Chicago Bears: Key to victory against Dolphins is simple

The Chicago Bears take on the Miami Dolphins in South Beach on Sunday and the key to victory is clear.

The Chicago Bears head into South Beach to take on the Miami Dolphins and find themselves in unfamiliar territory. The Monsters of the Midway sit at 3-1 and all alone in first place atop the NFC North. They also currently sit as four-point favorites on the road.

These are crazy times for the Bears to be sure. At the start of the season, no one could have imagined this start to the season. Just prior to the start of the season, fans were hoping to see their franchise quarterback show progress, and if they snuck in a few more wins than last season, it would have been gravy.

Until now, although they have technically been favored in their last few games, realistically, they were not getting the respect of a team favored to win. That has seemed to change over the course of the bye week, as the Bears are starting to get some national respect and notoriety for their performance. So for the first time this season, they not only enter as the favorite but are expected to win this game.

So just how do they do it? Well, the key to emerging from Hard Rock Stadium Sunday with a win is simple. It can be found in the words of Polonius to his son Laertes in the Shakespearian classic Hamlet as he set sail for Paris — “to thine own self be true.”

The Bears need to stick to what they do well and what has earned them their surprising 3-1 start. They must stay aggressive and stay creative in their offensive playcalling. There was a lot of talk over the bye week about Jordan Howard. It became clear he was unhappy with how he was used against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There were even a few rumors about whether he could be on the move to another team.

So you could understand if Matt Nagy came out and gave his star running back 30+ carries to keep him happy. But the Bears must not give way to that temptation. Mitch Trubisky had the best game of his career because the Bears were aggressive and schemed wide receivers open through exploiting mismatches. It is what they do and what they do best.

Just like a pitcher should never get beat on their second-best pitch, the Bears can’t risk getting beat throwing theirs. This is really the only way the Bears can lose on Sunday — by beating themselves.

They are facing a beat up offensive line, and a quarterback who is near the bottom of the league against pressure. On the other side of the ball, Cameron Wake, the Dolphins only true pass rushing option is listed as doubtful for the game.

It’s a lot easier to play when expectations are low. But what will the Bears do now that they are no longer going to catch teams by surprise? The secret is out that this team can play. But playing conservatively is how you end up losing a game you should win — and the Bears must avoid that trap if they are going to be taken seriously as a playoff contender. Therefore, they must keep their foot on the accelerator and ‘dance with who brung you’ to the top of the North.