Fantasy Football: 4 Things We Learned From Week 8

It's Time to Start Respecting the Chicago Bears' Defense

It's weird to talk about the defense for a team that's just 3-5 on the season, but it's well deserved in this case.

Over the last two weeks, the Chicago Bears' defense has actually been quite effective at limiting opposing players in fantasy football. After giving up just three points against the Carolina Panthers last week -- and scoring 30 fantasy points themselves, the most by any D/ST in Week 7 -- the Bears took on the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. We all know how scary that can be for a defense.

But the Bears limited the Saints to just 20 points in the outing and kept Drew Brees scoreless. That's the second week in a row the Bears kept an opposing quarterback without a touchdown, and they did it against tough opposition. Looking even further back, Chicago hasn't allowed a receiver to go for 100 yards since Week 3 of the season, and that receiver was Antonio Brown.

The Bears are not a defense to completely avoid in fantasy football, but it is one we should start respecting. They have successfully limited fantasy studs like Brees, Michael Thomas and Cam Newton over the last two weeks, so temper your expectations for any Packers you have in Week 9 -- Brett Hundley won't be the only thing holding them back.