Justin Fields is Set Up to Win Your Fantasy League
Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields has two more 2022 weeks to break the all-time leading record in rushing yards at the position and, as such, needs to be in your lineup for the fantasy Super Bowl. In what has been an up-and-down 2022 season for the former Ohio State quarterback, one thing has been consistent; Fields' output as a runner.
After a 2021 season that saw the rookie operate as an NFL starter, he had accrued a modest 420 yards and two rushing touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per attempt. His usage on the ground has grown considerably in his sophomore season, swelling to 1,011 yards and eight scores while also increasing his amount of total TD from nine to 24.
A Favorable Championship Matchup
Week 17's game against the Detroit Lions will be the two teams' second matchup on the season and the third time with Fields facing the Lions since the 2021 NFL Draft. Though the rookie had marginal success against Detroit in his rookie season (11-of-17, 209 yards, one interception, nine yards on the ground), the Justin Fields stats told a different story in Week 10 of this year; 12-of-20 for 167-2-1 as a passer and a whopping 147 yards with two more touchdowns on the ground, averaging 11.3 yards per attempt.
Not only was he the QB1 in fantasy that week, he was the overall number-one fantasy asset on the week, outscoring CeeDee Lamb, Patrick Mahomes, and Christian Watson, who all had great fantasy weeks; Mahomes threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns that day. This Week 10 performance was smack in the middle of a three-game stretch in which Fields finished with an incredible 410 yards on the ground, before missing Week 12 with a shoulder injury.
Though the Buffalo Bills limited his rushing yards to a lowly 11 last week, the Bills are one of, if not the best, rushing defense in the league at the moment and have allowed the ninth-fewest rushing yards to opposing QBs on the season. This week the Bears quarterback will once again get a Detroit Lions team that has allowed a league-high in rushing yards to opposing quarterbacks and ranked 29th even before Fields ran all over them in Week 10.
An Attempt at History
2021's 11th overall pick will have a chance at history if he can string together two more games of this next-level running. Fields needs 196 rushing yards to break Lamar Jackson's record of most rushing yards by a quarterback (1,206) set in 2019, and he has a great chance at doing it with a repeat performance from earlier in the season. Week 18's opponents, the Minnesota Vikings, also rank in the bottom 10 of rushing yards allowed to opposing quarterbacks, with Fields hitting them with 47 yards back in Week 5. However, he'll need to fix the two fumbles he committed against them.
For leagues that run their playoffs all the way until Week 18, the Chicago Bears quarterback will make for a great choice then as well, as the Vikings rank 31st in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
