The Chicago Bears versus the Green Bay Packers rivalry dates all the way back to 1921 and is still going strong today. Week four of the NFL season opens with the continuation of this historic grudge match. The current record is: Bears 93 wins, Packers 93 wins, and six total ties.
Let’s jump into this week’s fantasy football projections for this game.
Fantasy Focus: Thursday Night Football Bears Vs. Packers
Chicago Bears (1-2)
Mike Glennon – Quarterback
Mike Glennon has mostly been a game manager up to this point of the season. His numbers have been fairly unimpressive through three games. He’s averaging 205 yards per game, with one touchdown and one interception. The wide receiver corps is mediocre or injured which certainly limits his upside as a passer. He did put up 301 yards in a revenge game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game in which he also tossed up two interceptions. He has not looked comfortable in the pocket and even worse under pressure.
In a week three win over the Steelers, Glennon only completed one pass to a wide receiver. The rest of his passing targets were to the running backs and tight ends.
Green Bay’s secondary can be beat, but not by Glennon. He’s not worth starting unless in a real pinch and even then, only in two quarterback leagues.
Kendall Wright – Wide Receiver
Kendall Wright had ten targets in the week two loss to Tampa Bay, and was not targeted at all in week three against the Steelers. That sums up the expectations for Wright if Glennon is under center. Wright has some talent at the position, and should be considered as the de facto number one receiver in this offense. However, it’s tough to trust him on fantasy rosters. He’s a shaky start but better suited to PPR rosters.
Jordan Howard – Running Back
Jordan Howard was quiet through the first two weeks and a bit of a disappointment to fantasy owners who drafted him in the second round. Enter week three and Howard looked determined to remind people as to why he was drafted where he was. He played through obvious pain when getting up after big hits, but remained intent on carrying the ball like the player from last season. It paid off on his stat-line. He finished with 138 yards on 23 carries for six yards per attempt and two touchdowns.
Howard is not on the injury report for this week. He’s a must-start in standard leagues. While Cohen remains the safer PPR option, Howard will be a focal point of this offense. If the Bears hope to stay in this game, it will be on the backs of Howard and Cohen.
Tarik Cohen – Running Back
Tarik Cohen has been an exciting player to watch on a mostly stagnant offense. He saw eight targets in each of the first two games, and another four in week three. He’s totaled 126 receiving yards and 157 rushing yards through three games. Howard remains the work-horse back, but Cohen is carving out a solid dual-threat type of running back role for himself. Cohen is able to take a short screen or dump-pass and turn it into a large gain.
Cohen is a solid start in PPR formats as a flex play. His value goes up significantly if Howard is underperforming or hurt.
Zach Miller – Tight End
Zach Miller has been a decent target for Glennon thus far. His target share has been more consistent than some of the receivers, though he hasn’t recorded a score yet. Miller is a big target with decent hands. He should be a red-zone target but hasn’t been utilized to his potential so far.
Until more consistency develops, Miller is tough to start outside of deeper leagues that suffer from position scarcity.
Green Bay Packers (2-1)
Aaron Rodgers – Quarterback
What can be said about Aaron Rodgers that hasn’t already been written? He’s got three 300-yard games with six touchdowns through the first three games of the season. The only disconcerting stat worth bringing up is that so far, he’s thrown one interception per game. He’s on pace for 714 attempts, over 5,100 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Rodgers is struggling under pressure more to begin this season than he’s accustomed to. The offensive line is a hodge-podge of whoever is healthy plus Martellus Bennett and sometimes Ty Montgomery. Injuries have piled up for the Packers and it shows on the pressures and sacks that Rodgers has absorbed to this point.
Aaron Rodgers is a no-question, must start for Thursday night’s game. Lock him in and enjoy the benefits of a QB1 performance.
Ty Montgomery – Running Back
Ty Montgomery is a much needed asset at the running back position to begin the season. A converted wide receiver, he is showing that he’s capable as a starting running back with dual-threat type of play-making ability. While not designed as a three-down workhorse, he has shown improvement on pass-blocking as well as finding the hole to burst through. His true value is being able to run routes and convert short passes into larger gains.
Monitor the injury report for Montgomery’s status this week. Assuming he’s absent from it, fire him up as an RB1 for Thursday Night Football.
Jordy Nelson – Wide Receiver
Through two games this season, Jordy Nelson has three touchdowns and 131 yards on only 17 targets. If he’s healthy, he’s a lock for targets and an end-zone threat. Week three showed no setbacks to the quad injury that plagued him week two.
Monitor the health report and lock Nelson in as a must-start WR1 for this matchup.
Randall Cobb – Wide Receiver
Randall Cobb is a target monster when he is on the field. In week one he finished with 13 targets and added nine more during week two. He’s dealing with a chest injury but should be coming off of the injury report Tuesday.
Monitor the health report. If he’s healthy Cobb is a PPR sure-start or a WR3 with upside. He’s a solid DFS play as well with touchdown upside to go with the targets.
Martellus Bennett – Tight End
Moving to a new team can be tough for wide receivers and even more so for tight ends. The position houses the complications of the offense, scheme, and offensive line. Martellus Bennett is playing in a high-octane offense led by Aaron Rodgers. His target share has been very positive through the first three games of the season. He is struggling with some drops. Watch for him to continue to build chemistry with Rodgers and emerge as a solid weekly play.
Consider Bennett a fringe TE1 with upside. He’s got a big game coming, who better for it to happen against than a team he used to play for.
