Scooter & Hum: Day 971, Quasi-Quarantine: Dolphins-Bears Game 9 Review

The 'Fins won their third straight game and moved to 5-1 in one-score games on the campaign by enduring a nailbiter on the road in Chicago. Despite going the final 21 minutes of the game without scoring, Miami's offense was largely unstoppable against a Bears defense that is shedding playmakers. However, a Dolphins defense enduring a midseason identity crisis was embarrassed by one of the league's worst offensive attacks. In fact, three massive calls went Miami's way in the final moments (the league later apologized to the Bears for two of them), or else we'd be having a much different conversation.

On to the ref-appreciation recap ...

Offense

Miami caught fire against a decimated Chicago defense, averaging 10.1 yards per passing play and 7.2 yards per play without turning the ball over or allowing a sack. The 'Fins also scored four touchdowns on six red-zone trips. If there are quibbles to be had, it is that the Dolphins went just 5 for 10 on third downs, misfired on both fourth-down attempts, couldn't close the game out late, and ran for just 77 yards. However, when you score 35 points on the road, those can be considered nits.
The Dolphins moved to 6-0 when Tua Tagovailoa plays three quarters, and the signal-caller hit on 21 of 30 passes for 302 yards and three scores. In terms of negatives, he underthrew a few passes, rushed five times without gaining a yard, fumbled once (he recovered it himself), and was involved in penalties for too many men on the field and an illegal shift. However, he once again led a Miami offense that is looking more unstoppable by the week, and he did so while protecting the ball.
Somewhat surprisingly, newcomer Jeff Wilson outsnapped starter Raheem Mostert (28 to 27) and had as many runs (nine), outgaining Mostert 51 yards to 26. Wilson also grabbed three catches for 21 yards, while Mostert was targeted twice without a catch, including one drop. Fullback Alec Ingold saw 28 snaps without a touch or a target. How the touches play out between Wilson and Mostert the rest of the way will be an intriguing storyline to follow.
At receiver, the story was the same as it has been, with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle wreaking havoc on opposing secondaries. Hill earned a 93.3 grade from Pro Football Focus after catching seven balls for 143 yards and a touchdown, while Waddle got an 85.4 grade based on grabbing five passes for 85 yards and a score. Trent Sherfield had three receptions for 27 yards on his 36 snaps and seems to make at least one clutch catch per contest, while Cedrick Wilson managed two grabs for 23 yards in his 13 snaps with River Cracraft inactive. Hill went over 1,000 yards on the season in this game and has now been targeted on 35.2% of his routes -- highest in the NFL. One thing to watch for as the season progresses: Miami can't count on getting 79 yards in pass interference calls every game, but will pick plays -- the Dolphins admittedly run a lot, like pretty much all teams -- all of a sudden start drawing offensive flags as the postseason nears?
Durham Smythe led in snaps at tight end (33), but was targeted twice without a catch. Mike Gesicki was held in check, getting a single catch for three yards in his 28 snaps. Hunter Long had six snaps before exiting as part of concussion protocol.
The offensive line held the Bears without a sack for the first time all season, and allowed zero tackles for losses to boot. The front allowed only two quarterback hits by Chicago defensive linemen. Despite Terron Armstead being whistled for being ineligible downfield, it was another strong effort up front against a depleted defense. Sure, it would have been great to establish the running game a bit more, but game flow tilted the offense pass-heavy, and the OL responded.

