Chicago Bears vs. Miami Dolphins live updates from Soldier Field

CHICAGO – The Bears return to Soldier Field on Sunday for a matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

Matt Eberflus and Justin Fields have a new weapon at their disposal on offense in receiver Chase Claypool. The defense will also have to figure out how to adjust without linebacker Roquan Smith, who the team traded to Baltimore ahead of last week’s trade deadline.

Follow @bears_insider for live updates all game long. Shaw Local Bears beat reporter Sean Hammond is covering the game live from Soldier Field. Follow him on Twitter at @sean_hammond and on Instagram at @bears_reporter. Reporter Jake Bartelson will also be reporting live from Soldier Field, follow him on Twitter at @JakeBartelson.

Catch up on the latest Bears news below, and stay here all game long for live updates.

Bears can’t convert on fourth down; Dolphins win

Justin Fields finished his day with 178 rushing yards, an NFL regular season record for a quarterback. He came up short on the final drive, though, throwing an incompletion intended for Equanimeous St. Brown on fourth-and-10 late in the game.

The Bears turned the ball over on downs. Miami ran out the clock for a win, 35-32.

Bears come up with two key defensive stops

The Bears defense came away with a big stop on a fourth-and-1 play midway through the fourth quarter. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa threw an incompletion on fourth down from the 15-yard line. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel elected not to kick the field goal to potentially make it a six-point game.

The Bears’ offense took over, trailing three points, with 7:50 remaining in the game. That possession ended in a punt after Justin Fields was sacked and the drive went backwards.

The Bears punted and came up with an even bigger defensive stop to give themselves one last chance on offense. Jaylon Johnson had a pass break up on third down. Fields and the offense took over with 2:38 remaining in the game, down by three.

Fields connects with Kmet for another touchdown

Justin Fields and Cole Kmet connected for their second touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. Fields faked a handoff on first-and-goal from the 4-yard line. The Miami defense fell for the fake and left Kmet wide open in the end zone.

The score made it a three-point game, with Miami holding a slim lead, 35-32. The Bears drove 65 yards on 10 plays for the touchdown.

Wilson dives for Dolphins’ touchdown

Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. caught a dump off pass from Tua Tagovailoa and dove for the pylon, scoring another Dolphins touchdown. Miami extended it’s lead to double digits, 35-25, with 6:02 to play in the third quarter.

Miami has now scored touchdowns on four of its five offensive possessions.

Justin Fields runs for 61-yard touchdown

Bears quarterback Justin Fields scrambled from the pocket, faked a pass, then kept on running. The QB broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run on the Bears’ first possession after halftime. The Bears also converted on a two-point try, cutting into Miami’s lead, 28-25, with 11:20 to go in the third quarter.

This marked Fields’ fourth rushing touchdown of the season. With the run, he surpassed 100 rushing yards for the first time all season.

Dolphins score quickly after halftime

Miami received the kickoff in the second half and took the ball 75 yards in just over two minutes of game time. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa connected with receiver Jaylen Waddle for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The Dolphins extended their lead, 28-17.

Dolphins miss field goal before halftime

Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders missed a 29-yard field goal before halftime. Miami had driven 64 yards in 1:46 of playing time. The Dolphins were stopped short of the yard to gain on third down and settled for a field goal try with 12 seconds remaining before halftime.

At the half, the Dolphins lead the Bears, 21-17.

Fields throws touchdown pass to Mooney

Justin Fields connected with Darnell Mooney for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive for the Bears. They cut into Miami’s lead, 21-17, late in the second quarter.

Mooney had one-on-one coverage on the play and made a leaping grab, holding onto the football as he fell to the ground.

Dolphins block a punt and return it for a touchdown

The Bears offense had a quick three-and-out following a Tyreek Hill touchdown. Punter Trenton Gill had his punt blocked. Miami’s Andrew Van Ginkel recovered the ball in stride at the 25-yard line and ran it back for a touchdown.

