RADIO
The injury bug has traveled around the NFL, and has landed in Chicago often. Running back, Matt Forte, is likely to sit out Monday night against the San Diego Chargers due to an MCL injury, joining a list of Bears to miss action this season. Although, the injuries to Forte and to star wide receiver, Alshon Jeffery earlier in the season, have put the responsibility for success in the hands of quarterback Jay Cutler. And amidst hardship in Chicago, promise and fantasy value have emerged from the inconsistent and unreliable quarterback.
Since sitting out Week 3, Cutler has thrown for at least 200 yards and one or more touchdowns in each of the four games that followed. The most important stat over that span, however, was his lack of interceptions and fumbles, turning the ball over only three times; an unorthodox feat for a quarterback who has gravitated towards mistakes his entire career. According to CSNChicago.com, Cutler's interception percentage is at 2.3%, the second lowest percentage in his ten year stint in the NFL. Now with a healthy Jeffery, who has had 18 catches and two touchdowns in the past two weeks, and without the crutch of Forte to lean on, Jay Cutler is once again an asset in fantasy leagues. He is a QB1 this week and should be going forward.
The Bears face a Chargers defense that has relinquished the 2nd most fantasy points to running backs this season and is ranked 27th in the league against the run, allowing a bloated 5.0 yards/carry, according to Yahoo! Sports. Running back Jeremy Langford gets the nod to replace Forte, and will look to exploit this weakness. Although inexperienced and unproven, it'll be surprising if Langford doesn't get at least 20 carries against an overly exposed defense.
Langford has scored twice this season and with no real imminent threat stemming from backup running backs, Antone Smith and Ka'Deem Carey, to swoop in and steal his spot, the rookie running back is a RB2 this week and should be started in any lineup, especially fantasy owners of Forte. Monitor Langford's progress and Forte's injury the rest of the way.
Fantasy owners do not have to worry about Cutler and Langford stealing fantasy points from each other. With Jeffrey and tight end, Martellus Bennett, the only real threats on the Chicago offense, expect Cutler to target Langford also, as he had done 36 times already with Forte.
