Preseason Week 2 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts

• Deon Jackson starts for Indianapolis: Evan Hull had started the previous week and Kenyan Drake rotated in with both backs.

• More evidence that Khalil Herbert is the starter: Herbert was among the starters who didn’t play in this game, while D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson played.

• Josh Downs takes the lead in the race for the Colts’ slot role: Downs started the game, with his main competition Isaiah McKenzie playing late in the second quarter and all of the third.

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Josh Downs appears on track to start for Indianapolis: He played ahead of Isaiah McKenzie and should stay ahead of him.

• McKenzie was a free-agent addition from the Buffalo Bills. He played the entire first quarter of their first preseason game alongside Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce.
• He was the primary slot receiver in the game, playing 19 snaps from the slot.
• Downs took over in the second quarter and took the second-most snaps from the slot in that game.
• This week, it was Downs who got the most snaps from the slot. McKenzie followed.
• The third-round rookie began the game and played until the second quarter when McKenzie took over.
• Typically when a rookie is playing ahead of a veteran in the preseason, it means they will keep that job.
• It’s unlikely Downs plays in two-receiver sets anytime soon — as he didn’t in this game — but he should consistently play in three-receiver sets to start the season.

The Colts’ running back battle became more complicated: Deon Jackson started this game after Evan Hull started in Week 1.

• Jackson received all of the snaps on the Colts’ first drive and began the second drive.
• Hull started rotating in early on the second drive.
• Kenyan Drake joined the rotation on the third drive. He is a recent free agent addition who only played late in the third and fourth quarters last week.
• The three combined for eight carries for 22 yards in the first half. Jackson stood out the most — but as a receiver, with two receptions for 15 yards.
• They are all fighting to be the backup behind Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss, assuming both are available in Week 1.
• The backup situation is likely one to avoid unless you’re in a deep league. Any one of the three could win the job, and even if Taylor misses time, we could see a big rotation of players.

Khalil Herbert takes another step toward being a clear starter: Herbert was among the starters who didn’t play in the game.

• This is another sign that Herbert is clearly ahead of the other running backs on the depth chart after he played every snap with the starters last week.
• D’Onta Foreman played the entire first quarter.
• Roschon Johnson joined in the second quarter. He was fourth on the depth chart last week, also playing behind Trestan Ebner.
• Ebner missed this game with an injury, so it’s possible Johnson is still fourth.

Miscellaneous Notes

• The Colts rested Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Isaiah McKenzie, while Mike Strachan missed the game with an injury. Ashton Dulin suffered a season-ending injury in practice.
• Indianapolis was also without its top four tight ends.
• The Bears rested D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney and had Chase Claypool, Velus Jones Jr. and Tyler Scott sit out with injuries. They were also missing five of their top six wide receivers.
• Chicago also rested its top three tight ends.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.