• Saquon Barkley helps lead the Philadelphia Eagles to victory: The former All-Pro running back had his second-best game of the season as a runner but hasn’t been involved over the passing game in the past month.
• The Washington Commanders‘ wide receiver injuries continue: Washington lost Jaylin Lane early in the first quarter. They had dealt with wide receiver injuries all season, seemed to be getting healthy recently, but this was their second straight game losing a wide receiver in the first quarter.
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Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

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.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. returns to the Commanders: Washington’s starting running back had missed last week due to a groin injury.

Rodriguez has spent the second half of the season as the Commanders’ starting running back when healthy, while Jacory Croskey-Merritt has been the backup, and Jeremy McNichols has been the third-down back. Rodriguez missed last week, leading Washington to condense to a two-man backfield. Croskey-Merritt has his most successful game in over two months with 18 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Rodriguez was a full participant in practice all week, so there was no question that he would play. Chase Edmonds had signed with the team a week ago as a fourth running back, but he was a healthy inactive this week. The running back rotation was largely back to normal this week, as Rodriguez took the early-down snaps on the first two drives. Croskey-Merritt took over on the third drive and played most of the rest of the first half.

Neither running back was finding much success in the first half, outside of a Croskey-Merritt touchdown. Rodriguez started the third quarter and played the entire half. McNichols continued to be the third-down back throughout the entire game, regardless of who was the early-down back.

Rodriguez has been a top waiver-wire option for the last two months, primarily because of the Commanders’ schedule during the fantasy playoffs. He missed last week, so Croskey-Merritt was able to take advantage of that matchup instead of Rodriguez. Their other favorable matchup is next week against the Dallas Cowboys, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs this season. Unless there are several running back injuries on Sunday, Rodriguez will be a top-three waiver wire option at running back.

Monitor Jaylin Lane’s health: The Commanders’ backup wide receiver suffered an ankle injury on a first-quarter special teams play and didn’t return.

In Week 14 and the start of Week 15, the Commanders were the healthiest they had been at wide receiver since Week 2, as Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown were both back after missing most of the season. Brown, McLaurin and Deebo Samuel were the clear three starters, while Treylon Burks was the top backup. Lane had fallen to fifth on the depth chart.

Brown suffered a back injury early last week, resulting in larger roles for both Burks and Lane. Brown landed on injured reserve on Tuesday, resulting in the team bringing Chris Moore back from the practice squad. Moore had played significantly this season when McLaurin was out, but the team released him once their other receivers were healthy.

Lane started this week out of a four-wide receiver set. He didn’t play again on the first drive, and he was injured on special teams shortly thereafter. He was initially ruled questionable but was ruled out by halftime. This left the other four wide receivers all playing more than expected. Usually, the Commanders like to rotate their wide receivers more than most teams. Hence, an injury to a backup was much more noteworthy than if a backup wide receiver for the Eagles had been injured. Burks, in particular, had a larger role in the Commanders’ offense of the season.

While the Commanders didn’t have much success in their passing game this week, they face the Cowboys next week. Dallas has allowed the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. In Week 7, both Lane and Moore had over 50 receiving yards against Dallas while the Commanders’ top three wide receivers were injured. McLaurin and Samuel should have more success against them next week if Marcus Mariota is healthy.

The Commanders’ wide receiver room will be a position to watch this offseason, as Samuel, Brown, Burks and Moore are all slated to be free agents, leaving McLaurin, Lane, and Luke McCaffrey as the only remaining wide receivers on the roster.

Will Shipley takes on the third-down role: Saquon Barkley and Shipley had been sharing the third-down role since the bye week.

Barkley was an every-down back over the first eight weeks of the season, as Barkley played 79.1% of the offensive snaps. That included playing at least 70% of the early-down snaps, third downs, two-minute drills, short-yardage and goal-line snaps. Philadelphia made a notable change after its Week 9 bye, getting Shipley more involved in passing situations.

From Weeks 10-15, Barkley played 57.5% of the third downs and 60% of the two-minute-drill snaps, while Shipley played 32.9% of third downs and 40% of two-minute-drill snaps. The Eagles used that at an even larger extreme for this game, giving Shipley all of the third downs over the first 40 minutes, while the two split two-minute drill snaps. This could be a sign of things to come, or it could be related to Barkley’s health. He didn’t practice on Tuesday due to a stinger but was able to practice in full the following day.

This has no impact on Barkley’s rushing production, as Barkley had his second-best day of the season in terms of rushing yards, and it was his third straight game with a rushing touchdown. However, he has only caught two passes in his last four games. The Eagles face the Buffalo Bills next week. That should be a team Barkley can take advantage of in the run game, but if the Bills manage an early lead, it could be a rough day for Barkley’s stat line.

