Bears and Dolphins Game Day Preview

Miami Dolphins (5-3) at Chicago Bears (3-5)

Kickoff: Noon, Soldier Field, Chicago.

TV: CBS (Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins)

Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)

Spanish Radio TUDN AM-1200, Latino Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)

Streaming: fubo TV (Sign up for free trial)

Betting Line: Dolphins by 3 1/2 (over/under 45 1/2). Latest betting information at SI.com sports book.

BearDigest Record: 6-2, 4-4 vs. the spread, 3-5 vs. the total.

BearDigest Pick: Dolphins 24, Bears 20

The Series: The 14th game in the series. Miami leads 9-4 and is 4-1 in Chicago. The only other Bears win over Miami in Soldier Field was the 1988 season opener.

The Coaches:

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is 5-3 in his first year as coach. McDaniel is the former 49ers running game coordinator.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 3-5 in his first year and as an assistant his teams were 5-1 against Miami.

Last Week: The Dolphins were down by 14 points twice but ralled to beat the Detroit Lions 31-27 with a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter by Alec Ingold putting Miami ahead for good. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 382 yards on 29 of 36 with three TDs, two to Jaylen Waddle and on to Mike Gesicki. The 138.7 passer rating Tagovailoa had was the highest for a single game in his career.

The Bears rallied from a 28-7 deficit to within 28-23 but Dallas' running attack took charge behind Tony Pollard and the Cowboys pulled away for a 49-29 win. Khalil Herbert rushed for 99 yards and Justin Fields threw for 151 and two TDs while rushing for 60 yards and a TD. Fields' 120 passer rating was the best of his career for a single game.

This Season: The Dolphins are looking for their third straight win after starting the season with three straight wins, then losing three straight to Cincinnati, the Jets and Minnesota. QB Tua Tagovailoa has improved his numbers drastically over the past as he is averaging 9.0 yards per attempt with 12 TDs, three interceptions and a passer rating of 112.7 thanks largely to receivers Jaylen Waddle and former Chief Tyreek Hill. Waddle has 42 catches for 727 yards and Hill is almost at 1,000 yards already with 69 catches for 961 yards. Miami looked to improve one of its weaknesses by trading for defensive end Bradley Chubb, who has 26 career sacks in 49 games.

The rebuilding Bears tore up their defense by trading away captain and NFL tackles leader Roquan Smith one week after trading away franchise single-season sacks leader Robert Quinn. They got a second-round pick and fifth-rounder for Smith, along with linebacker A.J. Klein, then traded their own second-round pick to Pittsburgh for WR Chase Claypool. The Bears lead the league in rushing and rushing attempts with 285 runs for 1,507 yards, as Khalil Herbert has a team-high 563 yards and Fields 424 yards. The Bears are 2-0 against the AFC this year with wins over Houston and New England. Fields has a 97.6 passer rating with five TD passes, two interceptions and 64% completions, while registering 7.91 yards per attempt in his last four games. Tight end Cole Kmet last week ended a streak of games dating back to 2020 without TDs. WR Darnell Mooney is still looking for his first TD of the year

Matching Up: The Dolphins are seventh on offense, third in passing and 28th in rushing. Miami is 23rd on defense, 26th against the pass and sixth against the run. Miami is 16th in scoring and 22nd in scoring defense.

The Bears rank 27th on offense, 32nd (last) in passing and first in rushing. Chicago is 16th on defense, fifth in pass defense and 31s stopping the run. The Bears are 23rd in scoring and 18th in scoring defense.

Injury Report:

Dolphins: WR River Crafraft (knee) is out; T Austin Jackson is doubtful (ankle/calf), T Terron Armstead (toe/Achilles), TE Tanner Conner (knee), LB Jaelen Phillips (quad), S Eric Rowe (hip) are questionable.
Bears: Tackle Larry Borom (concussion) cleared the concussion protocol and is questionable while defensive back Kyler Gordon (hip) and safety Eddie Jackson (hip) are questionable but went through full practices on Friday. Guard Ja'Tyre Carter is questionable (illness).

Of Note: The Bears defense has given up only two second-half touchdowns at home this year. ... Justin Fields has a 5-13 record as starter but he is 4-3 as a starter against AFC teams. ... Miami is trying to get to 6-3 for the second time since 2001. ... According to NFL NextGen Stats, Tagovailoa has 32 completions over 10 air yards to the middle of the field, twice as many as the next-best NFL passer. ... The 1,688 yards receiving are the most by a pair of teammates through eight games in league history. ...

