Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery's Fantasy Outlook After Brandon Marshall Injury

Even though the Chicago Bears have become irrelevant in the playoff chase, fantasy owners have a lot invested in the team's skill players. Unfortunately for some owners, their rosters have been impacted by the injury suffered by Brandon Marshall. 

After leaving the Bears' 41-28 loss against Dallas on Thursday, Marshall will reportedly miss the remainder of the season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:

This leaves a gaping hole in Chicago's offense, though fortunately the team is equipped to deal with it thanks to the presence of Alshon Jeffery. The Bears also have other skill players like Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte who can take on increased roles in Marshall's absence. 

The most obvious beneficiary of Marshall's injury is Jeffery. The former South Carolina star was already putting up better numbers than his teammate, leading the Bears with 949 receiving yards, 13.0 yards per catch, 116 targets and 15 receptions of at least 20 yards.

Jeffery is also tied with Marshall for the team lead in touchdown catches (eight) and is second in receptions (73) behind Bennett (77). The rapport between Jeffery and Cutler picked up late in the Bears' loss, as noted by Chris Cwik of CBSSports.com:

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With Brandon Marshall leaving the game early in the second quarter, Jeffery became the team's primary option in the passing game. While he was mostly limited early, Jeffery seemed to come alive in the fourth quarter. On the first play, Jeffery hauled in a 27 yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler. He would accumulate 79 of his 95 yards in the final quarter of the contest. Jeffery also drew a 29 yard defensive pass interference call early in the game.

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Look for more of the same in Week 15, especially since the Bears will likely need to throw the ball and score a lot of points because of their defensive ineptitude. It also doesn't hurt that they are facing a New Orleans defense that ranks 29th against the pass and allows 27.8 points per game on the road. 

Jeffery has been on a roll of late, recording at least one touchdown catch in four straight games. He's also been targeted at least nine times with at least six receptions in four of the Bears' last five games. Those numbers will continue with Marshall out.

Then there is the matter of Cutler, who remains the most frustrating quarterback in the NFL. If you ignore the turnovers for a moment and go by the raw stats, his season numbers look fantastic.

The 31-year-old ranks fifth with 3,446 passing yards, he is completing a career-high 66.8 percent of his passes, and his 26 touchdown passes are one shy of tying a career high. 

Unfortunately, you have to count the turnovers when evaluating a player. Cutler is tied for the league lead with 15 interceptions. That stat is likely informed by this number from the NFL on ESPN Twitter account about what happens when the veteran quarterback tries to throw the ball more than five yards:

Now, if you are taking away one of Cutler's best weapons and the one he's played with the longest dating back to their days in Denver, the erratic nature of his play has the potential to get even worse. 

Another problem for Cutler is opposing defenses know they don't have to defend the run. Despite having Forte, one of the best all-around running backs in the league, Chicago's ground game has been non-existent the last two weeks with 48 yards on 23 carries. 

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

By comparison, Cutler has thrown the ball 94 times in the two losses against Detroit and Dallas. The Saints don't have a great pass defense, but defensive coordinator Rob Ryan loves to bring pressure on opposing quarterbacks. 

If Ryan knows he doesn't even have to focus a game plan on stopping Forte, that's catnip for him to send extra pass-rushers. It doesn't help the Bears that Cutler, as the stat showed, struggles when trying to throw the ball past five yards. 

The Bears have a game against Detroit in Week 16, so the matchups will only get tougher down the stretch. If Cutler is still your fantasy quarterback at this point, you might as well ride him out all year. At least you know he will give you a lot of yards and a couple touchdown passes, even with the head-scratching mistakes. 

Jeffery's the safest option among Chicago's key skill players to see an uptick in production with Marshall out. He's already produced like a solid No. 2 fantasy wideout this season with a great chance to elevate even higher over the final three weeks. 

Stats via ESPN.com

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