Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 17th at 1:00 PM ET
Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Betting Odds: Chi +4.5, 45.4 total via Oddsshark
Network: Fox
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
Justin Fields (Sit)
Justin Fields has been so-so since taking over the Chicago Bears. First, if you are expecting rushing upside from Fields you need to get that out of your mind. He doesn’t run like people believed he would. In two starts he has only 6 rushes and 13 yards. In terms of a passer, he has been okay. He is completing 62% of his passes over the past 2 games. He has had limited passing attempts which are designed by the coaching staff. Whether it’s to not overwhelm him or not expose him remains to be seen. The O-line has been weak in front of Fields. He hasn’t been sacked as much as he was in week 3 but still saw a lot of pressure and got hit a lot. The Packers aren’t the best pass rush team but have players who can disrupt a quarterbacks day. I don’t see Fields being startable for fantasy right now. He doesn’t have a rushing upside. He doesn’t have the volume of other sub par passers and he doesn’t have the skill to overcome the limited attempts.
Running Backs
Damien Williams (Start, Flex), Khalil Herbert (Sit)
The injury to David Montgomery was a huge letdown for fantasy owners. What’s even worse is in week 5 we didn’t see a clear replacement emerge. Damien Williams was the big waiver add heading into the week. He had 16 carries for 64 yards and a score. He also added 2 receptions for 20 yards. Then came rookie Khalil Herbert. He ran the ball 18 times for 75 yards. He did not get into the end zone and was not worked into the passing game which could limit his fantasy upside. The most frustrating part is the snap percentage. Herbert played 34 snaps compared to Williams 31. If you have to pick one it’s Williams to start in your flex. His involvement in the passing game and having 5 red zone rushes makes him viable in the flex. The Bears don’t pass much so the running game will be on display early. The issue for this game is the game script looks to be a negative one which should mean more passing. Herbert is worth rostering. His usage makes him a possible flex play most weeks and could continue to see an increase in snaps.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Allen Robinson (Start, Flex), Darnell Mooney (Start, WR3), Marquise Goodwin (Sit), Cole Kmet (Sit, Flex)
We’ve already talked about the limited passing work for the Bears and Justin Fields. This limits the upside for the passing weapons. Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney both are low-end plays this week. Mooney had a huge day in week 4 and failed to continue it in week 5. Both of the receivers had 5 targets in a game where the Bears only attempted 20 passes. The two are so similar that it’s hard to pick one to start. I prefer Mooney who seems to get more yards on his catches. He had 3 for 35 yards compared to Robinson’s 4 for 32 yards. Mooney seems to be on the upswing and had a great deep ball connection with Fields in week 4. It’s going to be hard to start either of them and it will be a frustrating season for the Bears receivers. Outside of those two, there isn’t much else to write about. Marquise Goodwin only had 2 targets. Cole Kmet had 4 targets and is always a red zone threat. A touchdown for a tight end easily puts them in the TE1 numbers. I don’t think you can start him right now. The Bears have a tough matchup against the Packers and a tough stretch coming up.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers (Start, QB1)
Outside of week 1, Aaron Rodgers has been playing just below his 2020 MVP season. He has the Packers on a four-game win streak and looks to continue against their arch-rivals the Chicago Bears. Rodgers has been fairly efficient in his passing completing 65.64% of his passes this season and has only turned the ball over 3 times. He is gifted a great rushing attack which has taken some of the pressure off him heading into what is shaping up to be his last season in green and gold. The passing weapons at times leave something to be desired for Rodgers and the passing game and have become very one-dimensional. No one has yet figured out how to stop that but when someone does it could mean a poor week for Rodgers. I don’t see that happening this week. The Bears haven’t been able to stop good quarterbacks in their previous games and now face an elite quarterback in Rodgers. The Bears can get sacks in bunches and the offensive line for the Packers has been shaky to start this season. You still start Rodgers this week and he continues to showcase his skills for his new team next year.
Running backs
Aaron Jones (Start, RB1), A.J. Dillon (Sit, Flex)
Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon have made for a powerful 1-2 punch for the Packers. You have been very happy with your pick of Jones in fantasy drafts. The whole team has a down week 1 but other than that Jones has produced top RB fantasy numbers 3 out of 4 weeks. He should continue this against the Bears in week 6. Jones is coming off a good game in week 5 where he rushed for 103 yards on 14 carries. He didn’t make it into the end zone which makes two weeks in a row. He has been losing carries to Dillon over the past few weeks but nothing to be too concerned about. Jones still has the red zone work, out carrying Dillon 15 to 3. Both are worked into the passing game which just bolsters their fantasy value. Dillon is only playing on 32% of the team’s snaps while Jones is playing 64.8%. The game script looks to have the Pack up early so there will be plenty of rushing to go around. You can fire up Jones as an RB1 this and most weeks. Dillon isn’t worth starting right now but should be rostered. He could see some garbage time carries in this game. If Jones were to miss time Dillon would slide right into his workload and would do well.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
Davante Adams (Start, WR1), Allen Lazard (Sit), Randall Cobb (Sit, WR4), Robert Tonyan (Sit)
The passing attack for the Packers has become very one-dimensional. It’s Davante Adams and then really no one else. Over the past 2 weeks, Adams has had 27 targets. The rest of the team combined has 43. That’s spread over 8 other players. The good news is that outside of week 1 no one has been able to stop Adams. Even in week 1, he had 56 yards receiving. He is showing us all why he should have been and was the number 1 wide receiver taken in fantasy drafts. The other receivers worth rostering are Randall Cobb and Allen Lazar. Currently, they have been disappointing outside of Cobb’s week 4. Cobb is a very weak flex play. He has been the go-to guy on 3rd downs and has 4 red-zone targets. If you start him you are hoping for a touchdown since his reception floor is so low. Lazard has been a big letdown with high hopes for him coming into the season. He only has 1 red zone target and 7 total catches despite playing 73.2% of the team’s snaps. Robert Tonyan had a great 2020 season and there were hopes he could rise out of the pile of MEH tight ends and be a set it and forget it player. He has been a letdown so far and probably on your bench headed towards the waiver wire. I do think you could start him this week as a low-end TE2 but I think there are better options. I’m still keeping an eye on him. He plays 61.1% of the team’s snaps and has 4 red-zone targets. In week 4 he did have 7 targets but only caught 2 of them but the target number is encouraging.
– Dustin Ludke (Dunit13dl on Reddit)