Justin Fields’ Improved Play, D.J. Moore’s Breakout | A Sign of Things to Come, or Just a Fluke?
Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields has had an up-and-down season so far.
Fields started the campaign with three straight poor showings, but has looked like a possible MVP player in the two weeks since. A lot of that has to do with the play of wide receiver D.J. Moore.
Which Fields might fantasy owners get going forward? Is Moore going to be one of the league’s best wideouts the rest of the season? Let’s dive in.
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Fields’ Inconsistent Numbers
Fields and the Bears opened the season taking on the Green Bay Packers. Fields completed 24-of-37 passes for 216 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He rushed for a season-high 59 yards in that contest, but also lost a fumble.
Fields regressed in week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completing just 16 of his 29 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. He was picked off twice, was sacked a season-high six times and fumbled twice.
Just when it looked like things couldn’t get worse, they did in week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Fields was just 11-of-22 for 99 yards. He threw one touchdown and one interception.
Fields bounced back in a big way in week 4 against a bad Denver Broncos defense. The quarterback went 28-of-35 for 335 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once and lost a fumble that helped the Broncos rally for the win.
Chicago finally won in week 5 in a Thursday night matchup with the Washington Commanders. Fields was just 15-of-29 but threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns. He wasn’t intercepted for the first time all season. He also didn’t fumble while rushing for 57 yards on 11 attempts.
Moore’s Improving Production
The Bears traded for Moore during the offseason, giving up the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in that deal. He was acquired to give Fields an elite option to pass to, but it didn’t look like a great deal after a week.
Moore was held to just two catches and 25 yards in the team’s season-opening loss to the Packers. Since that point, Moore has been the league’s top-scoring receiver in fantasy.
Even after three straight strong outings, not many people could have predicted what Moore did to the Commanders in week 5. Moore caught eight passes on 10 attempts, but for 230 yards and three touchdowns. It was one of the better individual fantasy performances of the year and since 2020.
Fantasy Outlook for Fields and Moore
With so much of Fields’ numbers going to Moore, the big question facing the quarterback is can he keep things rolling in games to come when defenses try to take Moore away. Opposing defenses might have one less thing to worry about now that running back Khalil Hebert is going to miss some time.
If you look at the target distribution numbers in week 4, the answer you’d give is probably yes. Tight end Cole Kmet tied Moore with nine targets that week, and receiver Darnell Mooney had four targets.
If you are looking at week 5 only, your answer is probably no. Moore had nearly half of the targets amongst the team’s pass catchers. Kmet had only five targets, and Mooney again had four.
You can bet starting in week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, defenses are going to try and eliminate Moore from the passing game and instead force guys like Fields, Mooney and Kmet to beat them instead. With four straight weeks of solid production, it’s hard to imagine that a team will be able to take away Moore entirely though.
The other good thing for Fields and Moore owners is that the Bears take on a few below-average defenses in the coming weeks. After playing Minnesota in week 6, Chicago faces the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers to round out the month.
Things get tougher after that, but those three defenses are all pretty poor in slowing down opposing quarterbacks. Minnesota and Los Angeles also struggle mightily in slowing opposing receivers, while Las Vegas is a bit better than average.
Can You Start Fields and Moore Going Forward?
The answer to the question above is yes, at least for the rest of this month.
Seeing the below-average defenses lined up and knowing the Bears are going to be lacking talented bodies in the backfield, fantasy owners of Fields and Moore should be licking their chops.
To expect Fields to throw for 300+ yards a contest is probably a bit far-fetched, but averaging somewhere around 250 yards and a couple touchdowns should be doable the next couple weeks. Fields can make up some of the passing yards with his running ability, which I would expect without Herbert in the picture. You just have to hope Fields takes care of the ball and you should be rewarded with a pretty solid fantasy score.
We aren’t expecting Moore to go for over 200 yards and multiple touchdowns every week either, but his consistent play over the past four weeks is definitely something you should trust at this point. He might not even reach 100 receiving yards every week, but he’s the Bears’ top candidate for a touchdown reception and can make up points that way.
Until further notice, Moore is a must start in all fantasy formats. Fields is also back in the starting conversation every week, and then it simply comes down to if any of your other quarterbacks have a more favorable matchup.
