Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett's Post-Week 14 Fantasy Reaction

With Brandon Marshall leaving with a rib injury and the Bears defense again imploding, Chicago needed offensive players to step up. Most of them did just that. It just came too late for the Bears to salvage a victory, as they fell 41-28 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. 

Tight end Martellus Bennett and wideout Alshon Jeffery each caught touchdown passes, helping to lead a furious comeback that at had Chicago within 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. Bennett caught a 12-yard touchdown for the Bears' lone touchdown of the first three quarters, while Jeffery hauled in a 27-yard score on the first play of the fourth. 

Bennett finished with a career-high 12 receptions for 84 yards. Jeffery overcame a dreadful first half to manage a 95-yard day despite a lingering hamstring injury. 

Player	Receptions	Yards	YPC	TD	Targets
Alshon Jeffery	6	95	15.8	1	9
Martellus Bennett	12	84	7.0	1	15

Coming into Thursday, Bennett had not scored in more than a month; he'd been descending down tight end rankings before a 109-yard game last week. Still one of Jay Cutler's three favorite targets, Bennett had clearly moved into third-place on the rankings in recent weeks with Jeffery and Marshall relatively healthy. Now that both are banged up again, it's possible Bennett recaptures some of his early-season success from when he was one of the five best tight ends in football.

Cutler managed to overcome his mangled receiving corps to throw for 341 yards and two touchdowns. He added a 10-yard rushing touchdown and did not turn the ball over until after the two-minute warning. Most of Cutler's production came in garbage time, but it'll still go down as one of the best outings of his season. 

Completions/Attempts	Yards	YPA	TD	INT	Carries	Yards	YPC	TD
32/46	341	7.4	2	1	2	9	4.5	1

He's wasn't spectacular by any means, but the passing game was the lifeblood of Chicago's offense with Matt Forte getting nowhere on the ground. There is still certainly something missing from from the Bears offense and Cutler is far from fixed; it's just an encouraging sign given his struggles of late.

From a fantasy perspective, Bennett is a must-start because of position scarcity. He is one of a small list of tight ends who is guaranteed to receive at least five targets per game and is always a red-zone threat. Jeffery is a beast who has displaced Marshall as the Bears' top red-zone target.

Cutler is neither consistent enough nor good enough to be owned in most standard leagues. Not when more productive options like Mark Sanchez hanging around in more than half of fantasy leagues waiting to be claimed.

Do yourself a favor, and don't make the mistake the Bears did: Don't rely on Cutler to lead you to the promised land.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter