Chicago Bears-Miami Dolphins best bets and fantasy plays

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022 Admin

The Bears worked feverishly to get Chase Claypool’s knowledge of the offense to a point this week where he could contribute against Miami.

To what degree they’ve succeeded won’t be known until they start playing on what is expected to be another windy day at Soldier Field.

“We’ve had guys before in the past at different positions plug and play,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “So you have to give him a certain role, a limited number of plays that he can learn and let him go.

“That could be anywhere between 10 and 35 plays, whatever that is. But he certainly is a smart guy and he works at it. So he’s a worker and he’s very intelligent. So we’ll give him what he can handle.”

The addition of Claypool makes the Bears a far more interesting follow for fantasy football owners, just as Justin Fields is making an impact as a fantasy quarterback.

In Weeks 5-8, fantasy owners found Fields producing more points for their leagues than any quarterback except Joe Burrow. Running obviously makes a difference.

If Claypool quickly adapts, Darnell Mooney could find more open spaces in the secondary and the offense could open up even more than it has with Fields running the ball on planned plays.

The Bears are rapidly becoming fantasy football favorites and here’s who to start and sit in Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.

Start ‘Em

1. Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert

Mike McDaniel is a running guy first of all, so he’s not going to pass on an opportunity for his pass-happy team to dictate things on the ground for a change. Mostert is not what you’d call a shifty runner as much as a one-cut speed demon with a little power in his pads. The Bears actually had him for a while. Expect he’ll get more carries than any game this year and more yards because they Bears have lost Roquan Smith, who gave their defense against the run any credibility.

2. Bears QB Justin Fields

Miami’s defense gave up 119 yards rushing to Lamar Jackson. Expect Fields to ramble for yards, as well. Since the Dolphins defense is effective stopping the run in general, ranking sixth, it’s even more likely the Bears will try running Fields more for unconventional yards the defense finds more difficult to stop. Also, Fields the passer should have an impact whether Claypool is a factor or not. The Dolphins are bottom third of the league defending the pass.

3. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa

The Bears secondary has allowed only seven TD passes this year, the second fewest in the league. They play back to prevent big plays and even with receivers who have world-class speed it might be difficult for the big chunk plays to occur. However, Tagovailoa is patient and will take the short yardage. He has a tight end who can get this. Tagovailoa also has the advantage of not contending with a strong pass rush. With or without Robert Quinn, the Bears weren’t getting to the QB. And Roquan Smith was the second-leading Bears sack man. The leader? Safety Jaquan Brisker.

4. Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill

Even with the Bears defense playing back, Hill should be able to make enough plays by finding mismatches at times. Look for him to have success early in the game. That’s when Dallas, Minnesota and Green Bay had real success on timing throws and catch-and-run against the Bears defense.

5. Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki

This should be Gesicki’s big day, finally. The Bears’ defense is a little more susceptible to tight end completions without Smith. The defense will be drawn back in deeper shell coverage as much as possible to prevent big plays by wide receivers. Gesicki might be working against undrafted rookie Jack Sanborn or veteran journeyman Joe Thomas much of the time. Anything from five to eight receptions is possible for Gesicki.

6. Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle

When moved into the slot, he should be working against Kyler Gordon. He’ll hold a good speed advantage in this matchup. Waddle on shorter passes with catch-and-run is deadly. He leads Miami with 439 yards after the catch.

7. Bears TE Cole Kmet

The connection showed up finally last week with a TD pass from Justin Fields, Kmet’s first TD catch since 2020. In this one, Kmet could be a preferred target. A weaker pass defense will need to shift attention to Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, leaving Kmet to work against a questionable group of interior pass defenders.

8. Bears WR Darnell Mooney

The addition of Claypool can finally get Mooney a little less attention on game day and allow him to show some of the speed he hasn’t been able to flash much after the catch this year. Mooney has 21 receptions in his last five games and is heating up.

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At Your Own Risk

9. Bears WR Chase Claypool

Sure, he gives the Bears a bigger threat in theory but the guy needs time to pick up the offense. Claypool just came off a game with five catches against the Dolphins a few weeks ago for Pittsburgh, but he was playing slot receiver and had only 41 yards. If he catches any in his limited plays this week, they could go for bigger yards or have bigger impact. He does give the Bears a great option in the red zone that they thought they would get from N’Keal Harry or any number of other taller receivers they brought to the team.

Sit ‘Em

10. Bears RB Khalil Herbert

This is one stout rush defense the Dolphins have. Only three opponents got over 100 yards. One was Buffalo and the Bills had only 115 yards in losing to Miami. Some might question if teams have such poor rushing stats against Miami because they have to abandon the run and pass in a shootout due to the Dolphins’ great passing attack. That’s a good point. The Dolphins have faced the sixth fewest rushing attempts. If the Bears can achieve any success running it, they might want to simply keep pounding it at the Dolphins.

11. Bears RB David Montgomery

Montgomery is the tough inside runner and pass blocker now and not the only Bears rushing threat. But the Dolphins are pretty stout inside with Raekwon Davis and Christian Wilkins up front. Their backup nose is former Bears nose John Jenkins.

Defense

Good luck with that. Both of these defenses could be backpedaling all day long. There’s a better chance Miami’s defense rises up but holding Justin Fields’ running in check and his play-action passing off those runs should ensure the Bears are putting up point.

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