Defense

The short story is that the 'Fins had no answer for Justin Fields, who threw for 123 yards and three scores and ran for 178 yards and another touchdown. Miami allowed a whopping 252 rushing yards (6.3 yards per attempt) and 368 total yards and allowed first downs on 10 of 16 third-down attempts and 1 of 2 fourth downs. Chicago scored touchdowns on three of four red-zone trips, dominated time of possession (34:46 to 25:14), and took advantage of poor tackling all game long.
Christian Wilkins played a whopping 64 snaps at defensive end, recording six tackles and one stop for loss, earning a 70.0 run-defense grade from PFF. Zach Sieler took 57 snaps himself, collecting six tackles, including five solos. Emmanuel Ogbah continued his disappointing season, not denting the stat sheet in his 25 snaps.
At nose tackle, Raekwon Davis had three tackles in 44 snaps, with John Jenkins adding one stop in 14 snaps.
On the weak side, Bradley Chubb saw his first action in a Miami uniform, making a tackle and pressuring the quarterback a handful of times in his surprising 54 snaps. Melvin Ingram saw his snaps reduced to 27, and he contributed two solo tackles, a sack, one stop for loss, and a quarterback hit. Andrew Van Ginkel got just 10 snaps from scrimmage, despite having a huge impact on special teams. Chubb's arrival likely means more of a platoon situation for Chubb and Van Ginkel down the stretch.
Jaelan Phillips registered five tackles and a quarterback hit in 61 snaps at strongside linebacker.
Elandon Roberts paced the inside linebackers with nine tackles in 57 snaps, including five solos, with Jerome Baker (fresh off a salary reduction) posting seven tackles (five solos) in his 45 snaps. Duke Riley had two tackles, a sack, and one stop for loss in 17 snaps, while Channing Tindall (five snaps as a spy on Fields) and Sam Eguavoen (one snap) saw limited reserve duty. This unit bears some responsibility (pun intended) for allowing Bears tight end Cole Kmet to score a pair of touchdowns.
At corner, Xavien Howard played all 74 snaps, making a pair of tackles and getting called for holding. Kader Kohou played 73 snaps, recording eight solo tackles and earning an 81.2 PFF grade. Keion Crossen played 20 snaps, putting up two tackles and a pass breakup while getting whistled for a 28-yard pass interference penalty and missing some key tackles. Noah Ighbinoghene (19 snaps, two solo stops) and Elijah Campbell (16 snaps, one tackle) saw reserve action in the secondary. The Dolphins desperately need a return to form from "X" -- the defensive backfield as currently constituted simply can't survive if his season-long slump endures.
Going from inactive to 57 snaps at strong safety, Eric Rowe notched seven tackles, including six solo stops. A week after seeing extensive action, rookie free agent Verone McKinley III did not see the field.
Playing all 74 snaps, Jevon Holland had four solo stops at free safety, but was uncharacteristically a step late on a few plays.

Special teams

The story here was a game-turning blocked punt by Phillips, who sidestepped an attempt at a chip block to block a punt that Van Ginkel scooped and scored on.
Jason Sanders's shaky campaign continued, as he hit all five extra points, but also missed a chip shot field goal that was later blamed on a gust of wind.
A week after punting a single time, Thomas Morstead repeated that output, contributing a 51-yarder.
Mostert had an 18-yard kickoff return and Wilson had an eight-yard punt return, but Miami surrendered a 30-yarder to Khalil Herbert in coverage.
Justin Bethel saw no snaps from scrimmage in this one, but paced defensive players in special-teams snaps with 20, and he was joined by Campbell (19), Eguavoen (18), and Clayton Fejedelem (18) as core contributors in the third phase. Durham Smythe (seven snaps) led offensive players in special-teams reps.

