Nick Foles is 2-8 in his last 10 NFL starts. And not the good 2-8. Maybe the Bears' coaching is to blame. But then again, besides a miraculous late run in 2018 aided by a stronger receiving corps and a more capable running game, Foles has been a sub-middling starter since leaving Philly the first time after the 2014 season.
Last night's outing--which ended with would could be a serious injury--was particularly painful. He was facing a bottom-10 pass defense in prime-time television and mustered only 106 yards on 26 throws. Some quarterbacks collect that yardage on a few passes. Foles needed 26.
It's worth reminding everyone that Chicago handed Foles $21 million guaranteed. On top of trading up to land Mitch Trubisky and finding themselves with a disastrously inefficient running game, this franchise has taken a step back since last year's 8-8 effort. If Mitch Trubisky is healthy after their upcoming bye, he'll surely start against the Packers. Once again, Chicago will be lucky to finish 8-8, and they'll be looking for another franchise QB in next year's draft.
In the meantime, as always, Allen Robinson is the only Bear fantasy option worth tracking. It's unusual for teams that don't have losing records to have only one consistent fantasy starter. Anthony Miller and Darnell Mooney are outside the top 50 WRs, David Montgomery is a weak RB2 (i.e. there are better available streamers each week), and Jimmy Graham is clinging to relevance with the 12th highest TE points per game.
Of course, their remaining schedule is probably the easiest in the league: Green Bay twice, Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, and Jacksonville. The Chiefs could averaged 35+ against these defenses. The Bears will be lucky to average half that.
For Minnesota, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen both cleared 20 fantasy points last night. Some of you might remember my preseason hype of the ridiculously undervalued Jefferson (WR-50 ADP). He was going no earlier than the 9th round in most leagues. It'll be a decade or more before he falls that far again.
And if I have Dalvin Cook, I'm not happy seeing him log 34 touches. He's missed time because of injuries in all four NFL seasons and isn't a great bet to finish this one. In the last three games he's averaging 30 touches, which is only a couple touches shy of a 500+ touch season projection. All managers can do is start him and hope he stays healthy long enough to help win a fantasy title. I put those odds at about 50/50.