Miscellaneous notes

• Philadelphia backup running back Tank Bigsby was limited on Tuesday due to an illness but was able to practice in full by Wednesday.
• Jalen Hurts only targeted A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the first half. The last time any team targeted only two receivers in an entire first half was 2024 Week 16, when the Eagles faced the Commanders and targeted only Brown and Smith.
• Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson has been back to full strength the last two weeks after dealing with a toe injury. His playing time was notably limited in Weeks 12-14, but he was back to playing roughly 90% of the 11-personnel snaps each of the last two weeks.
• The Eagles activated tight end E.J. Jenkins from the practice squad for this game on Friday. He replaces backup Cameron Latu, who was inactive due to a stinger. The injury led Grant Calcaterra to see a slight increase in offensive snaps.
• Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels was ruled out due to a left elbow injury, his second straight absence. The Commanders do not plan on playing Daniels again this season but haven’t put him on injured reserve, so he can continue practicing with the team.
• Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered a right hand injury in the third quarter and didn’t return. Josh Johnson took over at quarterback for the rest of the game.
• John Bates and Ben Sinnott split tight end snaps for Washington for a second straight week, since their starting tight end, Zach Ertz, landed on injured reserve. Their playing time split was very similar to last week, as Bates played a few more snaps. However, last week Bates ran slightly more routes, and this week, Sinnott ran notably more routes.
• Commanders’ third-string tight end Colson Yankoff was ruled out Thursday due to an ankle injury. He didn’t practice all week. The Commanders activated Lawrence Cager from the practice squad for this game on Friday to take Yankoff’s place.

The Bears play without their top wide receivers: Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle) were inactive after not practicing all week.

Odunze, Burden, D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus have been the Bears’ top four wide receivers this season. The only other wide receivers with snaps this season are returner Devin Duvernay at 23 and undrafted rookie Jahdae Walker with eight. While Walker has spent much of the season as a healthy inactive, he was active for this game. Chicago also elevated Maurice Alexander from the practice squad to help with special teams.

Moore remained an every-down receiver as he’s been all season, while Zaccheaus stepped into an every-down role. He had spent the entire season either playing in the slot or, recently, sharing responsibilities with Burden in replacing an injured Odunze. Walker overtook Duvernay to be the third wide receiver in 11 personnel, but Duvernay occasionally rotated in. Walker made his first NFL catch in his increased role early and the game-tying touchdown near the end of regulation.

Chicago’s biggest change was a significant increase in 12 personnel, making it the Bears’ base offense over 11 personnel. Both Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland played notably more than usual. Targets were well spread out to all of their receivers. The Packers controlled time of possession, and the passing game wasn’t all that effective, so all of Chicago’s options were disappointing from a fantasy standpoint. Moore had a quiet first three quarters of the game but made a big fourth-quarter play, followed by a 46-yard game-winning touchdown in overtime. He ended the day with five receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown.

The Bears’ matchup is more favorable next week against the San Francisco 49ers. There will likely be some fantasy value between Odunze, Burden, Moore and Loveland in that matchup, just depending on who is healthy.

Josh Jacobs plays through injury: Jacobs was not able to practice all week due to knee and ankle injuries.

Jacobs has appeared on the injury report each of the last five weeks due to a knee injury. He has spent most of the season either not practicing or limited in practice during the first two practices of the week, but this was the first time all season he didn’t practice during the third practice of the week. He was a true gametime decision, and it wasn’t known until shortly before inactives that he was playing. 

On top of that, one of his backups, Chris Brooks, was limited all week due to a chest injury and was questionable, but he played. Green Bay typically only has three running backs active in a game, but given the injuries, Pierre Strong Jr. was also made active.

Jacobs typically plays over 70% of the offensive snaps when he’s healthy, and 53-59% when he’s not 100% healthy. In this game, he was playing even less than usual. He was typically on the field in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Brooks has played significantly on third downs over the last five weeks, and he was even more involved in this game. Emanuel Wilson has been the primary backup for most of the season, and he was excellent in Week 12 when Jacobs was out due to an injury, finishing with 28 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns.

Jacobs wasn’t very effective in the run game, and Wilson was having more success, so the team turned more toward Wilson as the game progressed. The Packers have a favorable matchup against the Baltimore Ravens‘ run defense next week. It will be worth watching the Packers’ injury report, particularly on Thursday, to see what Jacobs’ status is. Wilson is worth picking up off the waiver wire in case the Packers decide to give Jacobs the week off.

The Packers temporarily have their top six wide receivers for the first time: Savion Williams was active for the first time in weeks, giving Green Bay their top six wide receivers, but a late Romeo Doubs injury gives reason for concern.

