Thursday Night Football – Bears vs. Bucs

Hey! A game that’s officially being played in Week 5! Normally, Thursday Night Football wouldn’t give us this much excitement, but with all the uncertainty this week, at least we have solace knowing that football is on TV tonight. The 3-1 Chicago Bears host the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field. Kickoff is at 8:20 PM EDT, broadcasted on Fox and NFL Network.

“Brady under pressure, escapes the sack, launching one for the endzone… it is a jump ball and it’s incomplete, Gronk was there and time runs out. And for the Philadelphia Eagles the long drought is over! Finally!” – Al Michaels on the final call of Super Bowl LII, the last time Nick Foles and Tom Brady met in a matchup. Nick Foles had a dream postseason run and took down the GOAT. Now, both Quarterbacks are starting for new teams as Tom Brady gets his 5th start with Tampa and Foles gets his 2nd start with Chicago.

Chicago is hoping to have a resurgence in their offense and replicate what Nick Foles was able to produce in the 4th quarter of their win against Atlanta in Week 3. Last week did not look good for Foles or Head Coach Matt Nagy as the Bears failed to have another comeback performance, ultimately losing their first game of the season to the Colts 19-11. Nick Foles completed 26 of 42 passes for 249 yards and 1 TD, which mostly went to leading receiver Allen Robinson who had a great performance netting 101 yards on 7 catches. Darnell Mooney seemed to be the 2nd option for Foles, strangely enough, as he is listed 4th on the WR depth chart. The Colts have a tough run defense and Montgomery only managed 27 yards on the ground, which fell way below his average of 54.5 yards per game.

The Tom Brady-led Buccaneers have not been healthy all season as neither Mike Evans nor Chris Godwin have been on the field at the same time, and Godwin has already been ruled out for this game. It appears Mike Evans (ankle) may suit up but he is a game time decision, as is Scotty Miller who was a bright spot in last week’s game against the Chargers where he scored a TD on 5 catches for 83 yards. However, the name last week we were all thrilled to see succeed was the injured Mike Evans, who amassed 122 yards on 7 catches with 1 TD, putting his season long touchdown pace at 20 TD’s. The guy behind this success has averaged 22.37 fantasy points a week, which has positioned himself as the QB7 on the year and is keeping himself in QB1 territory. The run game for this team has been successful yet unpredictable, as Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette each look to have a role in the offense. We don’t know what that looks like when they are both healthy and on the field, which we may get another week of, as Fournette is doubtful again tonight with an ankle injury.

Headlining matchups tonight will be Mike Evans vs. Kyle Fuller who is currently listed as the 6th best cornerback this season. He is much shorter than Evans but will be able to man up on him for most of the game in man coverage scenarios. Khalil Mack is no longer on the injury report and should be involved at full force tonight, which may be an issue for the often immobile Tom Brady, as he finished 33rd in passer rating last year while under pressure Granted he played for a different team, but he is ranked 24th so far this year in completion percentage while pressured, so not all that much has changed.

In the potential (and likely) absence of Fournette, Ronald Jones will get the nod as the primary back and Ke’Shawn Vaughn will be getting the passing work, as LeSean McCoy will also be out with an ankle injury. The Bears have ranked in the middle of the pack against the run so if the passing game does not work out, Ronald Jones may have a good day. The headlining matchup on the opposite side is Allen Robinson vs. Carlton Davis who is not listed as a top corner, so Allen Robinson should be in for a great day. Along with this great solo matchup, Tampa as a team has allowed the 11th most passing yards per game this season. Anthony Miller or Darnell Mooney could get involved as well so we’ll see if Foles can do some damage. Foles will have to because the stout Tampa bay front 7 has been almost unbreakable, only allowing 64.25 rushing yards per game which is listed as 2nd best in the league. Montgomery is averaging less than that per game, so I would expect him to be in for a very rough night.

The over/under is set at 44.5 points and Tampa is favored by 3, but after looking at all the minute details, I could see the game being a little more high scoring than one would expect. I’d expect a great outcome for Allen Robinson, a good outcome for Mike Evans and Ronald Jones, and an average-below average outcome for everyone else. Although Fantasy Football is a guessing game, I’d put my money on Scotty Miller also showing up for a good output. Good luck! Stay Fluid, and Stay Loose!