The 5-3 Miami Dolphins head back to the mid-west, traveling to the Windy City to take on the 3-5 Chicago Bears. This game falls days following the NFL trade deadline, in which the Dolphins made a splash with a surf-and-turf combo of entrees.
Now former Denver Bronco Bradley Chubb and San Francisco 49er Jeff Wilson Jr. already have a couple practices under their belt. Chubb, an elite pass-rusher with the third-best rush-win rate in the NFL wasted no time inking an extension in Miami. Thursday morning began with the news of Miami and Chubb agreeing to a five-year, extension that includes $63.2 million guaranteed.
Wilson, who spent his entire career in San Fransisco, along with Mike McDaniel prior to this season, is reunited with his coach. Not only that, he can again call fellow running back Raheem Mostert a teammate, as Wilson will plug-and-play right away in Week 9 with his knowledge of McDaniel’s scheme and playbook.
“I know he, Mike and Raheem were all hugging and having their kumbaya moment together, being back together, but it’s cool,” said general manager and architect Chris Grier.
With the Dolphins essentially performing a running back switcheroo, sending Chase Edmonds out to Denver in the Chubb deal and bringing Wilson in another deal, they’re heavy at outside linebacker now, adding to a talented front seven rotation.
Chubb joins a core group that includes sophomore sensation Jaelan Phillips, Emmanuel Ogbah, Melvin Ingram and Andrew Van Ginkel when focusing on edge rushers. Mixing in this pot of pass rushers are outstanding interior linemen in Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. Raekwon Davis provides defensive tackle depth, as does John Jenkins, while the linebacking group is massively improved with the addition of Chubb.
More importantly than helping the front seven, Chubb and a momentum-fueled Phillips could start to make life easier on the Dolphins’ secondary. While a major improvement occurred during the second half of last week’s victory over the Detroit Lions, the defensive backfield has been riddled with injuries.
Chubb and Phillips are both within the top 10 in best pass-rush win rates in the league, and if Ogbah, Ingram and Van Ginkel heat up as the overall national weather cools, this team is set for a deep playoff run.
Wilson is a “thumper” so to speak, and the perfect type of back to spell Mostert, and he can pick up those tough short-yardage situations that have plagued Miami for quite some time. In 92 rushing attempts with the 49ers this season, Wilson has averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and with Mostert at 4.9 over the course of the last four games, this Dolphins’ rushing attack could be headed for dominant days.
Sunday in Chicago would be a good place to start, with the Bears currently 31st in the league in rushing defense, giving up 156 yards on the ground per game.
A win against the Bears would give the Dolphins multiple three-game win streaks in the same season for the first time since 2016. They could also improve to 6-3 for just the second time since 2001.
The Dolphins lead this all-time series 9-4, winners of the last two contests, and four of the last five since 2002.
Here are more stats, news and notes heading into the Dolphins-Bears Week 9 matchup: