3 and Out: Positives Outweigh Negatives in Loss to Dolphins
Justin Fields breaks regular season QB rushing record and nearly carries Bears to an explosive upset
The holiday season is now officially underway, and given the way Chicago Bears fans reacted to their last game, you would be hard-pressed to find a group of people more jolly at the moment.
Yes, the Bears are 3-6, and said last game ended up being a 35-32 defeat to the Dolphins, but its seemed like Christmas Eve at all hours of the day since Sunday afternoon given the unwrapping of the gift that was the Bears’ offense.
Justin Fields lacks the build of Ol’ St. Nick, but he put in work that made people all over the world delight in rushing for the most yards ever in an NFL regular season game with 178.
That performance earned Fields the league’s award for Offensive Player of the Week, as announced early Wednesday.
While the Bears’ season isn’t being set up to look so great, the franchise’s future looks especially bright under the leadership of one of the NFL’s brightest young stars.
Go, Justin, Go!
The first word that came out of head coach Matt Eberflus’ mouth when asked about what he thought while watching Fields on Sunday was “speed.”
The second-year quarterback was unstoppable on the ground.
One of the most explosive plays came in the third quarter, with the Bears trailing 28-17, when Fields scrambled in the pocked, ran for the first down, and then proceeded to run to the end zone to complete a 61-yard magic trick of a run.
We’ve gotten glimpses of what Fields can do since last season, but what we have seen from him recently, particularly in the last three games, has been awesome.
Fields has six passing touchdowns, 453 passing yards, a 103.9 passer rating, three rushing touchdowns and just one interception across his last three performances (at New England, at Dallas, vs. Miami).
Representing a complete 360 to what we saw earlier in the year, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and the Bears staff have really taken the proverbial training wheels off this luxury car of a QB.
With a match-up like Detroit upcoming this Sunday the anticipation of another standout performance is no overstatement against statistically one of the worst defenses in the league in 2022.
Holding Your Ground
One thing a lot of people assumed entering Week 10 was that the Bears’ defense would be cooked against a very gifted Dolphins offense.
It's pretty understandable why people would think that way — on top of what Miami had to offer, the subtractions of a pair of talented defenders in Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn to trade deadline deals left the Bears’ defensive core stripped.
After the dust settled Sunday, the Bears gave up 35 points but they spread out the four scores that Miami’s offense made. Really, the most devastating Dolphins score on Sunday came on special teams when linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel recovered and housed a blocked punt midway through the second quarter.
The defense came through when the Bears needed them most, especially in the second half when the team needed stops, they came up with some clutch plays to keep the team in the game.
None such play was bigger than Jaylon Johnson blindly sticking his arms up to prevent another Jaylen Waddle reception, which would have converted a key 3rd and 11 opportunity with under three minutes to go in the ballgame.
The mostly young, underrated Bears defenders did more than could be expected against a potentially record-breaking Miami offense and that is enough to give them a confidence boost for the rest of the ‘22 campaign.
Dolphins Dancing in the Sky
“Elite” is the word that jumps out to you even before you see the Dolphins’ offense play, and they showed why in Sunday's game.
The speed and quickness of Tyreek “Cheetah” Hill are unmatched, and the man who is projected to record the NFL’s first 2,000-yard receiving season, put that on display at Soldier Field, racking up 143 receiving yards on seven receptions along with a touchdown.
Oh yeah, Hill even showed off more of his freak athleticism with a back flip that he did following his score in the second quarter.
On the other side of the field, Waddle added 85 yards and a touchdown to his stellar season thus far, which is projecting over 1,500 receiving yards.
One of the surprises of the offense was the newest Dolphin, Jeff Wilson Jr., who looked right at home in his first game with Miami after being traded from San Francisco. Wilson ran for 51 yards on nine carries.
Despite Wilson’s success, it could’ve been way worse for the Bears when it comes to stopping the run game. That is something that Matt Eberflus also acknowledged in the post-game press conference.
“Obviously, defensively, positive takeaways are the run defense,” Eberflus said of his run defense, which comes out the Miami game ranked next to last in the NFL in rushing yards yielded.
“The run defense was better. Wasn't perfect.”
The Bears now prepare for a return to NFC North action this Sunday when they host the Lions for the first time this season.
Bear Tracks
Cornerback Kindle Vildor left the game on Sunday with an ankle injury and never returned.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool made two catches on six targets and recorded 13 yards in his Bears debut and fellow wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. was a healthy scratch.
Saul Rodriguez is WARR Media’s associate producer and lead Bears reporter