Dolphins-Bears: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins' 35-32 victory against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field

Mike Dinovo - USA Today Sports

The Miami Dolphins improved to 6-3 on the season with their 35-32 victory against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.

We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:

1. The no-call on the Bears' final drive

No, this is not going to go over well with a lot of Dolphins fans, but fair is fair.  And we certainly would be highlighting a bad call if it went against the Dolphins. But the reality is the Dolphins got away with a clear defensive pass interference penalty by cornerback Keion Crossen on the Bears' next-to-last offensive play, which should have given Chicago a first down at the Miami 22 needing only a field goal to tie. Instead, it became fourth-and-10 and the game was over after the next play. What made the no-call even stranger is this was a game where officials didn't let a lot go in terms of contact downfield, whether it was Xavien Howard being called for holding or Bears defensive back Eddie Jackson being called for a DPI against Jaylen Waddle.

I think we just ask as football fans for consistent officiating. The Dolphins DB was grabbing and holding Claypool the entire time. If you’re going to call some ticky tack PIs earlier you have to call the easy ones.

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 6, 2022

2. Jaelan Phillips' punt block

In a game where neither defense had much success stopping the opponent, a special teams touchdown was huge, especially for a Dolphins group that has struggled most of the season. What really stood out about that play was how quickly and how close Phillips got because he almost could have grabbed the ball off the punter's foot. And then props to Andrew Van Ginkel to being on the spot to pick up the loose ball and stroll into the end zone for his second career touchdown to give the Dolphins the first of their three double-digit leads.

3. Tua's TD pass to Jeff Wilson Jr.

It was clear by the second half the Dolphins offense couldn't let up and the two touchdowns in the third quarter proved the difference. While we could pick from several plays for this spot, we'll go with Tua's 10-yard touchdown pass to newcomer Jeff Wilson Jr. on third-and-7, the Dolphins' third-down conversion on the drive.

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4. Tua's 18-yard completion to Trent Sherfield in the first quarter

This play was more about setting a tone, and this tone was that the Dolphins again were going to be very good on third down — at least they were until the latter stages of the game. This was a third-and-5 from the Dolphins 49 on their opening drive, and Tua found Sherfield open in the middle of the field for an 18-yard completion. That was followed by a 32-yard DPI and Raheem Mostert's 1-yard touchdown that gave Miami a 7-3 lead.

5. Chicago's final offensive play

Justin Fields set an NFL single-game record with his 178 rushing yards, but he also had some nice throws. And his best one just might have come on the failed fourth-down attempt that clinched the Dolphins victory. Fields rolled right on fourth-and-10 and threw a perfect pass to Equanimeous St. Brown, who had just a step on Xavien Howard. But St. Brown let the ball go right through his hands when a catch would have given Chicago a first down at the Miami 46-yard line with 1:22 left.

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