NFL Week 17 Fantasy Football Recap: Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears

• D’Andre Swift: 11 carries, 78 yards, 1 touchdown, 4 receptions, 39 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown

• Jamaal Williams: 22 carries, 144 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 reception, 13 receiving yards

Jump to another recap:

ARZ@ATL | MIA@NE | NO@PHI | IND@NYG | CAR@TB
DEN@KC | CHI@DET | CLE@WSH | JAX@HOU
SF@LVR | NYJ@SEA | MIN@GB | LAR@LAC | PIT@BAL

D’Andre Swift increases fantasy value without an increased role: Any fantasy manager who took a chance on Swift was thrilled with the results, but his role in the offense was the same as it’s been in recent months.

• Swift ran the ball 11 times, which is more than usual, but that’s only because Detroit was able to spend the game running more than passing while protecting a sizable lead.
• He scored two touchdowns without having the goal-line role. His rushing touchdown occurred on a 17-yard play, while his receiving touchdown was for 21 yards.
• Justin Jackson was inactive after showing up on Friday’s injury report with a hip ailment. He had been serving as the third-down back in recent weeks.
• Craig Reynolds missed most of the past two months with an injury, but he was active in Jackson’s place. 
• Reynolds played just as much as Swift on early downs and even took a goal-line snap in the first quarter.
• Both Jamaal Williams and Jackson are unrestricted free agents. Swift could be the clear top back by next season, or he could be in a worse committee than this year, depending on what Detroit wants to do in free agency and the draft.

Chase Claypool returns: Claypool missed the past month of action with a knee injury but was able to return on a limited basis against the Lions.

• Chicago hasn’t had stability at wide receiver on its depth chart all season, and that was more clear than ever in this game.
• The Bears used six different wide receivers. All of them received at least one target, but no one had more than 20 receiving yards.
• Only three completions went to wide receivers in the game.
• There were times this season when Equanimeous St. Brown was a clear starter, or when Dante Pettis was the clear slot receiver, but neither was true for this game.
• Darnell Mooney will be a starter if healthy next season, and Claypool will likely be a starter after how much Chicago invested in him.
• The Bears should invest heavily in another wide receiver to help the offense this offseason.

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.