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Bears Fantasy Football Plays and NFL Best Bets for Week 9
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Bears Fantasy Football Plays and NFL Best Bets for Week 9

Probably more needs to be said about how the Bears defense held Jayden Daniels to four field goals until a tipped pass ended the game.

This has not escaped the eyes of fantasy football experts.

When considering Kyler Murray as a play against the Bears defense, it might be best for fantasy owners to go with what SI.com fantasy expert Michael Fabiano suggested and that’s the QB of Arizona after two big victories.

Fabiano pointed out how the Bears defense allowed Jayden Daniels to score more than 17 fantasy points this season among quarterbacks, and that he needed Tyrique Stevenson’s Hail Mary gaffe to do it. Let’s not forget the assist from coach Matt Eberflus when he decided not to stay on the sideline during the play before the Hail Mary.

The Bears secondary remained viable even without starters Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon and with Josh Blackwell and Elijah Hicks in the lineup. They were down three men plus the top backup in London against Jacksonville, and this week could be down two with Gordon returning and there is a strong possibility Stevenson could face some form of disciplinary action.

Yet they continue to defend.

It might be best to forget all the passers in this game, at least for fantasy football.

Caleb Williams is recommended by Fabiano as a starter this week. This may not be a wise choice.

“Williams was horrible last week despite having a great game on paper, scoring just 9.3 points in a loss to the Commanders,” he wrote. “Still, he has 17-plus points in three of his previous four games, and a game in Arizona is favorable.”

How favorable is this really?

Starting left tackle Braxton Jones is out, backup left tackle Kiran Amegadjie is out. Instead, they’ll start with Larry Borom, who spent the entire year on IR.

And Williams faces an unorthodox defense. Williams had a passer rating in the 40s when he was under pressure in road games, according to Pro Football Focus.

The variables don’t say this is a passer game, even though the Cardinals’ pass defense has been porous and ranks 26th.

BEARS AND CARDINALS: WHO WINS AND WHY

Here’s who to start and compete in Sunday’s Bears redemption game in Arizona.

1. Bears RB Andre Swift

He’s the league’s dirty little secret as a running back as he’s ranked 11th among running backs by Fabiano this week. He ranks fourth in yards after the catch in the NFL among all players and has 533 yards from scrimmage over the last four games. The only thing that makes it less obvious to Fantasy owners is how the Bears cut him and put Roschon Johnson or Doug Kramer on the goal line so he doesn’t score many touchdowns. Maybe if given the chance, he would. At least he would do better than Kramer.

2. Cardinals RB James Conner

He ranks third in the league in yards after the catch in addition to being a legitimate force as a running back and has 712 all-purpose yards. If they spread the field against a Bears defense that wants to play pass coverage, then he could produce a lot of yards. The Bears have been good against opponents in the red zone, but teams are trying to continue to attack their tight pass coverage instead of attacking their run defense.

3. Cardinals TE Trey McBride

The Bears defense needs to keep its eyes on Murray and receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., and the linebackers need to watch Murray and James Conner. This will leave McBride open to opportunity. Last week, Daniels hit Zach Ertz seven times for 77 yards. Ertz felt young again, or at least looked young. McBride is young and could exploit the soft underbelly of the Bears’ coverage.

4. Bears TE Cole Kmet

There’s a good reason why Matt Eberflus looked at the stats and said that after last week’s game they needed to target tight ends and running backs more. He was not criticizing his offensive coordinator there. It was on Williams for not checking him or looking beyond the gaps in his progress. Kmet had only one target. This won’t happen again against a Cardinals scheme that might find itself out of position to properly tackle a runaway truck coming down a short pass.

CAN THE BEARS BOUNCE BACK AFTER LAST WEEK’S DEVASTATING DEFEAT?

