Week 3 finishes up with a second straight matchup featuring two teams from the NFC with January aspirations. The Philadelphia Eagles head to the Midwest to take on the Chicago Bears in primetime. This matchup has all the makings of a potential playoff preview so despite the injuries that have mounted for both teams, this game still has a chance to be competitive.

The Eagles running backs all popped up on the injury report this past week. Saquon Barkley is looking to bounce back after he was limited a week ago. For Chicago, they caught wind of some good news that Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury isn’t as serious as we all initially thought and that he may only miss a few games. But we still have to navigate the questionable usage of some of their pass catchers through two games while also trying to figure out how the team will look with a backup quarterback. Let’s dig in and take a look at the latest NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook!

 

 

 

NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook; Eagles vs. Bears Game Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles have really played to the level of their opponents so far through two games. In Week 1 they bested the Washington Commanders 24-22 and last week they beat the Tennessee Titans 24-20. But to be fair, they didn’t have Saquon Barkley available for his full workload in that second game. But in the team’s first season without A.J. Brown, we have seen DeVonta Smith step up as the team’s WR1 and they’ve received a strong contribution from Dontayvion Wicks in his first two games with the organization.

We are still trying to figure out the identity of the Eagles on both sides of the ball. They’ve seen some personnel turnover on defense and the offensive line is aging out. Lane Johnson has made it clear that this will probably be his final season, despite the fact he’s still playing at a high level. The injury to Landon Dickerson caused a little shuffling on the interior portion of the O-line. Cam Jurgens moved from center to left guard and Drew Kendall took his place. 

On the other side of this game, we have the Chicago Bears who won’t have Caleb Williams available for this game, but he is set to return possibly in a month. Additionally, it seemed as if Tyson Bagent would get the start for this game after clearing concussion protocol. However, the Bears are going swerve and go with Case Keenum as their starting quarterback for our MNF DFS picks.

The Bears routed the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 by posting 59 points and a majority of that production came on the ground. Last week they were only able to put up a field goal against the Minnesota Vikings. But they also lost Caleb Williams in that game and the weather wasn’t accommodating either. But so far through two weeks, the Bears haven’t been able to get their top pass catchers going and the fantasy football community has been left in shambles. Optimism isn’t exactly high heading into this game with Case Keenum under center.

The sportsbooks are not expecting this to be a shootout by any means. The over/under as of Monday morning is currently sitting at 41.5 points. The Eagles have an implied team total of 22.5 points while the Bears sit at 19 points. Fortunately, weather shouldn’t play a role in this game. Temperatures will stay in the low-to-mid 60’s and the wind is projected to remain under 10 miles per hour with no rain in the forecast.

 

 

 

Eagles vs. Bears Notable Injuries & Inactives

The Philadelphia Eagles, per usual, had a very busy injury report for Week 3. So far they’ve ruled out Marquise Brown, Fred Johnson, and Dallas Goedert. Saquon Barkley popped up on the injury report after he was limited in Week 2 with a stinger against the Tennessee Titans. But he was a full participant in practice on Friday and Saturday, so he appears to be good to go for our MNF DFS picks.

Early Sunday morning it was reported that Caleb Williams suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain which will likely sideline him for three-to-four weeks. The Bears also announced Sunday that Case Keenum will get the start in this game even though Tyson Bagent cleared concussion protocol. That decision could be based on Keenum’s overall experience and having more starts throughout his career. But in terms of who else has been ruled out by Chicago, the Bears won’t have Noah Sewell and Shemar Turner on the defensive side for Monday Night Football.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Showdown MVP/Captain for Monday Night Football, 9/28

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $13,000

We’ll start with the easiest layup on the whole slate. With the offensive uncertainty of the Bears and Saquon Barkley’s underwhelming start to the year, Hurts seems like the safest bet for our Eagles vs. Bears DFS picks. Hurts won’t ever wow you with the passing numbers, but he can get there with some passing touchdowns and with his rushing upside.

We always elevate and give quarterbacks with rushing upside an edge on NFL DFS Showdown slates. Since 2024, Jalen Hurts leads all players with 16 touchdowns from the one-yard line according to Ian Hartitz. And while the offensive line isn’t what it used to be, Hurts is coming off a game against the Tennessee Titans where he was pressured on 57% of his dropbacks and yet he completed 55% of his pass attempts while facing pressure and he threw for a pair of touchdowns under these circumstances.

It’s not hard to see why Hurts is among the top MVP/Captain candidates for our MNF DFS picks. He offers a great floor/ceiling combination, and this Bears defense can be bleed points and yardage to good offenses.

DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $10,600 | FanDuel: $10,800

Smith is the fourth-most expensive player on the slate on FanDuel which seems a bit odd because I do agree with how he’s priced on DraftKings as the second-most expensive option behind only Hurts. But either way, he’s a high-upside DFS play that works especially well at Captain/MVP and you’d naturally play Jalen Hurts in a Flex spot for that precious correlation in our NFL DFS Showdown lineups.

Smith is coming off a Week 2 performance where he caught 10-of-13 targets for 117 yards and a touchdown. Smith is commanding a large target share (33.3%) through two games which puts him only behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Parker Washington, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Justin Jefferson entering Week 2.

He’s is also coming off a game where he saw five third-down targets with a 25% red zone target share. He’s excelling amidst the departure of A.J. Brown and he may thrive even more with Dallas Goedert sidelined.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $12,200

Barkley’s coming off a disappointing game in Week 2. In fact, it’s been a slow start for him in general. Specifically last week, he suffered a “stinger” that limited him to just five total touches and 20 all-purpose yards. Needless to say, that won’t quite cut it at this price tag.

But this is DFS after all and it’s a one-week season. If Caleb Williams were available for the Bears, I could probably find a couple players on the Chicago side to fill Barkley’s spot in the MVP/Captain section. But alas, that is not the case. And Barkley was a full participant in practice late in the week so I’m happy to list him in this section.

Things should improve for his fantasy outlook. The offensive line has regressed slightly but the matchups and schedule open up nicely for the running back position. He still has explosiveness and he’s touting 0.33 missed tackles forced per touch. If this game gets out of hand then Philadelphia can take a run-heavy approach. And if this game isn’t very competitive with the Eagles dominating the Bears, then Barkley probably played a big role in that outcome.

D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $9,600 | FanDuel: $11,400

No Caleb Williams? No problem. Through two weeks no team is running the football better than the Chicago Bears and Swift is a big reason why. Swift had a huge performance in Week 1 (124 rushing yards and three touchdowns) but then regressed in Week 2 but he did catch all five of his targets, so he wasn’t completely hopeless in PPR formats. And he’s seen at least 19 touches in each of Chicago’s first two games.

On paper, the Eagles look like they’ve been fine against opposing running backs. But Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears did combine to average 5.0 yards per carry against them. However, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White both averaged under 4.0 yards per carry against this defense.

Needless to say, with how good Chicago has run the ball to start the year, the Eagles haven’t quite seen a ground attack like this. Swift’s getting immense volume (36% of the offensive touches so far) and he’s showcasing 0.24 missed tackles forced per attempt through two games. With a backup quarterback under center for this primetime matchup, Chicago is expected to lean heavily on their ground game.

 

 

 

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays for Monday

Case Keenum, QB, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $8,400 | FanDuel: $10,400

Tyson Bagent has cleared the concussion protocol, but it will be Case Keenum who gets the start for the Chicago Bears. Bagent may have a little more familiarity with the offense, but Keenum was able to get a full week of preparation under his belt for this matchup and he carries more experience as a starter than Bagent. 

There are a few things working in Keenum’s favor. For starters, the Bears invested plenty of resources into their offensive line and making sure Caleb Williams has weapons at his disposal. And he also has Ben Johnson as his head coach. Johnson will likely lean on the run game a significant amount for this matchup. But when the Bears do need to air it out, Johnson is smart enough to call plays that can cater to Keenum’s strengths. The Bears just need him to manage the game and minimize mistakes.

Additionally, we rarely see a starting quarterback on a Showdown slate priced in the mid-range. Usually this position is priced over $9,500 given the floor they offer. We haven’t seen Keenum get much action of late, but he is serviceable and at this price he can deliver maybe 200 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Luther Burden, WR, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $7,600 | FanDuel: $8,200

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $8,600

Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $7,200

I’ll be completely honest, I have no idea how to approach these three players with Case Keenum under center. Even in Week 1, with a healthy Caleb Williams, the Bears scored 59 points and these three players were largely uninvolved. There will come a time and a place for these three to emerge and play a larger role in the offense but without Williams under center, it’s hard to be optimistic but I do feel better about the passing game with Keenum than Bagent.

