Green Bay’s offense came to play in Week 12 against a stingy Philadelphia defense, scoring 33 points and excelling for large portions of the game with both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love seeing time at quarterback.
The defense was much the same for Green Bay with one aspect just completely no showing. Against Tennessee it was the pass defense that was invisible and against the Eagles it was the run defense that didn’t even put up a fight.
Now the Packers hit the road to take on Chicago, which has one of the most dynamic quarterbacks because of his legs in Justin Fields (if he plays; his status for Sunday is up in the air).
Let’s dive into this Packers-Bears matchup from a fantasy football perspective.
DON’T THINK TWICE
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers said Tuesday on his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he will be playing Sunday against the Bears after his scans came back good on his injured ribs. Rodgers hasn’t been the MVP that we’ve witnessed the past couple of seasons but when he plays the Bears, it’s always a wise play. Rodgers threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago in Week 2 and this is a Bears defense that was already leaking on the back end before losing safety Eddie Jackson last week against the New York Jets. There’s always the possibility this is the last time Rodgers plays the Bears in Chicago and you know he’ll bring his best regardless. Start Rodgers.
Bears RB David Montgomery
Montgomery had seen his workload chopped into with the emergence of running back Khalil Herbert but with Herbert landing on injured reserve two weeks ago, it’s all Montgomery once again. Montgomery ran for 122 yards on just 15 carries in the first matchup this year against the Packers and it’s impossible to suggest sitting any running threat against this Green Bay defense. Last week we put both Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Miles Sanders in this category and both ran for over 142 yards. Green Bay is 28th in points given up to running backs and with or without Fields, this is a run first offense. Don’t get cute, plug in Montgomery.
Packers RB Aaron Jones
Jones loves facing the Bears. Chicago has been equally as putrid stopping running backs, tied with the Packers for 28th in fantasy points allowed. Jones saw a lot of success against the Bears in September, rolling for 132 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and notching a receiving touchdown as well. This Bears defense can’t stop running backs and they’re battered with injuries. The price in daily fantasy will be steep for Jones but worth it given his history against the Bears and where the Chicago defense is at.
Bears QB Justin Fields
If he plays, he’s worth the start in fantasy (keep an eye on that final Friday injury report). Trevor Siemian was not it last week against the Jets with Fields was sidelined with a shoulder injury. If it’s Siemian again against the Packers, put him in the stash away category. Fields’ legs give him an advantage against most defenses and after Hurts went for 157 yards against Joe Barry’s defense a week ago, Fields will be licking his chops if he’s out there Sunday. The first matchup wasn’t great for Fields at Lambeau Field as the second-year quarterback had just 90 combined yards with a rushing touchdown and an interception. It’s fair to say Fields has gotten a heck of a lot better since then and has really settled into the Chicago offense. This might not be a shootout in Chicago despite having both quarterbacks and both starting running backs in the “don’t think twice category” but the players are just that good for this group against these defenses. Before his injury, Fields had rushing totals of 85, 147 and 178 yards in consecutive weeks. Imagine what he’ll do against Barry’s lackadaisical bunch.
HIGH FLOOR
Packers WR Christian Watson
It’s almost time to put Watson one step up from this but for this week we’ll keep him in the “high floor” stage. Watson has six touchdowns in his last three games and did work with both Rodgers and Love running the show at quarterback against the Eagles. Watson’s 63-yard touchdown from Love in the second half against Philly gave many Packers fans visions of what the future in Titletown could end up looking like. Watson has emerged as far more than just a deep threat in the offense and the Bears are coming off a game where they allowed 95 yards and two touchdowns to fellow rookie wideout Garrett Wilson. Watson’s floor is extremely high in this one and it’d be silly to bench him in season long leagues.
FEAST OR FAMINE
Packers WR Allen Lazard
No touchdowns in three weeks and Lazard hasn’t eclipsed 57 yards during that span either. On one hand, he’s Rodgers’ most trusted target but that hasn’t carried as much weight as it typically does given the play from Watson. Lazard has five touchdowns this year and has seven games with at least four receptions, the problem is there’s been duds peppered in as well. If it validates the case one way or another for anyone, Lazard had two catches for 13 yards against the Bears in Week 2 but did have a touchdown.
Bears TE Cole Kmet
Kmet started the month of November with back-to-back games in which he registered two touchdowns. In his last two games, Kmet has no touchdowns and a combined six receptions for 62 yards. This year started extremely slowly for Kmet and he was off most fantasy radars before a three-week stretch where he went bananas. Kmet didn’t even register a catch in the first two games of the year which is enough to scare most away, however the breakout games can have others hoping for another. Kmet is truly a feast or famine candidate.
STASH AWAY
Packers D/ST
The Packers haven’t generated near the amount of pressure they did before outside linebacker Rashan Gary went down for the year and they don’t take the ball away nearly enough from opposing offenses. Green Bay is No. 23 in takeaways per game, sitting at one per contest. Given the fragile nature of the run defense and the fact that Chicago is run heavy, this isn’t the matchup to expect a rebound performance from Green Bay’s defense.
Bears D/ST
No disrespect to Jets quarterback Mike White, but the Bears made him look like an MVP front runner at times a week ago. Chicago’s defense lacks legitimate talent and has a lot of younger pieces that are still learning the ropes. Slotting them in against Rodgers is a disastrous idea.
Bears WR Chase Claypool
Claypool was one of the premier acquisitions at the trade deadline with the Packers being one of the teams that reportedly made an offer for the former Steelers wide receiver. It hasn’t worked out in Chicago so far but it’s early. In four games with the Bears, Claypool doesn’t have a touchdown and hasn’t eclipsed two receptions in any game. In fact, in those four games, Claypool has a combined seven receptions for 83 yards. He can’t be trusted in any fantasy format even with wide receiver Darnell Mooney out for the year.
Bears WR Byron Pringle
Even with Mooney out there isn’t enough passing in this offense to consider any of the Bears wide receivers. In four games Pringle has five receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown. If you’re playing a Chicago wide receiver in a year-long format, you better have at least four other wide receivers on injured reserve.
Packers TE Robert Tonyan
It’s been a pretty disappointing season for Tonyan after the initial excitement of the tight end being good to go from Week 1 following a torn ACL in 2021. Tonyan hasn’t eclipsed 35 yards in six weeks and the Bears rank No. 6 for the least amount of points yielded to tight ends in fantasy. There are far better options available even in deeper leagues.