Green Bay utilized a four-man wide receiver rotation last season with Romeo Doubs at X, Jayden Reed in the slot, and Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks at Z. The Packers spent their first-round pick on Matthew Golden and their third-round pick on Williams, which greatly complicated the rotation on paper. Injuries have prevented the wide receiver rotation from getting too complicated.

Watson (chest) and Wicks (ankle) were unable to practice at the start of the week, were limited for the rest of the week and questionable, but they were active. The two rotated with each other more frequently than usual due to their injuries. Williams (foot) had missed the last three games, but he was active this week, finally giving Green Bay all of their wide receivers. However, Williams wasn’t all that involved on offense.

The Packers’ wide receiver rotation was similar to last season, but with Golden as the backup X receiver to Doubs. This has been a notable change for Golden, as he started the season as more of a Z receiver while Watson was out and more of a slot receiver once Reed started missing time. Last week, he played 56.5% of his snaps as an outside receiver on the line of scrimmage, which is where X receivers typically line up. This was a career-high for him. This week, that rate was above 80%.

Golden’s move to this role has led Doubs’ playing time to decline in recent weeks, and that continued in this game before his injury. Doubs had been held to 36 receiving yards or fewer in each of the last four games but caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown in this game. Doubs suffered an arm injury while attempting to recover an onside kick in the last two minutes of regulation. Rather than Golden playing even more, Green Bay relied on its veterans in overtime, as Watson and Wicks were the two primary outside wide receivers.

Golden can’t be trusted from a fantasy perspective next week, but it’s worth noting that Doubs is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he will likely be one of the top free agents at the position. This move increases the odds that Green Bay moves on from Doubs, allowing Golden to be their X receiver next season.

Monitor John FitzPatrick’s health: Luke Musgrave was the Packers’ primary tight end throughout the game before FitzPatrick’s injury, and he was the last man standing after it.

Tucker Kraft began the season as Green Bay’s lead tight end, averaging 14.7 PPR points per game over his first eight games of the season. That is currently tied for second among tight ends this season. Kraft suffered a season-ending injury in Week 9. The assumption after the injury was that Musgrave, the Packers’ second-round pick in 2023, would take over as the lead tight end.

Musgrave did that in Week 10, playing 76.5% of the offensive snaps. However, the Packers took more of a committee approach in Week 11, and that lasted for five weeks. FitzPatrick led the tight end room, playing 55% of the offensive snaps, followed by Musgrae at 44.7% and Josh Whyle at 34.1%. None of them were running a route for over 40% of the Packers’ passing plays, making none of them viable from a fantasy perspective. 

Whyle was ruled out on Thursday due to a concussion. The Packers opted to use two tight ends, freeing up room for more wide receivers on the roster. The assumption was that FitzPatrick would lead a two-man rotation, but instead, Musgrave was consistently on the field, regardless of the situation. He caught four passes for 52 yards last week, likely leading to the increased role this week. He caught three passes for 38 yards, making him the second-most productive receiver on the team.

FitzPatrick suffered a non-contact knee injury in the middle of the fourth quarter, resulting in him being carted to the locker room. Green Bay had been using backup offensive linemen Darian Kinnard as a sixth lineman at times during the game with Whyle out, and that remained an option for the Packers.

If this were any other part of the season, Musgrave would now be a waiver-wire target given his two good games and the injuries to the other tight ends. However, there is only one week left in the fantasy season, and the Packers play the Baltimore Ravens next week. Baltimore has been one of the best teams at preventing fantasy points to tight ends, so Musgrave is only worth considering in deeper leagues.

Miscellaneous notes

• The Bears had made Tyson Bagent their backup quarterback and Case Keenum inactive in every game this season except last week. Bagent was back to being the backup this week.
• Chicago running back D’Andre Swift was limited on Wednesday and Thursday due to a groin injury and was questionable, but he played.
• Chicago’s running back Travis Homer was back in the lineup after missing last week due to an ankle injury. He was limited in practice on Tuesday and practiced in full on Wednesday and Thursday.
• Bears’ tight end Cole Kmet was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday due to ankle and knee injuries and was questionable, but he was active.
• Green Bay’s starting quarterback Jordan Love suffered a concussion in the first half, causing him to miss the rest of the game. Malik Willis took over for the rest of the game and would be Green Bay’s starter next week if Love misses.
• Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd recently had his practice window open, but he added a hamstring injury a week ago. This led the Packers to activate Lloyd so they could put him on injured reserve again. This means he will miss the next three games. Green Bay could open a new practice window for him during the NFL playoffs.

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.