike Brown, who is out for the year with a torn ligament in his foot, hugely noticeable. Brown was the leader of the secondary, and was known for making big plays when the team needed them.

But the defense faced a tough task defending short fields thanks to six turnovers and the horrendous play of the offense. Rex Grossman, who was hearing MVP talk at the beginning of the year, had his second terrible game in his last three starts. The Bears fortunes seem to ride on Grossman’s play, because in the two bad games he’s had, the team has struggled

Grossman’s gunslinger mentality leads to his downfall, as he tries to make throws he has no business throwing. It’s partly due to his atrocious footwork, as he was constantly throwing off his back foot or flat footed, which directly led to the interceptions that he threw. He must work on his fundamentals and curb his inner Brett Favre, as good teams will now try to exploit him into making these same mistakes.

Along with his questionable descion-making, Grossman was hurt by the loss of big play wideout Bernard Berrian on the first play of the game. Injuries, the key to any good season, are taking their toll on the Bears. Along with Brown and Berrian, All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher also left the field with a foot injury.

Now the Bears must gear up to face the NFC East-leading New York Giants on the road, followed by the New York Jets and the New England Patriots – also on the road. These three games will be the litmus test of the season, and will define how good this Bears team really is.

The loss of the undefeated season will take a lot of pressure off the team, and the Bears will not be favored as much to win every game. This might help the team, as the Bears play better in an underdog role, with a chip on their shoulder.

It is ironic that the great ’85 Bears team also lost their undefeated season to the Dolphins. Everyone knows how that season turned out – hopefully 2006 will have the same result.

Majesh Abraham is a junior in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected].