Bears rookies bring an end to Dolphins' big weekend

CANTON, Ohio -- Two Bears rookies stole the show from Ricky Williams.

Oh, sure, the crowd paid a little more attention when Williams was in the game. But his return performance in the NFL was short and ineffective. The real excitement was provided by Kyle Orton and Mark Bradley as they rallied Chicago to a 27-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the Hall of Fame game Monday night.

Orton brought a breath of fresh air to the often-stale Bears offense when he riddled Miami's third-string defense on two late touchdown drives.

"It was a lot of fun and a big confidence builder," Orton said. "It was a big comeback."

The fourth-round draft pick from Purdue connected with Carl Ford for a 43-yard score with 7:23 remaining. After Olindo Mare was short on a 54-yard field goal try, Orton guided Chicago 56 yards, keyed by a 34-yard bullet to Eddie Berlin and a third-down interference penalty by Miami's Deandre Eiland.

Zack Abron ran it in from the 4, disappointing all the Dolphins fans wearing No. 13 jerseys in the crowd of 22,292. One day earlier, former Miami quarterback Dan Marino was inducted into the Hall, along with Steve Young, Fritz Pollard and Benny Friedman.

Orton's strong outing -- 7-for-11 for 175 yards -- and Bradley's Hall of Fame game record 131 yards on five receptions spoiled the debut of Nick Saban as an NFL coach and Williams' return to the Miami lineup. Williams had 8 yards on five rushes and downplayed his role.

After a year away from the game, Ricky Williams gets acclimated to the joy of being tackled. (AP)

"I honestly felt I didn't have anything to get over with. To me, it was just another day. I was playing again."

Saban, who left LSU after a highly successful career in college to rebuild the Dolphins, didn't get much from Williams. Indeed, there was nothing much reminiscent of the Marino days for the team coming off a 4-12 record, its first losing season since 1988.

Williams entered on Miami's second series and had a 2-yard run. He had another 2-yard run and gained 2 yards on a swing pass on which he stumbled during the next possession.

In the second period, Williams had runs of 3, 2 and minus-1.

That was it for the former rushing king, who will sit out the first four games of the regular season under an NFL suspension for violating the substance abuse policy.