• The Chicago Bears‘ run game dominates the Philadelphia Eagles defense: D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each reached over 100 rushing yards before Caleb Williams reached 100 passing yards.

• The Philadelphia Eagles lose the time-of-possession battle: The Eagles already rotate their skill players less than any team in the league, and the Bears’ run-heavy approach — combined with several quick three-and-outs — led Philadelphia to give its top players even fewer breaks than usual.

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PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2025.

Luther Burden III’s role continues to rise: The Bears’ second-round rookie ran a route on more than 55% of the Bears’ passing plays for the second time this season.

Burden played only 24.3% of the Bears’ offensive snaps over the first eight weeks. Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore have held the outside roles, while Olamide Zaccheaus opened the season as the primary slot receiver. Burden logged 41.7% of snaps in single-receiver sets and 93.3% in four-receiver sets, but just 20.0% in 12 personnel and 21.3% in 11 personnel.

In Week 10, he filled in for the injured D.J. Moore, but that spike in usage was temporary. By Week 11, Burden began playing ahead of Zaccheaus in 11 personnel, and he has played at least 60% of those snaps in each of the last three weeks. Chicago used more 11 personnel than usual in this matchup, giving Burden a new season high in total snaps. He was above 60% until the fourth quarter, when the Bears shifted to more 12 personnel to run the ball and protect the lead. Chicago also used Burden and Zaccheaus together more frequently as the two receivers in 12 personnel.

Burden has been Chicago’s highest-graded wide receiver through 12 weeks. His 2.32 yards per route run ranks 11th among receivers with at least 100 routes, with most players in that range profiling as must-start fantasy options. He led the Bears’ wide receivers in receiving this week with four catches for 33 yards.

He has been one of the top waiver targets for several weeks and remains a strong speculative option. For him to reach his full fantasy potential, however, he will need to take meaningful playing time from either Moore or Odunze.

The playing time of the Eagles’ stars was not impacted by injuries: DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley both popped up on the injury report this week.

The Eagles have four core skill players on offense — Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert. All four rank among the top seven players at their positions in snap rate, and each has stayed relatively healthy. Barkley and Smith haven’t missed a game, while Brown and Goedert have each missed one.

Smith had not appeared on the injury report at any point through the first 12 weeks, but this week he was listed with an illness, a shoulder issue and a chest injury. He was unable to practice on Tuesday or Wednesday, putting his availability in doubt, but he practiced in full on Thursday and carried no game designation. For the first 55 minutes, his role was unchanged — he played 100% of snaps in 11 and 12 personnel and only came off the field in single-receiver sets. He briefly exited with five minutes remaining after appearing in pain, marking the first time Philadelphia used 11 personnel without him all season, but he returned a few plays later.

Barkley has remained very healthy for a running back over the past two seasons. He missed one practice and was limited in another earlier this year with a knee injury, but was otherwise a full participant through the first 12 weeks. This week, he was limited on Tuesday and Wednesday with a groin injury. Teams often rotate backs a bit more on a short week, but Barkley actually played more than usual. Because the Eagles struggled to sustain long drives while Chicago controlled possession, he required fewer breaks.

Neither player produced much fantasy value in this matchup, but that reflected the offense as a whole rather than any individual issue with Barkley or Smith.

Miscellaneous Notes

• This was the first week since Week 6 that Bears running back D’Andre Swift did not appear on the injury report. The playing time split between him and Kyle Monangai was similar to other recent weeks.
• This was the first game of the season where two running backs on the same team had double-digit carries for triple-digit rushing yards each. Chicago accomplished this with Swift and Monangai before the start of the fourth quarter. No team has accomplished this in a full game since 2022 Week 16, when D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard did this for the Carolina Panthers.
• Chicago’s running back Travis Homer was back in the lineup after missing last week with hamstring and knee injuries. He was a full participant in practice all week.
• The Bears subsequently waived running back Brittain Brown on Thursday. He will likely sign with the practice squad.
• Bears wide receiver Jahdae Walker was a healthy scratch, his fourth straight absence.
• Tight end Colston Loveland wasn’t on the field as much as usual because the Bears were focused on the run game. However, the percentage of pass plays where he ran a route was the highest it’s been in a game where Cole Kmet was also healthy.
• Eagles halfback A.J. Dillon was a healthy inactive, his fourth straight absence.
• Philadelphia wide receiver Xavier Gipson didn’t practice all week with a shoulder injury. He was ruled out on Thursday. The Eagles signed Britain Covey from their own practice squad on Wednesday to replace Gipson.

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.