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Brandon Marshall and the Chicago Bears face Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions Monday night in a battle of NFC North foes, but also a battle of top fantasy wide receivers. Who will come away the fantasy victor?
Brandon Marshall enters Monday's matchup coming off his two most productive weeks of the season. Over the past two games, Marshall has a combined stat line of 19 receptions, 282 yards and two touchdowns. Marshall benefited from a lack of turnovers in those two contests from quarterback Jay Cutler, who threw only one interception compared to four touchdowns.
Calvin Johnson only has one touchdown this entire season. The Lions receiver is well off his 2011 pace in which he scored 16 times, and like Marshall, Johnson's statistics have correlated with the performance of his quarterback. Matthew Stafford has thrown five interceptions compared to only four touchdowns in five games this season.
Johnson will face a Bears defense Monday that has allowed an average of 225 passing yards per game, 14th best in the NFL. Their five passing touchdowns allowed is fifth best in the league.
Statistically, Marshall faces the slightly weaker defense in the Detroit Lions, who are 17th in the NFL with 227 passing yards allowed per game and also 17th in touchdowns allowed with seven.
The chief difference between these two defenses, however, is not yards or points, but rather turnovers. The Bears lead the league in interceptions with 13. The Lions have only two interceptions.