(670 The Score) It's Week 9. The Bears have been on one the last couple of days, trading away star linebacker Roquan Smith before making a move to acquire receiver Chase Claypool. The vibes have been excellent since their blowout loss in Dallas, which stinks because they do, unfortunately, now have to play football again. Next up are the Miami Dolphins, who made their own big-time trade – getting Broncos pass rusher Bradley Chubb – this week as well. It's almost Bear Weather season, but it looks like Sunday will be capital-g Gorgeous, so the Bears will have to settle for "the league's worst grass" as their only home-field advantage. Here are a few matchups to watch.
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill vs. Bears S Eddie Jackson
Since all that offseason conversation about how going from Patrick Mahomes to Tua Tagovailoa would hurt his stats, Hill has only … led the league in receiving yards through the first half of the season. He also leads the league in yards that come on passes of more than 10-plus air yards. (Dolphins teammate Jaylen Waddle is second in that department. That unpleasant feeling in your chest right now? That's called anxiety.) Hill has 961 receiving yards heading into Sunday and is on pace to break the NFL single-season receiving yards record. Basically, the NFL's premier deep threat is still the NFL's premier deep threat. Jackson has had a fine season of his own – you can dive into the coverage stats or film study all you want, but it's just nice to see him making plays around the ball again. Watching those two go up for deep shots may be one of the more fun (or miserable, perspective is everything!) parts of the game Sunday.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert vs. the Dolphins' front 7
The Dolphins have a weird defense. They're pretty good against the run. They rank ninth in run defense DVOA and are sixth in average rushing yards allowed per game (100.6). On the other hand, the Dolphins are legitimately one of the worst pass defenses in the league. In that department, they rank 29th in DVOA and 26th in average passing yards allowed per game (262.1). If you look on Pro Football Focus, the little colored grade squares next to each player's name go from really green at the line of scrimmage to an ugly shade of yellow/brown in the secondary. You may have heard, however, that the Bears aren't particularly good at throwing the ball and would prefer to (chants loudly) pound the rock every chance they get. If Herbert (and David Montgomery, but he sorta seems in the doghouse right now?) can get going and Teven Jenkins kicks some dudes out of the club, it's going to open up some *great* chances to make a play or two against a susceptible Dolphins secondary.
Bears WR Chase Claypool vs. Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and for Claypool and Chubb, that's Sunday. There's a time and place for nuanced analysis about weighing the pros and cons of trade analysis, but that isn't Sunday. Sunday is about everyone leaning into their most cherished meat-headed fandom and deciding, based on only 60 minutes of play on a new team with barely half a week of practice, who's the better player – and by that extension, who won their trades. Is Chubb good enough to handle THE Braxton Jones? Can Claypool prove once and for all that Mitch Trubisky has always been the problem and that Notre Dame stars can thrive in Chicago? In the modern NFL, the only thing more important than the final score are the hasty narratives that come along with it. Time is fleeting – get those hot takes out of your brain and onto the web now! There's no time to lose!
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
