Stock up, stock down: Bears shootout with Dolphins

I think Chicago Bears fans are going to be all right with the team losing close games when Justin Fields plays like he did Sunday and the offense scores 30+ points.

Is that sustainable?

Oh heck no. And at some point, you’re going to want this team to start winning some of these close games. You will want the team to have some good defensive stops, too.

But for now, it’s fun.

We’ll definitely hope to see some better defense against the lowly Detroit Lions this week, but that’s for another article.

Stock up

Justin Fields, QB - I haven’t written this column for a of couple weeks so I am not sure it’s been in my words yet, but...the Bears have a quarterback. Fields is growing up and playing big boy football. Making good decisions for the most part, finding his comfort and improving as a pass, as well as adding another dimension with his legs. One of my favorite things about his record-setting rushing game Sunday was that he has gotten so savvy, he rarely opens himself up to hits. He either slides or steps out of bounds. Or just flat out makes the defenders miss.

Cole Kmet, TE - I never fully gave up on him, but I think there are a lot of fans that owe this man an apology. Fully wrote him off. Called him a bust. Said he was an over-drafted blocker. Kmet has seven catches for 52 yards and three touchdowns over the last two games. While that won’t blow you away, it’s more than they’ve had from him. He also added two rushes for nine yards.

Darnell Mooney, WR - Look, he’s been good all year, but he finally got in the endzone and I thought that was worth mentioning. He made a great catch on the play, as it was. He led the team with seven catches for 43 yards and the touchdown.

Stock down

Equanimeous St. Brown, WR - Two targets, no catches, the second target was a glaring drop of a fantastic pass from Fields. I like a lot of what St. Brown has done this season. And he’s good as a blocker (helping pave the way for Kmet’s first score), but he needs to be more reliable as a receiver.

Khalil Herbert, RB - The Bears running backs aren’t always going to have a banner day. They were lucky to get the production from Fields they did on Sunday because it helped take the pressure off of Herbert and David Montgomery. Neither RB seemed to find a rhythm or much running room. But Herbert is on this list for his (lack of) blocking. His error on special teams led to a blocked field goal, that ultimately decided the game. Without those seven points, even as much as Miami moved the ball and scored, they wouldn’t have outscored Chicago.

Dominique Robinson, DE - After a good preseason and a quick start to the regular season, Robinson has disappeared. He was shutout of the box score Sunday and in the last four games has just one tackle and two passes defended.

Referees - Good teams overcome the refs. The refs ultimately didn’t decide this game, but my goodness there were some awful calls and even worse no-calls. The waived-off intentional grounding, the questionable DPI call on Eddie Jackson, and of course, the egregious no call DPI on Chase Claypool. The defender had Claypool around the waist!!