Facing the Bears at home, the Dolphins successfully propped up a couple of areas in need of improvement, pass defense and run offense. The Bears brought in a quality receiver, but moved their top two defensive players out. We saw some of the effect last week as the Chicago defense absolutely plummeted in effectiveness. They allowed double their season's average points against total, and their vaunted pass defense fell apart, allowing a third more yards. Against a healthy and fired up Tua-lead Dolphins pass attack, this is not good news.
Fields didn't pass for any more yards than usual, but he did put up points with 0 picks, in spite of the usual 4 sacks. He and his RBs again put up monster yards on the ground. He may not get a break from the pressure this week, as the usually mild-pressuring Dolphins added a heavy hitter in Chubb. The Dolphins defense has also been very tough against the run, allowing an average of just 85 yards on the ground in their last three games, so this should be an interesting match-up.
It goes without saying that Miami is a pass-first offense, but they do have two very good running backs with the addition of Wilson. The Bears are one of the easiest teams to run on, so this might be the week to vary the routine. The Bears surprised with the number of points they put up in the last two weeks, but the Dolphins can score in a hurry and the Bears have taken a huge hit on defense with their deadline losses. I'm on the Dolphins to win and cover.