SALE SALE SALE! Everything must go, except for fantasy points. Every phone battery in the world will be on life support this week as the world scrambles to knock out all of their Christmas shopping and fantasy lineup decisions in one fell swoop. We have a wonderful game on tap to cap off the holiday football action and vault us into the weekend.
Which version of A.J. Brown do we get this week? Can Saquon Barkley get going, finally? Will Caleb Williams look like a piece of pumpkin pie left out overnight, or can he overcome a tough matchup?
We shall see. Let’s set some fantasy football lineups.
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Fantasy Football Primer
Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Bears Players & Weekly Rankings
Eagles Players & Weekly Rankings
Must-Start
These are no-brainer MUST starts.
Strong Starts
Here are players that should be in starting consideration for most fantasy teams.
A.J. Brown (WR)
A.J. Brown has seen his season-long stock rise as he’s the WR25 in fantasy points per game. He has a 25.7% target share with 56.7 receiving yards per game, 1.85 yards per route run, and a 35% first-read share. Brown ranks second on the team in deep targets with 13, but he leads the team in red zone targets with ten. Since Week 6, Chicago has had the 11th-highest single high rate (54.3%). Against single high, Brown has feasted with a 31.6% target share, 2.51 yards per route run, and a 40% first-read share. Since Week 7, Chicago has toughened up against perimeter wide receivers, giving up the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game and the 14th-fewest receiving yards per game. Brown has the talent to overcome it, especially with the favorable single high matchup.
DeVonta Smith (WR)
DeVonta Smith has been humming along this season as the WR20 in fantasy points per game with a 25.6% target share, 68.5 receiving yards per game, 2.18 yards per route run, and a 31.4% first-read share. Smith ranks second on the team with seven red zone targets, but he leads Philly with 17 deep targets. Since Week 6, Chicago has had the 11th-highest single high rate (54.3%). Against single high, Smith has had strong numbers with a 25.3% target share, 2.12 yards per route run, and a 32% first-read share. Smith should have another solid game this week against a Bears secondary that, since Week 7, has allowed the eighth-most PPR points per target to slot receivers.
Rome Odunze (WR)
Rome Odunze is the WR22 in fantasy points per game with a 22.4% target share, 59.4 receiving yards per game, 1.94 yards per route run, and a 27.2% first-read share. He’s had an up-and-down season, which can be attributed to his quarterbacks’ play. Odunze leads the team with ten red zone targets and 22 deep targets. The Eagles have had a strong defense, but they have been giving up production to perimeter wide receivers. Since Week 7, they have allowed the third-most receiving yards per game and the 12th-most fantasy points per game to the position. If Caleb Williams can weather the storm in the pocket this week, Odunze should have a nice stat line.
DJ Moore (WR)
DJ Moore had a standout game in Week 12, but that hasn’t been the case for most of 2025. Moore is the WR41 in fantasy points per game with a 15.3% target share, a 21.3% air-yard share, 44.1 receiving yards per game, 1.50 yards per route run, and a 17.5% first-read share. Moore is third on the team with six red zone targets and second with ten deep targets. He’s a solid flex play this week that could stack another nice game. The Eagles have had a strong defense, but they have been giving up production to perimeter wide receivers. Since Week 7, they have allowed the third-most receiving yards per game and the 12th-most fantasy points per game to the position.
Fantasy Football Flex & Deep Plays to Consider
Let’s fill out those flex spots.
Dallas Goedert (TE)
Dallas Goedert is the TE10 in fantasy points per game with a 17.8% target share, 37.6 receiving yards per game, 1.36 yards per route run, and a 19.7% first-read share. Goedert is tied for second on the team with seven red zone targets while ranking fourth in deep targets (six). Goedert should flirt with TE1 production this week again against a Bears defense that has allowed the tenth-most receiving yards per game to tight ends while ranking 14th in fantasy points per game given up.
Concerning Starts & Players to Fade
Players in consideration for lineups, but temper your expectations this week.
Caleb Williams (QB)
Caleb Williams might be the QB9 in fantasy points per game, but his weekly volatility has been well-documented this season. He has been helping his weekly floor, though, with seven games with at least 20 rushing yards and three rushing scores. Among 45 qualifying passers, he ranks 20th in yards per attempt, 36th in highly accurate throw rate, 40th in catchable target rate, and 34th in hero throw rate. This week, I’m expecting “bad Caleb” to show up as he faces this Philly pass defense, which has been a buzzsaw. Since Week 7, they have allowed the third-fewest passing touchdowns, the seventh-lowest passer rating, and the 12th-lowest adjusted completion rate. Williams won’t have much time in the pocket this week as Philly has had the fifth-best pressure rate across their last five games.
D’Andre Swift (RB)
Since Week 10, Swift has averaged 16 touches and 72 total yards per game while playing 53.5% of the snaps with a 39.1% route share and a 9.7% target share. Last week, Swift did take a backseat to Kyle Monangai as his snap rate fell to 41% with a 36.8% route share (still led the team) and only one red zone rushing attempt (Monangai had five). I don’t know if this is a one-off or a changing of the guard in the Chicago backfield. We’ll have to see if this usage pattern sticks in Week 13, but it does cast some doubt upon Swift’s unquestioned lead-back status for the Bears. Among 54 qualifying backs, Swift ranks 14th in explosive run rate and 20th in missed tackle rate. Swift has a horrible matchup this week. Since Week 8, Philly has allowed the second-lowest explosive run rate, the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game, and the sixth-lowest rushing success rate.
Kyle Monangai (RB)
Since Week 10, Kyle Monangai has averaged 10.6 touches and 37.7 total yards with a 43.4% snap rate, a 30.4% route share, and a 1.9% target share. Last week could suggest there’s a changing of the guard in the Chicago backfield, though. Last week, Kyle Monangai still ranked second to D’Andre Swift in route share with 34.2% but he outsnapped him with a 55.7% snapshare. Monangai also had five red zone rushing attempts while Swift only saw one. Among 54 qualifying backs, Monangai ranks 21st in yards after contact per attempt and 27th in explosive run rate. Monangai has a terrible matchup this week and will likely need a touchdown to pay off for fantasy. Since Week 8, Philly has allowed the second-lowest explosive run rate, the fifth-fewest rushing yards per game, and the sixth-lowest rushing success rate.
Luther Burden (WR)
Since Week 11, Luther Burden has taken over as Chicago’s starting slot receiver with a 56.8% route share, a 14.9% target share, 36.5 receiving yards per game, 1.74 yards per route run, and a 20.5% first-read share. He hasn’t drawn a red zone target or deep target in those two games. This isn’t the matchup to look to flex Burden against. Since Week 7, Philly has allowed the second-fewest PPR points per target and the tenth-fewest receiving yards per game to slot receivers.
Colston Loveland (TE)
Over the last two games, Loveland has still been competing with Cole Kmet for playing time. He has had a 52.7% route share (Kmet, 55.4%) with a 13.4% target share, 44.5 receiving yards per game, 2.28 yards per route run, and a 13.6% first-read share. In his last two games, he has had two red zone targets and one end zone target. I don’t want to stream Loveland this week. The Eagles have shut down tight ends, giving up the second-fewest receiving yards per game and the third-fewest fantasy points per game to the position.
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*All data utilized in this article is courtesy of Fantasy Points Data, PFF, FTN, rbsdm.com, and Playerprofiler.com unless otherwise specified.*
