NFL

8 Big-Name Players You May Want to Avoid in Week 13

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Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears

There's a song from my homeland that rings quite true when we look at Jay Cutler and his production over his last five games. It's a wonderful polka that the whole family can dance along to, and it'll get everyone in a spirited mood. Unless they're from Chicago.

In all seriousness, this is vintage Jay Cutler through and through. He combines two games of 20-plus points in his last five games with three of eight or less. What in the world is happening in the Midway? We've predicted this plummet back to earth for a while now. Even in the first few weeks of the season, Cutler was a regular feature in our Regression Candidates article, as he regularly ranked 15-20 spots ahead in fantasy scoring of where his true production lay in terms of NEP. Now we're finally seeing this Bears' offense's true colors shine through, and they're not pretty.

In addition, this week the Bears will go up against the reeling-but-still-dangerous Detroit Lions in the Thanksgiving classic. The Lions are no longer our out-and-out top NEP defense, but they're still horrifyingly efficient on that side of the ball, ranking third in the league in Adjusted Defensive NEP, and eighth in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP. This is a top-tier pass rushing unit, and with Chicago flailing on offense, I expect the Lions to take second-helpings (and thirds) of Bear meat this Turkey Day.