Bears get six sacks in shutout of Dolphins

Julius Peppers led a swarming defense that allowed only 187 yards last night as the Bears won, 16-0, to send the injury-ravaged Dolphins to their second home shutout in 40 years.

Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall drew a flag for taunting when he flipped the ball at former Denver teammate Jay Cutler, standing in front of the Bears' bench. Marshall also was penalized for an illegal block and dropped two passes before he left in the second quarter after aggravating a sore right hamstring.

With third-stringer Tyler Thigpen taking six sacks in his first NFL start since 2008, the Dolphins were no match for a defense that took over the NFL lead in points allowed per game.

The Bears (7-3) won for the third time in 12 days and moved a half-game ahead of Green Bay atop the NFC North. The Dolphins (5-5) lost at home in prime time for the third time this season.

Panthers to start St. PierreBrian St. Pierre has thrown five passes in eight NFL seasons. He wasn't in a training camp this summer and last week was a stay-at-home dad. On Sunday, he'll start for the 1-8 Panthers.

A season with anemic offense and many injuries took an even stranger twist when coach John Fox chose St. Pierre over rookie Tony Pike to play against the Ravens. "The guy has been in some games," Fox said.

These days, that's good enough to start for the NFL's lowest-scoring team. Rookie Jimmy Clausen has a concussion, and Matt Moore (shoulder) is out for the season.

The Panthers had a similar situation in 2007 when they brought in 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde on Tuesday and he won a game on Sunday. "John Fox told me, 'Vinny Testaverde came in and did this three years ago,' " St. Pierre said. "And I said, 'Well, Vinny has a little better resume than I do.' ''