RADIO
It's time for the Week 7 installment of Thursday night matchups with my start/sit recommendations. This week, divisional foes meet as the Bears travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers.
Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down every game and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and injury information as well. Later this week, you will find parts one and two of our Week 7 NFL matchups, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.
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Bears @ Packers - Thursday 10/20 @ 8:25 PM EST
Matchups We Love:
Cameron Meredith (WR, CHI)
Cameron Meredith has been the hugest benefactor of the Kevin White injury. Over the past two weeks, he has caught 20-of-27 targets for 243 yards and a TD. Eddie Royal has already been ruled out this week, and with Brian Hoyer still at the helm there will be more of those short-to-intermediate passes to go Meredith’s way. He is a great play this week against the Packers who have let up the most fantasy points in the league to opposing WRs. As long as Hoyer remains the starting QB and doesn’t get replaced with Cutler, Meredith will be a strong play.
Zach Miller (TE, CHI)
Miller has been a solid fantasy QB play since Hoyer took over as QB. Since Week 3, Miller has averaged nearly six receptions on eight targets for 55 yards, with three TDs in four games. Green Bay has given up the eighth most fantasy points to the TE position. Miller has had back and forth games of high-to-low receiving yards, but he is receiving a high number of targets from the TE position which puts him in TE1 territory. Look for Miller to have a solid receiving game including a TD this week.
Jordy Nelson (WR, GB)
If there is one Packer player you can rely on every week, its Jordy Nelson. He leads the team in targets this season with 47, yards with 312, and TDs with five. He is also tied for second in the league with 10 red zone targets. The offense isn’t totally fixed with the return of Nelson, but it’s working much better than it did last season. Even with the loss of Eddie Lacy, Nelson will remain as the focal point of the passing attack. In two games against Chicago in 2014, Nelson averaged eight catches for 130 yards and two TDs per game. Start Nelson with confidence this Thursday.
Matchups We Hate:
Jordan Howard (RB, CHI)
Coming into last week, the Packers had the best run defense in the NFL. They proceeded to get shredded by Ezekiel Elliott, who ran 28 times for 157 yards against them. The Bears however, are a different animal than the Cowboys. Dallas’ offensive line is far and away the best in the league, and Elliott is an elite level talent. The Bears offensive line is average at best, and Jordan Howard is good but not Elliott-level good. I think the Bears will have better luck through the air than on the ground.
Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB)
Chicago has had a mediocre defense at best overall this season, but they have been pretty good at limiting opposing QBs. They have given up the 13th fewest points to the QB position this season, allowing only about 246 yards passing, with a TD and an INT per game. Eddie Lacy has been ruled out of action this week, meaning we will see a heavy dose of Rodgers in the passing game. Since the bye week, Rodgers has a 3:3 TD:INT ratio, and still has yet to throw for 300 yards this season. The matchup may be decent for Rodgers, but I would not rank him among the elites at the position in this one.
Notable Players:
Alshon Jeffery (WR, CHI)
The Packers, as previously mentioned, are the worst team in the league at stopping opposing fantasy WR production. Things won’t get any easier for them this week, as CB Sam Shields was placed on the IR. The remaining Packers secondary is nothing to write home about, meaning a big day is in store for this Chicago offense. The only things holding Jeffery back is the volume he receives. Last week was his most highly targeted outing at 13, but before that the most he had in a single game was seven. He is the Bears most talented receiver, but Hoyer does not like to force the ball his way. We will see how many chances he gets to perform this week.
Randall Cobb (WR, GB)
After a slow start to the season that had many questioning Cobb’s ability as a receiver, he and Rodgers have turned things around. During each of the past two weeks Cobb has received a whopping 11 targets, compared to the six he averaged before the bye week. He has caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a TD over these past two weeks. If the rapport these two have gained recently continues, Cobb will be in line for another solid week. However, if the running game has trouble going the offense as a whole could stunt.
Ty Montgomery (WR, GB)
Ty Montgomery is expected to help fill the void left by the injury to Eddie Lacy. Last week, Montgomery received three carries while rushing for six yards. He also caught plenty of passes out of the backfield, piling up 10 catches on 12 targets (his first targets of the season) for 98 yards. Davante Adams will be out of this game while dealing with a concussion, meaning there will be plenty of opportunities once again for Montgomery to show his abilities. He is still a risky play, but has flex upside this week against the Bears.
