Dissecting Most Crucial Matchups in Miami Dolphins' Week 7 Contest with Chicago
On the heels of one of their most heartbreaking losses in years, the Miami Dolphins don't have much time to dust themselves off with an extremely tough road matchup with the Chicago Bears quickly approaching.
As good as the Green Bay Packers offense is, the Bears may have an even better one with a lethal combination of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery at wide receiver, a talented tight end in Martellus Bennett and one of the best running backs in the league in Matt Forte.
Much like Green Bay, the Bears also have a defense that is exploitable and can be scored upon, but it is also very good at making plays and forcing turnovers.
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With the Dolphins sitting at 2-3 and having lost three of their last four games, a win over the Bears is exactly what the team needs to get their season going in the right direction.
With that said, let's take a look at some of the game's most crucial matchups that the Dolphins will need to win if they hope to pull off the upset in Chicago.
Brent Grimes and Cortland Finnegan vs. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery
It's safe to say that the Dolphins cornerbacks didn't enjoy having to rewatch their performance against the Packers when they went over the game film on Monday.
Jordy Nelson had his way with Brent Grimes to the tune of seven receptions for 94 yards, while Cortland Finnegan also struggled while matched up with rookie Davante Adams, who caught four passes for 52 yards, including 38 yards after the catch as Finnegan missed a pair of tackles, via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
On top of that, Finnegan also allowed Adams to get out of bounds on Rodgers' fake spike to stop the clock and give the Packers another chance at the end zone.
As bad as it was for Grimes and Finnegan last Sunday, things aren't expected to get much tougher this week.
Not only are Marshall and Jeffery one of the most talented receiver tandems in the league, but they are also one of the biggest.
| Brent Grimes | 5'10" | 190 lbs. | 33.5 in |
| Brandon Marshall | 6'4" | 230 lbs. | 37 in |
| Cortland Finnegan | 5'10" | 190 lbs. | 44 in |
| Alshon Jeffery | 6'3" | 216 lbs. | 36.5 in |
Regardless of who they are matched up with, both Grimes and Finnegan will be at a massive size disadvantage, as you can see in the above table.
While stopping these two monsters completely is far too much to ask from this undersized duo, doing their best to keep them in check and making them fight for every yard they get is a much more reasonable expectation.
If Marshall and Jeffery have their way with Grimes and Finnegan on Sunday, it's going to be a very long day for the Dolphins defense.
Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon vs. Jermon Bushrod and Jordan Mills
Take a look at any statistical category that involves rushing the passer and you will find the duo of Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon right at the top of it.
Wake is sixth in sacks (4), third in quarterback hits (7) and seventh in hurries (13) while grading out as the best 4-3 pass-rusher in the league with a plus-15.6 grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Meanwhile, Vernon is sixth in sacks (4), fifth in hits (6) and 22nd in hurries (8), grading out as the 13th-best 4-3 pass-rusher in the league with a plus-2.3 grade, via Pro Football Focus.
For the Dolphins to beat the Bears on Sunday, the two of them will have to make Jay Cutler's life miserable all game long.
Standing in their way (literally) will be the tackle combination of Jermon Bushrod and Jordan Mills.
Bushrod has been his typically solid self this season, allowing just one sack all year while protecting Cutler's blind side.
However, Mills has struggled mightily thus far in 2014, continuing where he left off in his rookie season when he allowed an astounding 62 quarterback hurries—by far the most in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
There are certainly holes to attack in the Bears offensive line, and the faster Wake, Vernon and the rest of the Dolphins can get to Cutler, the more likely it is he will make a mistake.
Ryan Tannehill vs. Chicago secondary
As has been the case in most of Miami's games this season, Tannehill and the rest of the offense struggled in the first half against the Packers before catching fire in the second.
The Dolphins managed just three first-half points, continuing a trend they have developed throughout the season of extremely slow starts. The team has averaged just eight first-half points per game, which ranks them 30th in the league. That number gets cut in half to four when eliminating the Oakland game from the mix.
Miami has continuously bounced back to play better in the second half—as their league-best 16 second-half points per game show—but the team can't afford a slow start this week playing on the road against such a high-octane offense.
For the Dolphins to win this game, Tannehill needs to deliver a solid performance from start to finish and take advantage of a relatively weak Bears secondary.
Rookie Kyle Fuller is the team's top cornerback, allowing just a 50.5 QB rating when getting targeted, according to Pro Football Focus.
However, the rest of the Bears secondary hasn't been nearly as stingy without Charles Tillman, who tore his triceps in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve.
As important as it is for Miami to get the running game going early, it's even more crucial for Tannehill to get in an early rhythm and consistently move the ball throughout the game to keep Chicago's offense off the field.
Joe Philbin vs. Himself
This is more of a bonus matchup, but it also happens to be one that Philbin and the Dolphins continue to lose every week.
The reality is that Philbin has been costing the Dolphins games with his decision-making, with there being no better example than the end of the Packers game.
Following an incompletion on second down that stopped the clock with three minutes left, Philbin admitted that he felt "queasy" and "antsy," according to the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero, and as a result, ordered offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to call a run on 3rd-and-9.
Not only did this decision show that he had zero confidence in Tannehill to make a play, but it also virtually guaranteed that Rodgers would get the ball back with plenty of time left to put together a game-winning drive.
To add a horrendous mistake on top of an already atrocious one, Philbin then elected to call a timeout prior to a 4th-and-10 play with the Packers offense scrambling without any timeouts following a strip-sack of Rodgers.
This timeout not only allowed Green Bay to regroup and get themselves together, but it also allowed them to take their time to draw up the perfect play—which they then completed for an 18-yard gain to pick up the first down.
The case to fire Philbin is getting stronger with each passing week, and at this point all Dolphins fans can hope for is that his decisions don't continue to cost the team victories.
Prediction
Much like Green Bay was, the Bears are certainly a team the Dolphins are capable of beating, despite the fact they are on the road.
In fact, the Dolphins can realistically beat any team on a week-to-week basis if they play up to their potential for all four quarters.
With that said, it's going to take a complete-game effort to beat the Bears. And aside from one win over Oakland, the Dolphins simply haven't proved that they are capable of putting another performance like that together.
Expect the team to show flashes and ultimately keep it close, but once again fail to close out a victory. The only difference is that this time it will be the offense that fails to deliver on the game's final drive.
Bears 31, Dolphins 27
Andrew Tornetta is the Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Check out his B/R archive and stay updated on his latest articles by becoming a fan.
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