Dolphins Opponent Breakdown: Chicago Bears
The Miami Dolphins will look to make it three in a row and improve to 6-3 on the season when they face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Dolphins will face an NFC opponent for the third time this season after losing against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6 and defeating the Detroit Lions last Sunday.
The Bears will go into the game with a 3-5 record following their 49-29 loss against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.
To get some answers on five major questions related to the Bears, we turned to Publisher Gene Chamberlain of SI Fan Nation sister site Bears Digest.
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1. Where would you say Justin Fields is in his development as a quarterback, and does he look like a franchise-type player?
GC: Prior to four games ago there might have been reason to debate Fields' future but in the last four he has taken a big step up with more consistency and at times was brilliant as a runner and passer. His stats would have been even more impressive if not for three perfectly thrown passes doinking off receivers' hands downfield. A passer rating in the high 90s, five TD passes to two interceptions with a yards per attempt near 8.0 for four weeks are positive indicators of his progress. His electrifying speed on scrambles has opened up their offense and he's averaged almost 70 rushing yards in those four games. So Fields definitely looks more like the franchise player they hoped for at this point.
2. How effective can the Bears defense be after the team traded Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith in the past two weeks?
GC: They can't be effective at all. They weren't against Dallas and they had Smith playing. Now they have easily the worst front seven in the NFL. Analytics on Smith's play indicate a player less effective than his tackles totals suggest, and he was leading the league in tackles. But you still need someone who can make all those tackles and the Bears are using guys at two starting linebacker spots who might not even be a practice squad player on many NFL teams. Their pass rushers seem to apply pressure but can't finish. So if Tua Tagovailoa stands his ground and fires, he should be able to complete a good percentage of big gainers, particularly on posts and slant passes.
3. What are your early impressions of new head coach Matt Eberflus?
GC: By winning three out of his first eight with the talent he has on hand, Eberflus should get considered for Coach of the Year. The Bears decided to gut the salary cap to clean up the mess former GM Ryan Pace left and set themselves up with $115 million in cap space next year, so they couldn't afford better talent this year. It hasn't stopped Eberflus from coaching them as if he had that talent, or from demanding as much from players as he would from higher level talent. His HITS principle has worked to pull players together and defensively to force turnovers. He has an excellent ability to delegate to his assistants and hired an innovative offensive coordinator in Luke Getsy.
4. How are the Bears equipped to deal with the threat of the Tyreek Hill-Jaylen Waddle combination at wide receiver?
GC: The Bears secondary has produced better as a group, and safety Eddie Jackson has finally started playing again like in 2017 and 2018 with four interceptions. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson can cover all over the field with most receivers, but in terms of being able to cope with Tyreek Hill-level speed, they can't do it at all in man-to-man coverage. What they'll likely do is go heavily zone with their Tampa-2 style and take their chances in hopes of getting an overthrow or two that they can turn into an interception. They'll want to play back deep and keep everything underneath while trying to force Tagovailoa to be patient with long drives.
5. Without necessarily predicting the outcome, what is your sense of whether the Bears can be a problem for the Dolphins on Sunday after they got blown out by the Dallas Cowboys last weekend?
GC: The Bears will be a problem only in terms of frustrating the Miami defense with Fields scrambling for numerous third-down pick-ups. The best Dolphins bet is making Fields beat them from inside the pocket as a passer, but no one has been able to keep him there over the past month. The Dolphins have everything they need to turn this into a shootout and win it. The Bears are limited because their passing game hasn't yet developed to play and win a game that way.
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