NFL Week 11 Fantasy Football Recap: Atlanta Falcons vs. Chicago Bears

Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery (32) runs the ball against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

David Montgomery: 17 carries, 67 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 receptions, 54 receiving yards

Darnell Mooney: 4 receptions, 29 yards, 1 touchdown


PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2022.

Jump to another recap:

CHI@ATL | PHI@IND | NYJ@NE | WSH@HOU
LAR@NO | CLE@BUF | CAR@BAL | DET@NYG
LVR@DEN
DAL@MIN | CIN@PIT | KC@LAC


Monitor the Kyle Pitts injury: Pitts suffered a knee injury early in the third quarter and didn’t return.

  • His playing time was on the rise last week, and that carried on into the first half. He played more than 80% of snaps both last week and during the first half. He hadn’t surpassed that benchmark since Week 2.
  • He led the team in receptions (3) and receiving yards (43) despite barely playing in the second half.
  • MyCole Pruitt was the primary receiving tight end in the second half. He caught one pass for 17 yards, which was good for the third-most receiving yards on the team.
  • Anthony Firkser was a healthy inactive, but he could take over as the primary receiver if Pitts misses time.
  • There is initial optimism that Pitts didn’t tear any ligaments, but it will take more tests on Monday to confirm.

The Bears’ backfield without Khalil Herbert: Herbert landed on injured reserve with a hip injury. He’s expected to return this season but will miss at least three more games.

  • David Montgomery has been the starter all season, and he received more snaps than usual in this game. He was the primary running back in every situation.
  • While he was the team’s clear top back, he didn’t receive as much playing time as he did during most of last season under the previous coaching regime.
  • He finished second behind Justin Fields in both carries and rushing yards but led the team in receiving yards.
  • Rookie Trestan Ebner served as the backup running back and was unimpressive. He ran for eight yards on six carries and didn’t catch his lone target.
  • Herbert is a buy-low candidate for anyone confident in making the fantasy playoffs and in leagues where the trade deadline hasn’t passed. The Bears play the Lions in Week 17, and Detroit has allowed the fifth-most rushing yards and the third-most rushing touchdowns to running backs this season.

Bears wide receiver competition heats up: Chicago had six wide receivers active, with each getting playing time on offense.

  • Darnell Mooney saw his second-lowest percentage of offensive snaps in the past calendar year due to the rotation. Luckily, he was primarily rotated out on run plays, so his fantasy production wasn’t impacted by playing time.
  • Chase Claypool has emerged as the team’s third wide receiver, as he was in the top three in routes run and was one of the three to see any targets.
  • While this is a step in the right direction, Claypool ran a route on just around half of the Bears’ pass plays, and a Chicago receiver was targeted on only roughly half of their pass plays due to scrambles and sacks.
  • Claypool can still probably be dropped in most fantasy leagues even with the increased playing time. The Bears are having a hard time keeping one fantasy wide receiver relevant. It would be even more difficult to have a second.

Monitor Justin Fields’ health: Fields played the entire game for Chicago but was carted off after the game holding his left shoulder.

  • Fields continued his fantasy dominance, rushing 18 times for 85 yards and a touchdown while passing for 153 yards and a touchdown.
  • Trevor Siemian would be the Bears’ starting quarterback if Fields has to miss any time.
  • The Bears face the Jets and Packers in the next two weeks and then have a bye. That is bad news in the short term for the Bears' pass game, but volume alone could be enough to help the fantasy value of the team’s receivers because Siemian wouldn’t be running as much as Fields.

Table Notes

Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2024 Fantasy Draft Kit, with Live Draft Assistant, Fantasy Mock Draft Sim, Rankings & PFF Grades

$24.99/mo
OR
$119.99/yr