GAME CAPSULES & PLAYER PROJECTIONS WEEK 13 THANKSGIVING MATCHUPS By Matt Wilson FantasySharks.com Senior Writer NO TEAMS ON BYE CHICAGO BEARS (5-6) DETROIT LIONS (3-7-1) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 TH 1 2 :3 0 PM ET FORD FIELD | DETROIT, MI L I N E : CHI – 3 .0 OVER/UNDER: 38.5 2019 TEAM OFFENSIVE & DEFENSIVE MATCHUPS SCOR. PTS/ RUSH RUSH RUSH PASS PASS PASS UNIT RANK RANK GM RANK YPG TD RANK YPG TD BEARS OFFENSE 29 28 17.1 29 78.5 6 30 190.7 13 LIONS DEFENSE 29 25 26.5 24 120.7 10 30 275.5 22 LIONS OFFENSE 9 11 23.6 18 105.6 4 6 272.8 23 BEARS DEFENSE 4 4 17.1 7 96.8 10 9 218.8 11 CHICAGO BEARS INJURIES TO MONITOR: Taylor Gabriel (foot), Adam Shaheen (foot), Ben Braunecker (concussion) BYE: Week 6 The Chicago Bears are still mathematically alive for the playoffs, but two things are in play that make a trip to the postseason totally unrealistic. Chicago’s sputtering offense is ranked 28th in scoring. The rest of the Bears’ schedule looks scary – Dallas Cowboys, @ Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and @ Minnesota Vikings. I don’t see any wins there. If Chicago loses to Detroit, the Bears probably won’t win another game this season. RUSHING MATCHUP – Chicago’s receiver corps is banged up and Mitchell Trubisky continues to struggle. Those are two big reasons to pound the rock with David Montgomery. Will gimmick-play loving head coach Matt Nagy actually commit to the run? Montgomery could surprise against a Lions defense that has given up the ninth-most rushing yards and the third- most rushing touchdowns, and I think he will. Detroit also has permitted the third-most receiving yards and the most receiving touchdowns to the running back position, which puts this matchup in Tarik Cohen’s wheelhouse. They’ll need the sure-handed Cohen on the field, and I think he’ll have a solid outing. PASSING MATCHUP – Mitchell Trubisky passed for a season-high 278 yards against the New York Giants this past Sunday, but he gashed the G-Men for just one touchdown strike. The floundering Trubisky has passed for more than one touchdown in just one of his last five outings. He rarely runs anymore – Trubisky hasn’t cleared 20 rushing yards in a game this season. His passing performances on the road have usually been soft, and Trubisky’s receiver corps is depleted, as noted. The Lions have coughed up the thrid-most passing yards and the seventh-most touchdown passes, but the 220 passing yards projected for Trubisky is probably generous. He simply isn’t playing well enough to exploit this plus matchup. Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller are the only guys in the receiver corps that are worth a look. Despite Trubisky’s struggles, he can usually get the ball to Robinson. A-Rob logged six receptions for 131 yards and one touchdown on 10 targets in the Giants game. He has either scored or racked up at least 60 receiving yards in four of his last six outings. Even though Robinson probably will receive the Darius Slay treatment most of the afternoon, A-Rob still deserves flex consideration. Miller is a riskier play. Trubisky has been trying to get the ball to him more often. During the last two weeks, Miller compiled receiving lines of 6-54-0 on 11 targets against the Los Angeles Rams and 6-77-0 on nine targets versus the G-Men. The Lions have allowed the 11th-most wideout fantasy points. Jesper Horsted is the Bears’ fourth string tight end. WEEK 13 PLAYER PROJECTIONS PASS PASS RUSH RUSH REC REC PLAYER REC YDS TD YDS TD YDS TD QB Mitchell Trubisky 223 1 0 0 RB David Montgomery 70 1 3 20 0 RB Tarik Cohen 24 0 6 45 1 WR Allen Robinson 6 73 0 WR Taylor Gabriel -- -- -- -- -- -- -- WR Anthony Miller 5 60 0 WR Javon Wims 1 10 0 TE Adam Shaheen -- -- -- -- -- -- -- TE Ben Braunecker -- -- -- -- -- -- -- TE Jesper Horsted 2 15 0 FGA FGM XPA XPM PTS PK Eddie Pineiro 3 2 2 2 8 P/A SK INT FUM TD DT Bears 23 4 1 0 0 PREVIOUS MATCHUP: 2019 Regular Season – Week 10 Chicago defeated Detroit 20-13 at Soldier Field. Mitchell Trubisky passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 3-8-0. David Montgomery pounded out a 17-60-0 rushing line and wasn’t targeted. Tarik Cohen amassed a 3-14-0 rushing line and a 4-23-1 receiving line on four targets. Allen Robinson reeled in six passes for 86 yards on nine targets. Taylor Gabriel made four grabs for 39 yards and one touchdown on six targets. Anthony Miller caught one pass for seven yards on two targets. Ben Braunecker caught one pass for 18 yards and one touchdown on one target. DETROIT LIONS INJURIES TO MONITOR: Matthew Stafford (back, hip), Jeff Driskel (hamstring), T.J. Hockenson (shoulder) BYE: Week 5 No Matthew Stafford (back, hip) for the fourth week in a row, and only the Detroit Lions know why they haven’t placed him on injured reserve during this lost season. Like the Chicago Bears, the Lions face a tough end-of-the-season schedule – @ Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, @ Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers. If Detroit loses this one, it’s hard to find any wins for them on the remaining schedule. RUSHING MATCHUP – Practice squad dude Bo Scarbrough is the best of the Lions’ not-so- great tailback options, but the starting gig clearly belongs to him. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound early- down grinder compiled a 14-55-1 rushing line versus the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago, and he amassed an 18-98-0 rushing line against Washington this past Sunday. Scarbrough lost a fumble in the Washington game and hasn’t caught any passes so far. With Jeff Driskel (hamstring) seriously banged up, the Lions have a good reason to go run heavy. A Chicago defense that’s softer versus the run in road contests has allowed 110-plus rushing yards and at least one rushing touchdown in two straight road games. That’s another reason why Scarbrough deseves flex consideration, but he’s clearly touchdown dependent. PASSING MATCHUP – Jeff Driskel (hamstring) is 0-3 as a starter, but he has played competently enough to keep the Lions offense afloat. Driskel has passed for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in all three starts, and he tossed two touchdown passes in the Cowboys game. The third-year pro has surprised as a runner, averaging seven carries and 50.3 rushing yards per outing. He also notched one rushing score. Chicago has allowed the eighth-fewest passing yards and the fifth-fewest touchdown tosses, so a big passing outing from Driskel is unlikely. Keep in mind that Driskel has a hamstring injury, and there’s a danger that he may not finish the game. If he exits early, David Blough, a 24-year-old undrafted free agent, will be pressed into starting duties, which will depress the production of all Detroit receivers. As expected, all the wideouts and tight ends have produced lower numbers with Stafford sidelined. During Driskel’s three starts, Kenny Golladay scored once and cleared 60 receiving yards only one time. Marvin Jones found the end zone twice in one contest and cleared 75 receiving yards in another, while Danny Amendola topped out at four receptions for 47 scoreless yards in his best effort. Chicago has yielded just five wideout touchdowns and the second-fewest wideout fantasy points. Kyle Fuller will battle Golladay. Jones has been the most productive overall, which is why the touchdown is projected for him. The Bears have given up the seventh-most tight end fantasy points, but Noah Fant has been inconsistent and hasn’t scored since Week 4. WEEK 13 PLAYER PROJECTIONS PASS PASS RUSH RUSH REC REC PLAYER REC YDS TD YDS TD YDS TD QB Jeff Driskel 225 1 52 0 QB Matthew Stafford -- -- -- -- -- -- -- RB Bo Scarbrough 85 1 0 0 0 RB Ty Johnson 15 0 0 0 0 RB J.D. McKissic 12 0 4 32 0 WR Kenny Golladay 5 50 0 WR Marvin Jones 5 68 1 WR Danny Amendola 5 45 0 TE T.J. Hockenson 4 30 0 FGA FGM XPA XPM PTS PK Matt Prater 3 3 2 2 11 P/A SK INT FUM TD DT Lions 20 4 2 1 0 PREVIOUS MATCHUP: 2019 Regular Season – Week 10 Detroit lost to Chicago 20-13 at Soldier Field. Matthew Stafford missed the contest due to back and hip injuries. Jeff Driskel threw for 269 yards and one score, and rushed for 5-37-0. J.D. McKissic amassed a 10-36-0 rushing line and a 6-19-0 receiving line on seven targets. Kenny Golladay made three grabs for 57 yards and one touchdown on nine targets. Marvin Jones hauled in five passes for 77 yards on five targets. Danny Amendola logged four receptions for 29 yards on nine targets. T.J. Hockenson caught three passes for 47 yards on six targets. BUFFALO BILLS (8-3) DALLAS COWBOYS (6-5) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 TH 4 :30 PM ET AT&T STADIUM | ARLINGTON, TX L I N E : DAL – 6 .5 OVER/UNDER: 46.0 2019 TEAM OFFENSIVE & DEFENSIVE MATCHUPS SCOR. PTS/ RUSH RUSH RUSH PASS PASS PASS UNIT RANK RANK GM RANK YPG TD RANK YPG TD BILLS OFFENSE 18 21 21.0 5 139.2 11 24 213.5 15 COWBOYS DEFENSE 6 7 19.1 15 104.8 10 6 213.6 12 COWBOYS OFFENSE 1 6 26.8 8 129.8 12 1 303.5 21 BILLS DEFENSE 3 3 15.7 14 104.4 11 3 184.3 7 BUFFALO BILLS INJURIES TO MONITOR: Duke Williams (hamstring), Robert Foster (hamstring) BYE: Week 6 Chugging through the season riding a defense that’s one of the NFL’s best and getting by with an offense that’s a couple of notches below mediocre, the Buffalo Bills have compiled an 8-3 record.