I’m mostly including them in this article to acknowledge that if you’re similarly unsure who to play in this range, you can just as easily skip these three and easily go with a stars and scrubs approach to your lineup. You can play both Chicago running backs and load up on upside plays on the Eagles side. But playing any of these three pass catchers for Chicago could kill your lineup. But if all three turn out to be leverage picks, then you could be sittin’ pretty if any of them happen to score. It would be objectively hilarious if Case Keenum was the key to unlocking Colston Loveland, but the Eagles have been tough on opposing tight ends (six catches for 42 yards) through two games.

If I had to make my best educated guess as to who could emerge, it might be Burden because he has a 31.3% first read target share through two games according to Fantasy Points. Loveland is at 12.5% and Odunze is under 10%. But again, those numbers are with Caleb Williams under center. It’s hard to tell how Keenum will dial things up.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $9,600

Monangai is a much better value on DraftKings than FanDuel but with no Caleb Williams, he will likely draw heavy ownership at this price tag because the Bears have been so good at running the ball through two weeks.

Monangai is seeing 10% of his rush attempts go for 15+ yards and that leads all running backs. Through two games he’s averaging just under 6.0 yards after contact per rush. While that number is likely to regress, it’s meant to speak to his big play upside.

D’Andre Swift has seen more volume through two games but Monangai has been more efficient with a dozen touches in each of his first two performances this year. It’s possible he sees an uptick in work and with his ability to break off a big run for a score, I wouldn’t even rule him out as a Captain/MVP option.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Dart Throw Bargains

Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $4,400 | FanDuel: $7,600

Wicks became one of the most sought-after free agent wide receivers over the last week for fantasy football following the injury news to Dallas Goedert. There is a fair possibility he experiences some regression in terms of efficiency. He’s only seen 10 targets through two games, but he’s brought in seven of those and posted 70+ receiving yards in each game.

However, Wicks is doing plenty of other things really well and it likely explains the big play upside. This tweet from @KyleM_FF highlights how Wicks is excelling getting separation against both man and zone coverage schemes, while he also ranked top 15 in yards per route run through two games.

He has an incredible opportunity to expand his role as Philadelphia needs a couple pass catchers to step up. And if you would like a pivot in this range then consider Makai Lemon who carries some untapped upside as a first-round wide receiver taken in the most recent NFL Draft. Lemon has touted a route share of 80% in each of Philly’s first two games. 

Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $4,400

As mentioned earlier when discussing Colston Loveland, the Eagles have been very good at defending opposing tight ends. So the outlook isn’t great for Kmet and if you wanted to, you could certainly try and spend up to either Wicks or Lemon. Even Kalif Raymond has put up solid production at the ripe age of 32 with a 21.9% target share. It’s truly baffling that Raymond has experienced such a hot start to the season.

But we know backup and younger quarterbacks tend to lean more on the tight end position. Case Keenum is certainly not “young” by any means, but as one of the backups on this roster he may have developed more of a rapport with a player like Cole Kmet during training camp and practice working with the 2’s.

It’s not the greatest theory by any means. But whenever a backup quarterback is given the opportunity to start, there are sharp members in our fantasy football Discord channel that will inquire as to who the quarterback may have developed chemistry with further down the depth chart. Kmet seems like a player that could fit that billing in my opinion.

Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $2,600 | FanDuel: $3,600

Ertz is in position to make his return to Philadelphia after signing with the team earlier this week following the injury news to Dallas Goedert. It sounds as if the Eagles will elevate him from the practice squad in time for this game, so he has a chance to make an impact.

Ertz is older at 35 years of age, but he was productive last season with the Washington Commanders where he had 50 receptions for 504 yards and four touchdowns. But a few things might be working against him. For starters, we don’t fully know how “up to speed” he is with the playbook. And he also tore his ACL just over nine months ago. 

Ertz’s name recognition could carry his ownership. So if you want to pivot while others get nostalgic with this play then I’d consider pivoting to Darius Cooper who could benefit from Marquise “Hollywood” Brown missing this matchup.

 

 

 

Eagles vs. Bears DFS Player Pool, 9/28

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