Miami starting guard Liam Eichenberg went on injured re serve Tuesday after a knee injury against the Lions. ... The Bears got starting left guard Cody Whitehair off injured reserve this week and he is expected to start.

Next Week: The Dolphins host Cleveland Nov. 13 at noon. ... The Bears host Detroit at noon at Soldier Field on Nov. 13.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill

Surprisingly, Hill doesn't have a speed clocking in the top 20 this year by NextGen Stats. Neither does Waddle. But the speed is there. Johnson has enjoyed a great deal of respect from QBs, who have avoided him. He has faced only 17 targets, allowing 52.9% completions and a passer rating against of 77.1. Those are career bests. It's much easier for opponents to aim at rookies Kyler Gordon or Jaquan Brisker, or Kindle Vildor than Johnson. It won't stop the Dolphins from targeting Hill if he's covered by Johnson. Hill's natural spot is the right side of the formation but the Dolphins move both receivers around to each spot so it wouldn't be surprising to see Johnson lining up at left cornerback in this game at times and covering Hill.

Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle

Waddle lines up mostly on the outside but when they bring him inside to the slot he has really done damage, turning 10-yard passes into 50-yard gains. Gordon is graded 88th out of 110 cornerbacks Pro Football Focus scores and has had a typical rookie year. He played a great game against New England and against Washington, struggled in many others. Waddle is lightning quick. The Bears call it critical to get their hands on receivers but Waddle is so fast it's not always easy to accomplish this.

Bears T Braxton Jones vs. Dolphins DE Bradley Chubb

Chubb got traded to the Dolphins and now he has his $110 million contract—all of this for a player with one double-figure sack season, and that as a rookie. Chubb is healthy now and that's been his real problem. The Dolphins haven't been terrible getting sacks from other sources but no one has more than three this year and they'll count on the heat coming from Chubb in his first game with the team. Jones hasn't had a bad rookie year at all and has been ranked 30th out of 78 tackles Pro Football Focus has graded. He has committed only three penalties and has four sacks allowed. There is no real size or speed edge here for either side. It's simply the experience advantage against Jones, and he's faced this plenty this year.

Bears DT Justin Jones vs. Dolphins LG Robert Jones

Jones hasn't had a good season by PFF standards, ranking 111th out of 126 interior defensive linemen graded. He'll make the occasional big play but is out of his lane occasionally and gives up big runs. His pass rush has been respectable, ranking in the middle of the pack of DTs but 112th in run defense. Robert Jones replaces Liam Eichenberg, the second-year tackle from Notre Dame was struggling after moving inside to guard. Eiechenberg suffered a knee injury in the last game. Jones is from Rockford, Il. and played for East High. The Middle Tennessee State product is more of a power blocker than Eichenberg and stands 6-4, 334 pounds. He got one start last year and has 102 offensive plays in the league. Jones has allowed one sack in his career, according to Pro Football Focus. The key in this matchup is Justin Jones' speed and burst beating Robert Jones off the ball.

Bears LB Jack Sanborn vs. Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki

Gesicki isn't having the kind of year he had last year, when he made 73 catches, but the Dolphins would rather have the big plays from their wideouts. Gesicki has 21 catches and is 6-foot-6, 247 pounds. Sanborn is 6-2, 236 and would be making his first start if the Bears go this way, and it appears they are. They don't have a lot of choices without Roquan Smith and Matthew Adams. Sanborn's strength is definitely not tailing a tight end across the formation but the Bears will likely zone up and have him in the middle of the zone. He has five tackles on the year and has played just 14 defensive reps so far.

Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. Dolphins CB Xavien Howard

Mooney has someone to balance out the field for him now with Chase Claypool, although he's not as likely to play a huge role this week as in the future. Mooney has a matchup edge over whichever Dolphins cornerback he attacks but Howard, the left cornerback, is ranked 85th of 110 cornerbacks by PFF. He definitely has had better years, like 2020 when he led the NFL with 10 interceptions. He has 27 career interceptions in six seasons but this year has had groin injury issues and has a 123.7 passer rating against when targeted. He has allowed 13 TD passes over the last three years, including three this year, according to Sportradar. Mooney has heated up after a cold start in the new offense, with 21 receptions and 337 yards (16.05 ypg) in the last five games. He's still looking for that first TD on the year.

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