It's been a great Week 9 of football so far with huge games from the likes of DeAngelo Williams, Antonio Brown, Delanie Walker and Cam Newton amongst others. But we're not done just yet as there is one huge game left to play that could decide plenty of fantasy matchups. We preview every fantasy relevant player in Monday night's game below, so if you're still wondering what kind of fantasy production to expect when the Bears take on the Chargers, we've got you covered.
Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (Monday)
Bears:
This is one of the more intriguing matchups of the week. Cutler has played well for the past month, scoring 17 or more fantasy points in four consecutive games. Now he faces a middle-of-the-road Chargers defense that is allowing nearly 17.50 fantasy points per contest to the position. Cutler is a quarterback you can start if your normal fantasy quarterback is on a bye this week.
Once again, injury puts a young player in the spotlight. With Matt Forte (knee) out of action for at least the next couple of weeks, Langford steps in to carry the load for the Bears. This week's contest against the Chargers is one that fantasy managers will want to take advantage of. No defense has been worse against opposing running backs. The rookie should be able to post nice numbers even with a limited workload.
There's a pretty good chance that Jeffery will lock horns with Jason Verrett, who has been a stopper at cornerback for the Chargers. But there's also a pretty good chance that Jay Cutler will have his usual tunnel vision for his No. 1 wide receiver. If you're starting Jeffery, you don't care about interceptions. Just targets. There should be plenty of the latter even if there are a couple of the former.
It's been a few weeks since the Black Unicorn has made a splash in the stat sheets. Bennett hasn't been in the end zone since Week 4 but the good news is that he really hasn't seen a significant decrease in targets. The Chargers have been so-so against tight ends this season, which means this could be the week Bennett gets back on track.
Chargers:
Philip Rivers is throwing the football at an improbable pace this season. Could his arm eventually fall off? Possibly. Until then he's going to keep slinging it, especially if the Chargers can't manufacture a consistent running game. The Bears have been improving, but not enough that you shouldn't start one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and fantasy football this week.
San Diego insists on trying to inject Gordon into the offense. So far, it hasn't provided any dividends. Give them credit for being persistent. But don't start Gordon.
Woodhead had a much smaller role in the San Diego offense last week. That can't continue for a team that is in desperate need of wins to stay in the playoff chase. Woodhead had been nearly an every week flex play in most leagues but especially in PPR leagues. Plug him in and hope things return to normal in America's Finest City.
The Chargers are dealing with their own injury issues. Keenan Allen's season is over with a lacerated kidney. That will leave it to the receiving duo of Steve Johnson and Malcom Floyd to pick up the slack. Johnson was an early-season sleeper and does many of the same things that Allen offered. Meanwhile, Floyd is a big play specialist who doesn't always need a lot of targets to put up solid fantasy production. Considering how much San Diego is throwing the football, both are worth having on your fantasy team and worth starting this week.
Gates is going to be a large part of the Chargers offense as long as he's able to put on a uniform. But with Keenan Allen no longer available, look for Rivers to lean even more heavily on his favorite target. Gates is going to be a must-start for the remainder of the season.
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