The score helped the Dolphins extend their lead, 21-10, with 8:25 remaining in the second quarter. Miami’s Jaelan Phillips was credited with the block. Bears running back Khalil Herbert appeared to whiff on his block attempt against Phillips.

Tagovailoa connects with Hill for touchdown

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found receiver Tyreek Hill wide open for a 3-yard touchdown. The Bears must’ve had a miscommunication in the secondary because they lost Hill in coverage.

The score gave the Dolphins the lead, 14-10, early in the second quarter. Hill punctuated it with a celebratory flip in the end zone. Miami drove 75 yards in only seven plays.

Fields connects with Kmet for a touchdown

Bears quarterback Justin Fields hid the ball after a fake handoff and faked out a Dolphins pass rusher for just enough time to spin out of traffic and find tight end Cole Kmet for a touchdown. Kmet avoided a would-be tackler and found the goal line.

The 18-yard touchdown pass capped off a 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 7:41 of playing time. The Bears regained the lead, 10-7, with 14:52 to go in the second quarter. The Bears converted on third down four times during the drive.

Mostert punches in 1-yard touchdown for Miami

A defensive pass interference penalty against Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor set up the Dolphins at the 1-yard line. Vildor was in coverage against Tyreek Hill in the end zone. Vildor also appeared to injure his leg on the play.

After the penalty, Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert blasted through the line for a 1-yard touchdown. The Dolphins took their first lead of the game, 7-3, with 7:33 to go in the first quarter.

Claypool makes first catch; Bears score a field goal

New receiver Chase Claypool made his first catch as a member of the Bears. It came on a wide receiver screen that went for only one yard.

A few plays later, quarterback Justin Fields looked for Claypool on a deep pass. They couldn’t connect, but Claypool drew a defensive pass interference penalty, which set up the Bears in the red zone.

Fields couldn’t connect with Mooney on an end-zone toss, but the Bears settled for a 32-yard field goal from kicker Cairo Santos. The Bears took an early lead, 3-0.

Injury updates and inactives

Bears rookie receiver Velus Jones Jr. was a surprise inactive on Sunday. He is a healthy scratch.

Other inactives for the Bears are guard Ja’Tyre Carter, tight end Jake Tonges, cornerback Lamar Jackson and tackle Alex Leatherwood.

Left guard Cody Whitehair is expected to make his return to the field after missing four games with a right knee injury. Right tackle Larry Borom is also expected to return after missing last week’s game due to a concussion.

What to expect from Chase Claypool

The Bears added a new weapon for their offense when general manager Ryan Poles traded for Steelers receiver Chase Claypool. Claypool is expected to make his Bears debut on Sunday. The question will be how many snaps will he see?

Claypool had back-to-back 800-yard receiving seasons in 2020 and 2021. His production took a slight dip through the first half of this season, but that was largely because of the Steelers’ quarterback situation, with Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett battling for the spot.

Poles took a calculated risk in trading a second-round pick for Claypool. It was the culmination of a busy trade deadline week for Poles.

[ How exactly will the Chicago Bears use new WR Chase Claypool? ]

What to expect from Miami

The Dolphins boast the best wide receiver duo in the NFL with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill is on pace to potentially record the first 2,000-yard receiving season in NFL history.

Hill and Waddle will present the Bears with a tough challenge. The Bears’ defense could also take a step back after trading Smith on Monday. With Smith gone, expect to see rookie Jack Sanborn and veteran Joe Thomas on the field more at the linebacker position.

Here’s five things to watch in the game. Does our staff have any optimism for the Bears on Sunday? Check out Shaw Local’s picks here.

How are the Bears doing through the first half of the season. Here’s our midseason review.

[ Bears Insider podcast 284: Ryan Poles surprises at trade deadline ]

What else happened this week?

Here’s what else was going on at Halas Hall this week.

[ Chicago Bears aren’t waving white flag despite trading away top defenders ]

[ Bear Down, Nerd Up: Replacing Roquan Smith’s elite production is no easy task ]

[ Bears trade star linebacker Roquan Smith to Baltimore, per report ]

[ Bears Insider podcast 283: Bears defense collapses in Dallas ]