The Chicago Bears apparently couldn’t stand being successful for very long. They put together a rather impressive effort a week ago Monday as they shredded the New England Patriots to the tune of 33-14. And this featured 82 yards rushing from Justin Fields, the second-year quarterback out of Ohio State.
And as BetAnySports customers saw, they had a pretty productive day on the ground this past Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. But they simply had no defense for what the Cowboys were able to do, whether it was on the ground or through the air.
One particular turnover killed them as well, as Dallas’ Micah Parsons returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown.
Chicago is back at Soldier Field this Sunday, taking on the Miami Dolphins, who had to come from behind to beat the Detroit Lions last weekend in what was something of a shootout, at least in the first half of play.
This game will kick off at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and will be televised regionally by CBS.
In the pro football betting odds that have been posted on this game, the Dolphins are laying points on the road.
Miami Dolphins -5
Chicago Bears + 5
Over 46 points -110
Under 46 points – 110
Chicago came into last Sunday’s contest leading the NFL in rushing yardage per game, and they didn’t do much to hurt themselves in that area, with 240 yards and some balance. Fields, operating mostly behind designed runs, had 60 of those yards, with Khalil Herbert chalking up 99 and David Montgomery contributing 53. No team has a higher run play percentage than the Bears. And they are justifying that.
However, the Cowboys had a running back they couldn’t stop. Ezekiel Elliott was injured, but Tony Pollard is arguably more explosive at this point, and he carried the ball 14 times for 131 yards. The Cowboys scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, on their way to a 49-29 win.
Chicago did not help themselves much on defense by making a trade before Tuesday’s deadline, sending Roquan Smith, who was leading the NFL in tackles, over to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a second and fifth round draft selection next year. He wanted an enhanced new contract, bloated in the opinion of general manager Ryan Pace, so the deal was inevitable.
And by the way, Miami made a deal to upgrade themselves defensively, acquiring Bradley Chubb (from Denver), who will give them a better pass rush.
The Dolphins have returned to their winning ways as Tua Tagovailoa has returned to the lineup after his scary concussion. On Sunday he threw for 382 yards in the 31-27 win over Detroit. Miami’s star tandem at wide receiver produced in a big way once again. Tyreek Hill had a dozen catches for 188 yards, and Jaylen Waddle had 106 yards on eight receptions. Tua had 382 passing yards, but Miami was in a bit of a defensive slumber early, as Detroit took a 20-7 lead early in the second quarter.
But what you have to remember is that the Lions have one of the three or four worst defenses in the NFL, so it’s almost inevitable that an opponent is going to come back and score some points. And that’s what happened. Hill and Waddle are #1 and #4 in the NFL, respectively, in receiving yards.
One of the things that the Dolphins have not delivered on is the promise of a genuine running game, as first-year head coach Mike McDaniel had operated in San Francisco. Currently they rank 28th in the league with 88 yards per game (and 3.9 per carry).
But maybe there are some encouraging signs, and they trace back to McDaniel’s days with the 49ers. Raheem Mostert has 64 rushing yards, and a trade was made with San Francisco that brought over Jeff Wilson, who will be a definite contributor.
What we’re thinking here is that while Fields is limited as a passer, the Bears are going to move the ball on the ground against most people. After all, they are 23 yards ahead of anyone else in the NFL’s rush rankings. The Dolphins have been a subpar team in keeping opponents from scoring TD’s in red zone situations (28th in league), and Chicago might just be able to keep this one tight or pull off an upset.
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