Chicago Bears lose to the Miami Dolphins, but the offense shines

Despite experiencing their fifth loss in six games, the Chicago Bears’ offense was the story of the game. If you look at the score, you’d see another loss by the Chicago Bears. They fell to the Miami Dolphins 35-32. It was their fifth loss in six games and ran their record to 3-6 for the season. It was just another disappointing loss in another disappointing season, right?

Well, you would be wrong in thinking that.

Despite the loss, we saw an incredible performance from the offense. The Bears have had trouble fielding a half-decent offense over the last two decades. There might have been a good season here or there, but the main reason for that has always been the dominating defense.

We are seeing the emergence of a potentially good offense that can score many points. Chicago Bears fans aren’t used to seeing that but are getting a glimpse of that.

Chicago put up 368 total yards of offense. It was the fourth straight game the offense put up 350+ yards of offense. Additionally, the running game, which came into the game leading the league in rushing, had another sterling performance. They put up 252 yards, their second-most yards on the ground this season. It was the fourth consecutive game they ran for over 237 yards. Furthermore, the 35 points were the third straight game they scored 30 points or more.

The Chicago Bears offense had a complete turnaround from early in the season. In the first five games, they averaged 274 total yards of offense, 117 yards passing, and 17.2 points per game.

In their last four games, however, they average 380 total yards of offense, 137 passing yards, and 25.2 points per game (31.3 points per game in their last three games).

Justin Fields on fire for the Chicago Bears

Quarterback Justin Fields has been leading the offensive charge. Early on in the season, he struggled to handle the offense. He sometimes looked lost and indecisive.

That has changed, however. Fields looks like a different player. He has a better handle of the offense and looks more decisive. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has called more running plays for Fields. He is also calling more short-to-intermediate passes that are high-percentage passes.

In his first five games of the season, Fields completed only about 56 percent of his passes. In his last four, though, that percentage jumped up to 62 percent.

Having Fields throw those high-percentage passes gets him into a rhythm and increases his confidence.

Fields’ confidence is at an all-time high for Fields after this game. He went 17/28 for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns. In addition, he ran for an amazing 178 yards and a touchdown. The rushing yards were a record for a quarterback in a regular season game. Colin Kaepernick had 181 yards in a playoff game.

Just like the Dallas Cowboys last week, and the New England Patriots the week before that, the Dolphins had no answers for Fields’ running. There were a number of occasions in which they had Fields stopped for a short gain or a loss, but Fields got away and ran for bug chunks of yards. His best run was a 61-yard touchdown run, the longest run of his career.

We still see the struggles from the wide receivers corps. Only Darnell Mooney, who made some spectacular catches, including one for his first touchdown of the season, was really dependable. Chase Claypool had a couple of catches for 13 yards (and drew a defensive interference call), but he was on a snap count. He’s still trying to learn the system so it will take a little while to get him accustomed to the offense.

Kmet breaks out

Tight end Cole Kmet had a breakout game. Last week, he caught his first touchdown pass of the season. He loved that so much that he had two of them this week. He caught a total of five passes for 41 yards and the touchdowns.

This is exactly how the Bears need Kmet to play in this offense. He provides Fields with a big target in the red zone. The Bears finally utilized him and he responded. If he could continue to play like this the offense will be even better.

Yes, this was another tough loss for the Bears. they were in the game the entire way and had a couple of chances to take the lead late in the game. This is a young team that lacks a lot of talent. It makes what they are doing that much more incredible.

Remember, the Dolphins had the number three passing offense in the NFL. They had Tua Tagovailoa, who ranked second in completion percentage and first in passer rating, and speedy receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Not many people gave the Bears a shot to keep up with Miami but the Bears offense did.

While the defense got torched by Tua and the receivers, the unit did a good job as the game progressed. The defense actually shut out Miami in the fourth quarter, giving the offense a chance at pulling off the upset.

Despite the prodigious offensive numbers by the Dolphins (they had 302 passing yards) the difference of the game came on special teams. The Dolphins blocked a Trenton Gill punt and returned it for a touchdown. This would have been a different game without that score.

No, the Chicago Bears did not win. However, they still looked good on offense. Additionally, seeing Fields do what he is doing is incredible. Teams know he’s going to run. They’re trying to key in on him yet he still continues to rack up numbers.

Imagine him when Claypool is ready to go and the future when general manager Ryan Poles surrounds Fields with better talent. The future is bright for the Chicago Bears.