Momentum plays

The Bears wasted little time getting on the board, with a 28-yard pass interference call on Crossen helping Chicago down the field. Tindall made a solid play to force Fields out of bounds short on a 3rd & 10 scramble, with the Bears settling for a short field goal take an early 3-0 lead.
Using good eye discipline, Tua hit Waddle for a 17-yarder, then found Sherfield for 18 yards on a 3rd & 6 play. A shaky pass interference call forced by Hill led to a one-yard TD plunge by Mostert, giving the 'Fins a 7-3 advantage.
When's the last time you heard of a tight end getting back-to-back rushing attempts? Kmet turned the trick for Chicago, converting a 3rd & 1 by taking a snap that looked similar to a Dolphins play. A Crossen missed tackle allowed another Bears first down, and a 3rd & 8 scramble by Fields that saw Tindall take a bad angle kept the drive alive. A fourth third-down conversion on the same drive set up an 18-yard touchdown for Kmet on a walk-in score (and a 10-7 lead) thanks to strong downfield blocking.
On the Miami possession, a 25-yard strike to Hill converted a 1st & 15, followed two plays later by a 26-yard seam shot to Waddle. A late-hit penalty helped the 'Fins score easily on a dart pass to Hill, leading to a touchdown, a back flip, and a 14-10 advantage.
After an initial first down, Chicago was forced to punt four plays later, and Phillips blocked the kick with his stomach, with Van Ginkel racing 25 yards with the loose ball for an easy Miami touchdown to push the margin to 21-10.
With a potential blowout looming, the Bears responded in a big way with a 12-play drive that featured eight runs, starting with a 17-yard option run by Fields. The quarterback got first downs on two more runs, then converted a 3rd & 8 play when he escaped Chubbs pressure to find Darnell Mooney for a score over Howard, making the score 21-17.
After a touchback, Mostert picked up 14 yards on a draw play, then Tua found Hill on a successful pick play for 39 yards on 3rd & 6. Three players later, Tua avoided a sack, but slipped while throwing, finding Waddle for 12 yards on a low pass. After some shaky clock management, Sanders was wide left on a 27-yarder, allowing the Bears to kneel on the ball to head into the half trailing by just four points.
The 'Fins started the second half with a 22-yard deep out to Hill, with Wilson following up with a 28-yard burst that featured good receiver blocking by his namesake teammate. Two plays later, Tua rolled out and threw a shaky pass toward the end zone that looked like it was going to be picked. Instead, Waddle came back to the ball for a touchdown and a 28-17 lead.
On a 3rd & 6 play on the ensuing possession, Fields was pressured, made a pump fake, eluded dives by Baker, Riley, and Crossen, and used a downfield block by Mooney to race 61 yards for a touchdown. The signal-caller then hit his tight end for a two-point conversion to trim the margin to 28-25.
A third-down conversion on a pass to Waddle got Miami going again, with a 20-yarder to Hill followed by an 18-yarder to Hill to pay off a 3rd & 7. On the subsequent 3rd & 7, Wilson beat Morrow on a basic option route, then dove for the goal line to extend the lead to 35-25.
A holding call followed by Chubbs pressure on 3rd & 18 forced a rare three-and-out by the Bears on their next drive.
A 16-yard pass to Hill began another Dolphin possession, but a fumble and recovery by Tua on a 3rd & 2 play set up a 4th & 5 pass that fell incomplete, intended for Gesicki.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Fields snuck his way to a first on a 4th & 1 play. The quarterback converted a 3rd & 1 play with a 14-yard scramble, then beat Phillips on an RPO for a 17-yard run. Kmet beat Baker and Holland on a play-action touchdown pass from Fields, making it 38-35 with 11:38 remaining.
Miami benefited from back-to-back awful officiating calls on the following possession, with Tua getting away with a grounding penalty and Waddle drawing a really bad 47-yard pass interference call that the league later admitted it missed on. Facing another 4th & 1, Tua had all day to throw, but woefully underthrew an open Smythe for a second straight failure on fourth down.
Scrambles by Fields turned two more third downs into first downs, but an Ingram sack helped force a Bears punt.
On a 3rd & 11 play, Tua dramatically underthrew a wide-open Waddle for what would have been a game-sealing touchdown. Instead, Chicago got a pass breakup to force Miami's only punt of the contest.
Fields went to work again with a 12-yard run at the two-minute warning, then Miami got away with a blatant pass interference call on Crossen that somehow went without a whistle -- another missed call the league later apologized for. On 4th & 10, Fields rolled out and found Equanimeous St. Brown with Howard in trail coverage, but St. Brown dropped the pass that would have extended the drive.
Three consecutive Tua kneeldowns handed the 'Fins a 38-35 victory -- their third straight.