Atlanta Falcons @ Chicago Bears Week 17 Game Preview
Jonathan Fuller breaks down the Week 17 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears from a fantasy football and betting perspective.
Atlanta Falcons @ Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the NFL, winning three of their last four games. Their only loss in that stretch was by three points to the Cleveland Browns.
The same can’t be said for the Atlanta Falcons, who have dropped two of their last three and would need a lot of things to break their way in order to make it into the playoffs.
Although this game doesn’t mean much for the playoff picture, it is important for both coaches who are on the hot seat and looking to make a case for keeping their position heading into 2024.
Both teams have operated run-heavy offenses over the course of the season but have also shown the ability to go up-tempo in recent weeks. The Bears actually have a positive DBOE during their last three games but still sit at a -3% DBOE for the full season.
The Falcons have been one of the run-heaviest and slowest-paced teams in the league over their last three contests. This pace, along with the strong defenses on both sides, combined to make this one of the lowest game totals on the slate at just 38 points.
Both Atlanta and Chicago have turned in elite defensive performances since Week 10 with top-10 units against the run and the pass. Things won’t come easy for the offenses in this game which is unfortunate for fantasy managers relying on any of these players for their championship matchup.
Some good news for the Chicago offense is that D.J Moore seems to have avoided major injury after being clearly hobbled following an ankle injury in their Week 16 win. They will also likely be getting D’Onta Foreman back, which gives Justin Fields his full complement of weapons.
Fields and Moore are surefire starters, while Cole Kmet is a borderline TE1 against a Falcons defense that ranks 26th in points allowed to opposing TEs for the season.
On the Atlanta side, Bijan Robinson’s confusing usage trends continued as he ping-pongs between great games and down performances. It’s a tough matchup against a strong Chicago run defense, but fantasy managers are unlikely to have a better option
The Atlanta passing game has been pretty disastrous over the last month except for one big outing against the Tampa Bay secondary. Drake London has finished outside the top 60 WRs in each of his last two games and is an unexciting WR3 play in this game.
Kyle Pitts has managed to turn in some serviceable fantasy performances in recent weeks, but his underlying usage numbers haven’t been that great, so he isn’t a must-start if you have another good option.