Start’em or Sit’em in Fantasy Football: Bears vs. Lions |
While the losses may be hard for Chicago Bears fans, fantasy owners have been doing well the past two weeks since Thomas Brown took over as the play caller. This is particularly good timing for fantasy owners, with the playoffs starting soon. Will Chicago’s offensive success continue against one of the best defenses in the NFL?
Caleb Williams - Sit, But Keep on Your Bench This past Sunday was his second-best fantasy performance with 340 passing yards and two touchdowns in addition to 33 yards on the ground. Williams had the most passing yards out of any quarterback last week, making him a good player to have in your lineup. However, facing the Detroit Lions defense on Thanksgiving (11:30 a.m. / CBS) is a completely different matchup. The Lions have been shutting down fantasy quarterbacks, allowing an average of 13.3 points to opposing quarterbacks. They have not allowed a quarterback to throw over 200 yards in the past two games; the last quarterback to break 250 passing yards was Jordan Love, back in week nine. Despite how Williams plays with Brown calling the plays, he is too risky of a start this week, given the matchup. However, keep Williams around on your bench as next week on Sun. Dec. 8 (3:25 p.m. / FOX) against the San Francisco 49ers may be a more favorable matchup, especially if Nick Bosa is still unable to play. DJ Moore - Start, Especially in PPR Leagues Moore is back to being a must-start. He has seen the biggest uptick in production out of anyone since Brown became the offensive coordinator. In the past two games, he has 14 receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown. The yards are not the greatest, except for last week when he had his second 100-yard game of the season. This gives him more upside in points per reception (PPR) leagues since he is getting volume. In addition, Moore has a history of doing well against the Lions. In his five games against them, he has 531 receiving yards and five total touchdowns. He is a must-start in all formats, especially PPR leagues. D’Andre Swift - Sit Swift is perhaps the biggest disappointment for fantasy owners, especially since Brown became the play caller. The thing about Swift was he was getting points because he was on the field so much, thus he had a lot of touches when Shane Waldron was the offensive coordinator. In the two games under Brown, Swift has been on the field for less than 60 percent of the offensive plays; that only happened once in the nine games under Waldron. Roschon Johnson has started to see more action, decreasing Swift’s fantasy value. If you really need him, he will probably put up a few points. However, if you can afford to bench him, then you should. With that said, do not go picking up Johnson, either. He is extremely touchdown-dependent. He is more the thorn in Swift’s side that makes neither one worth starting. Cole Kmet - Sit After last week, when he was tied for second on the team in targets with ten and had seven receptions for 64 yards, it may seem like a good idea to put Cole Kmet in your starting lineup. However, you would be mistaken. First, Kmet has been the definition of inconsistency this season. He only has three touchdowns and has been targeted as few as zero times to as many as 11 times throughout this season. Kmet has recorded anywhere from four yards to 19 yards per reception throughout this season. However, perhaps the biggest factor is the matchup. Detroit has been the best team in the league against opposing tight ends, allowing an average of 3.6 fantasy points to tight ends. This is a horrible matchup for Kmet, so he should not go anywhere near your starting lineup this week. Keenan Allen - Start If You Like Upside and in a PPR League Who is the only player targeted more than Kmet last week? Not Moore and not rookie Rome Odunze, although Odunze was the other player targeted 10 times. Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen was targeted 15 times. He finished the game with nine receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. Allen has only done historically well against the Lions the few times he has faced them as he averaged 146.3 receiving yards when facing Detroit. He also has two touchdowns in his career against the Lions. Allen’s production has also been incredibly inconsistent. However, like Moore, he is getting volume and thus provides a lot of upside, especially if you are in a PPR league.
