Three studs and duds from the Chicago Bears loss to the Dolphins

The Chicago Bears had their chances

The Chicago Bears came into the game with a much different-looking team than the one they had a few weeks ago against the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football. After trading away Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith, the defense was a shell of itself against the Miami Dolphins.

The offense looked pretty explosive against the Dolphins, as the team traded for Case Claypool before Tuesday’s deadline. Claypool didn’t have much on the stat sheet, but he helped the Bears immensely. Claypool drew a drive-changing pass interference that switched the field in the Bears’ favor. He took focus away from other pass catchers in the offense.

The Bears made it a close game against the Dolphins, but they were not able to make enough stops to get a win at Soldier Field Sunday. However, the team saw many good things happen during their 35-32 loss to the Dolphins. Here are three studs and duds from the Bears’ loss in Week 9.

Studs

Justin Fields

Justin Fields is the guy. He looked absolutely undefendable. Fields finished 17-of-28 passing with 123 yards, and three touchdown passes. He finished with a passer rating of 106.7. Fields was even better in the running game. He ran for 178 yards and added another touchdown on the ground.

Fields set the record for the most rushing yards by an NFL quarterback in the regular season. He was the reason why the Bears were in the game. A drop that was Equanimeous St. Brown’s fault was why their final drive couldn’t continue. If Fields had started the season the way he’s played the previous three weeks, he’d be in the conversation for NFL MVP. The Bears have a quarterback.

Cole Kmet

Over the past two weeks, Cole Kmet has found his groove in the Bears’ offense. Kmet scored his first touchdown pass of the season against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8. He followed that up with a pair of scores against the Dolphins Sunday. Kmet caught five of his targets for 41 yards and ran for another nine yards. The 23-year-old tight end is starting to look like the second-round pick he was brought into Chicago to be.

The offensive line

The Bears’ offensive line played a solid game on Sunday. They protected Fields for most of the game. The offensive line gave up a pair of sacks in the fourth quarter. Other than that, the unit allowed the passing attack to have a chance. The run blocking was stellar again. The Bears finished with 252 yards on the ground. Most of that was Fields’ intuition, but there were plenty of holes for him and Bears runners to find lanes to run through.

Duds

Chicago Bears Special Teams

The Chicago Bears special teams were a letdown against the Dolphins. A blocked punt returned for a touchdown in the second quarter put the Dolphins up 21-10. The Dolphins, who had scored touchdowns on their first two drives before that play, might have driven down the field for a score. But that miscue was not something the Bears needed if they wanted a chance to keep points against the Dolphins with a dangerous offense at a premium. Bears punter Trenton Gill couldn’t back the Dolphins inside the 20-yard line on any of his two attempts. Dante Pettis offered just two yards in his one punt return.

Chicago Bears running backs

David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert had a meh day. Montgomery finished with 36 yards rushing on 14 attempts giving him an average of 2.6 yards per rush. Herbert was a little more efficient. He finished with 23 yards on seven carries for 3.3 yards per rush. They just weren’t effective, which was uncharacteristic for the tandem–even in the passing game. Montgomery was the only Chicago Bears running back to catch a pass in the game. A single reception for eight yards.

The two final plays on the Chicago Bears’ final drive on offense

The final drive was a bummer. The Chicago Bears defense had just come up with a huge stop to give the offense a chance, with just over two minutes remaining on the final drive. Fields made a few big plays to move the ball to midfield.

Fields lofted a bomb to Claypool on third and ten, but the pass was not completed. The replay showed Dolphins defenders all over Claypool, and the play should have resulted in a pass interference putting the Bears in at least easy field goal territory.

The next play was a perfect ball from Fields to St. Brown, but St. Brown just dropped what would have been a game-saving first down.

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