Justin Fields Now in a Groove

Justin Fields describes his feeling for the offense as a kind of "groove," and that can only be good for fantasy owners who have him in the lineup for the fantasy playoffs.

It took the bye week to slow down Justin Fields' fantasy football momentum.

Now that the Bears are back on the field, it's the Philadelphia Eagles and fantasy football playoffs that could prevent a return to what has become a trend over the last five or six weeks.

Fields had become an automatic play for those fantasy owners fortunate enough to benefit from his point contributions both as a passer and runner.

As most leagues reach their playoffs, it might cause some owners to pause when they see Fields is playing the second-ranked Philadelphia Eagles defense.

They shouldn't hesitate to play him unless they have another more threat at QB and the reason has to do only partially with this Sunday's Bears opponent.

Sports Illustrated fantasy expert Michael Fabiano agrees with this notion and includes Fields among his quarterbacks to start this week, although not among his top 10 play options.

Fields' recent performances mandate a start, but anyone a bit apprehensive needs to take into account what he said about his overall feeling within the offense. He feels he's hit a rhythm now with the passing game.

"I just can’t describe it," he said. "Just a certain way of like, you got to kind of feel the flow of the game. It's hard to explain it but once you feel it, I don't know, I'll try to put up some words at home (to it) and maybe explain it to y'all one day but it's kind of just like a feel to where you are just sitting back there and you are just comfortable with the game and with the offense and how the game is going."

It's a feeling of comfort and Fields said it only gradually came to him now to the point where he is starting off knowing he can attack through the air.

"You just kind of have that feeling in the game, just get in a rhythm and get it going from there," he said.

He knows he has to recover that elusive spot again when this game starts.

"For sure, it makes it easier on me, but you kind of just have to get in that same mindset, kind of just retrace that feeling and that inner whatever it is and just get back to wherever you were," Fields said. "Like, I'm going to try to get back to it to where I was last week and how I felt in that game and my calmness and just how I felt in the game. Just trying to get back to that point and just improving and trying to put up more points each and every game."

Fields didn't talk that way earlier this season, so it appears he has made some sort of large improvement as a pocket passer and leader of this offense.

It should be enough to get him penciled into the lineup for fantasy owners even for fantasy playoffs and even with a dominant opponent facing him.

Here's who else to start and sit during this week's Bears and Eagles game, with a heavy emphasis on the Eagles, of course.

Start 'Em

1. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts

The biggest problem with Hurts and fantasy points being limited this week is benching him in favor of backup Gardner Minshew at some point with the Eagles far ahead. The Bears couldn't handle running quarterbacks in the few chances they had to face one, and those came when they had speed at linebacker in Roquan Smith to stop. Handling one who runs and passes? Take a look at how they did against Dak Prescott. In that game, Prescott piled up a season-high 25.4 fantasy points according to Pro Football Reference.

2. Eagles RB Miles Sanders

It shouldn't be complicated for the Eagles. They'll get the ball to Sanders, let Hurts run a little and throw some and there shouldn't be much opposition. The Bears haven't held any team to less than 149 yards rushing in the last three games. Better running teams find they can move it with ease against them. Sanders should be able to get off tackle and the edge.

3. Eagles WR A.J. Brown

Even with the Bears likely to shift Jaylon Johnson to where Brown lines up, the catches and yards will come. Johnson does a good job of holding even good receivers in check but the Bears can't always dictate the matchup and he also get burned occasionally by the elite receivers, which Brown certainly is. As for the rest of the Bears secondary, when Brown gets covered by anyone else it's a mismatch.

4. Eagles TE Dallas Goedert

A return from injury is usually a good time to tread carefully. Is a player really back to the point they can be a weapon against a specific opponent? In this case, it's fine because the Bears lack high-quality linebackers to cover him with and if it's strong safety Jaquan Brisker, lack of experience is a real factor against a receiver with such extensive experience himself.

5. Eagles WR DeVonta Smith

A good counter to the big-play threat of Brown, Smith himself can produce in the red zone or for long gainers. The Bears can't even be sure at this point they would have Kindle Vildor available to cover him on one side because Vildor has had an ankle injury and is questionable. Also, when he goes into the slot he will be facing cornerback Kyler Gordon, who is near the bottom of Pro Football Focus cornerback ratings for this year.

6. Bears TE Cole Kmet

The Bears go-to receiver against the Packers after they lost Darnell Mooney for the season, he figures to be used more downfield because they've lost Chase Claypool this week, as well. He's an easy target to pick out at 6-foot-6 and Fields will even throw him some jump balls against an Eagles secondary that has been hit hard by injuries.

7. Bears RB David Montgomery

He gets in here only because of his receiving ability. The Bears are likely to be behind so quickly that they'll need to abandon the run. Montgomery has 10 catches in the last three games as Fields has made it more a point to look to him on checkdowns. He'll be good for receptions under the coverage after the Bears are behind, much as Kmet will. Earlier this year, the Eagles run defense struggled a bit but in their last four games they have held three opponents to 106 yards or less.

8. Eagles WR Quez Watkins

Some owners may have reached down this far because he is a player who has accounted for 315 yards receiving. It's a good choice this week because the third receivers have found ways to hurt the Bears secondary throughout the season. He might wind up playing more downs than normal if it gets lopsided.

Sit 'Em

9. WR Equanimeous St. Brown

The Bears don't really have a secondary target now that fantasy owners should even have, but some may have been fooled into bringing St. Brown on board or any of the others, such as N'Keal Harry. The Eagles do have injuries in their secondary but finding time to get the ball to anyone else besides Kmet or Montgomery will be extremely difficult this week against the NFL team sack leaders. The receivers like St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Harry and Velus Jones Jr. shouldn't really be big factors.

Defense

The Eagles have been a strong defensive team but have been involved in higher-scoring games. In fact, borrowing from the betting window here, it's gone over the total points in seven of their last eight games. And the Bears have a knack for doing a lot on offense after teams gain an early edge on them.

If another comparable defense is available, they could be the play instead of the Eagles because the Bears do average 25.8 points over their last seven games, and played some good defenses in that group like New England, Dallas and the Jets.

Best Bears Bets

THE SPREAD AND TOTAL

The Line: Eagles by 8 1/2. Over/under 48 1/2.

(Line started at 7 1/2).

BearDigest Record: 10-3, 6-6-1 ATS.

BearDigest Pick: Eagles 34, Bears 16

Top Prop Picks: Miles Sanders over 68 1/2 rushing yards.

Jalen Hurts over/under 47 1/2 rushing yards

TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS AVAILABLE THROUGH SI TICKETS

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