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Frank Gore is an elite option in Week 4

Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore (23) in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Chicago Bears in Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Welcome to the Matchups Machine, which narrows down ideal matchups from around the league on a weekly basis using the tools we have available at PFF, the Las Vegas odds, and insight from yours truly.

PFF has all the tools to break down each individual matchup. Do you want to know how your wide receiver is going to do? Well, if he lines up as a split end on 90 percent of his snaps, we can pinpoint which cornerback he will be matching up with for those snaps. We can also tell you how that cornerback has performed.

Of course, as was the case in the past, this column will become more accurate as the season goes on and we compile more grades for the players and get a feel for the tendencies and overall strengths/weaknesses of the 32 teams.

The goal of this column is to help you with those tricky decisions in year-long leagues, but also to help you narrow down your best options in daily fantasy leagues. You will see a mix of big-name players and fringe starters. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Derek Carr at Bears

With the best matchups reserved for the top quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck), and those quarterbacks I can’t feel comfortable suggesting (Brandon Weeden, Ryan Mallett), I decided to get a little more creative this week. Although the Bears have been better on defense than anticipated, they have yet to match up with an offensive unit that is strong in pass protection. The Raiders enter Week 4 with PFF’s top-rated pass blocking unit.

As a result of trading Jared Allen earlier this week, the Bears lost the man responsible for five of their 11 total quarterback hits this season. This defense is responsible for just four sacks in three games. Only two players on the current roster have registered a sack or a hit — Pernell McPhee and Jarvis Jenkins — and those are the only two players with a pass rush grade (+1.0) or above.

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Dan Schneier is a staff writer at PFF Fantasy and he covers the NFC East beat for FOX Sports. You can find him on Twitter @DanSchneierNFL. You can also add him to your network on Google+ to find all of his past material.

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