IF BEARS PUNISH TYRIQUE STEVENSON WHY NOT SHANE WALDRON TOO

BEARS’ SECONDARY HEALTH IMPROVES BUT O-LINE LOSES BRAXTON JONES

THE BEARS BEST POSITIONED TO DO DAMAGE TO THE CARDINALS

5. Bears WR Keenan Allen

The middle short zone and right short zone are where Allen can be found most often and these are areas of the field that Arizona’s defense struggles to defend. The connection between Allen and Williams continues to grow and it’s important to extend drives on third downs in this game to keep the Cardinals’ explosive offense at bay. Looking for precedent against Arizona? Good luck. Allen has been in the league forever but has never faced the Cardinals.

6. Bears WR DJ Moore

Moore has six catches for 47 yards in the last two games. Sure, the odds favor a breakout for him after that, but he’s had 27 yards or less in three of the last four games. This is a difficult trend to reverse. Williams just didn’t trust him enough to be open to early throws. Sean Murphy-Bunting and the Cardinals cornerbacks might make it difficult to put up huge numbers, but Moore should find a way to contribute.

7. Cardinals WR Greg Dortch

If you wanted a dormant entryway, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. Dortch had two catches for 45 yards against the Bears last season and their defense can’t defend underneath either if they’re looking to stop Harrison.

8. Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Pro Football Focus is recommending Harrison be benched by Fantasy owners this week because he’s not as good against zone coverage as he is man-to-man. And the Bears are the zone masters. He’s actually good enough against the zone to start in Fantasy Ball, so ignore the analytics on this one, but don’t expect huge numbers, just pretty decent.

1. Bears QB Caleb Williams

The pressure and road stats weigh too heavily against him. They really need a “superman” type performance from him to get back on track, but he has a 45.09 passer rating when under pressure while passing in road games according to PFF stats, and a passer rating of 66.5 in all road games, regardless of the situation. There are too many external issues to keep anyone from thinking they are going to reverse all of this. Once he starts breaking through with the numbers on the road, then he’ll be a game there as well.

2. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray

If there’s one reason to play him, it’s the dual threat he poses. However, the Bears’ pass defense held up, whether against Daniels, CJ Stroud and Trevor Lawrence, or pocket passers like Matt Stafford and Andy Dalton. Murray’s back-to-back good games aren’t enough to suggest he can put up big numbers against the top defense in the red zone or passer rating.

3. Bears WR Rome Odunze

I think it might burst suddenly. It’s always a take or two but nothing too serious. Odunze, however, seemed to have Williams’ eye late in the match. Until he consistently puts up big numbers, it’s not a play.

4. Cardinals WR Michael Wilson

If Harrison is held in check and Murray can’t put up big numbers, it stands to reason that Wilson could get a few more receptions than normal. He has 21 in eight games, but rarely gets more than 12 yards. Yet, this type of receiver is one who gets under coverage and picks up yards against his zone. It’s just that the Bears haven’t even given up yards and catches to receivers like Wilson to any great extent and Wilson wouldn’t be on anyone’s fantasy radar anyway.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CHOICE OF THE WEEK

Defense

The smart money for the team’s defense belongs to the Bears, but it’s still a risky play due to the injury factor with Montez Sweat and with Jaquan Brisker out, and with Gordon just returning from injury.

If anyone stands out in IDP leagues, it’s Cardinals safety Buddy Baker. The slightest errors from Williams and Baker will be there. It appears their defense is designed to allow him to move freely under the free safety so he can get to the ball or make tackles and big plays.

The betting window

Bears on SI record in Bears Games: 6-1 straight, 5-2 against the spread, 4-3 over/under.

This week’s Bears prediction: Cardinals 26, Bears 17

Last week around the NFL: 10-5 straight, 5-10 ATS, 2-2 power plays

Around the NFL to date: 78-42 straight (.650), 66-52-2 ATS (.559), 17-15 power plays (.531)

This week’s NFL games and picks:

**Week 9, Thursday night game

*Power play

-Ratings are updated periodically and are subject to change.

-If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and would like help, call 1-800-GAMBLER

Twitter: BearsOnSI