The Carolina Panthers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 13. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Chuba Hubbard.
Is Chuba Hubbard Playing in Week 13?
Hubbard is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Panthers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Chuba Hubbard in Week 13?
Until the usage changes, there’s no reason to hesitate in playing Chuba Hubbard — he’s cleared 18.5 expected fantasy points in three straight games, his second such streak of the season. Jonathon Brooks made his season debut against the Chiefs on Sunday, but that wasn’t enough to stop the recently extended Hubbard from getting another 21 opportunities (rush attempts + targets).
The Bucs have allowed a touchdown on 25.9% of opponent drives this season, the sixth-highest rate in the league and one that the upward-trending Panthers could take advantage of. Hubbard has found the end zone eight times this season for the 29th-ranked scoring offense, serving as a good reminder that, while the offensive environment is critical, it’s not to be used as gospel.
The only rule of fantasy sports is that there is an exception to every rule. I encourage you to evaluate every situation as its own thing as opposed to casting a wide net (i.e. avoid all players on poorly projected offenses).
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Chuba Hubbard’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of 8 AM ET on Sunday morning, Hubbard is projected to score 13.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.1 rushing attempts for 64.8 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 2.5 receptions for 15.8 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Eagles' Defense
The Philadelphia Eagles defense is once again a force in the NFL after struggling last season and finishing 30th in our rankings. That was a huge fall from their previous ranking of sixth in 2022.
That resulted in Philadelphia sacking Sean Desai after just one season and bringing back Vic Fangio, who had been a consultant during their successful 2022 season. Philadelphia started slowly but has had six top-10 rankings in the last eight weeks.
In 2024, the Eagles have been better against both the pass and the run, which has filtered into much-improved third-down (33.3%) and red-zone (45.9%) conversion numbers. The biggest part of the improvement against the pass has come from the secondary, with the pass rush posting similar numbers in pressure without blitzing. An improved secondary has allowed that pass rush to get home more (8.5% sack rate).
Philadelphia has dominated bad offenses and has been solid against better offenses, such as the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams. Their performance against a dynamic Ravens offense was extremely impressive despite not forcing any turnovers.
The individual metrics from Week 13 do not stand out, but overall, Defense+ ranked this as the eighth-best performance of the week. Even when they allowed the Ravens to move the ball into their half, their ability to hold Baltimore to field goals was a big part of how they won this game.
Justin Tucker missing three kicks helped, but the defense deserves credit for forcing those kicks in the first place.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Chuba Hubbard’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:40 AM ET on Sunday, December 8. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 14 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (at CAR)
2) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at MIN)
3) De'Von Achane | MIA (vs. NYJ)
4) Chase Brown | CIN (at DAL)
5) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at GB)
6) Alvin Kamara | NO (at NYG)
7) James Cook | BUF (at LAR)
8) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. DET)
9) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. MIN)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. LV)
11) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. JAX)
12) David Montgomery | DET (at GB)
13) James Conner | ARI (vs. SEA)
14) Chuba Hubbard | CAR (vs. PHI)
15) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. NO)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at ARI)
17) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CLE)
18) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. CIN)
19) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at SF)
20) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. LAC)
21) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. CHI)
22) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. ATL)
23) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at MIA)
24) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at TEN)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. LV)
26) Nick Chubb | CLE (at PIT)
27) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CLE)
28) Gus Edwards | LAC (at KC)
29) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at TB)
30) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. LAC)
31) Ray Davis | BUF (at LAR)
32) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at TEN)
33) Jerome Ford | CLE (at PIT)
34) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at KC)
35) Trey Benson | ARI (vs. SEA)
36) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at MIN)
37) Jonathon Brooks | CAR (vs. PHI)
38) Sincere McCormick | LV (at TB)
39) Tyjae Spears | TEN (vs. JAX)
40) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. ATL)
41) Jaylen Wright | MIA (vs. NYJ)
42) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. MIN)
43) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. NO)
44) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. DET)
45) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (at CAR)
46) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. LV)
47) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at KC)
48) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. DET)
49) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. LAC)
50) Emari Demercado | ARI (vs. SEA)
51) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CLE)
52) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at DAL)
53) Ty Johnson | BUF (at LAR)
54) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. CHI)
55) Jamaal Williams | NO (at NYG)
56) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. CIN)
57) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. CHI)
58) Carson Steele | KC (vs. LAC)
59) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. NO)
60) Craig Reynolds | DET (at GB)
61) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. JAX)
62) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (vs. CIN)
63) Dylan Laube | LV (at TB)
64) Travis Homer | CHI (at SF)
65) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at PIT)
66) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. ATL)
67) Will Shipley | PHI (at CAR)
68) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at MIA)
69) Alec Ingold | MIA (vs. NYJ)
70) Keilan Robinson | JAX (at TEN)
71) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. ATL)
72) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (vs. PHI)
73) Adam Prentice | NO (at NYG)
74) Sione Vaki | DET (at GB)
75) Ronnie Rivers | LAR (vs. MIN)
Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles Trends
Carolina Panthers
Team: The Panthers have the longest active streak of double-digit loss seasons (five straight) and are angling to extend that run sooner rather than later
QB: Bryce Young is far from perfect (60% complete or less in three straight games), but he hasn't thrown an interception in any of those games and has taken just four sacks (106 pass attempts).
Offense: Carolina has cashed in just three of their 10 red zone trips into touchdowns over the past two weeks (Chiefs and Buccaneers).
Defense: The Panthers allowed a touchdown on just two of 14 drives against the Bucs, a 14.3% rate that is their best defensive showing of the season.
Fantasy: The game script hasn’t been an issue, and that helps the few pieces in this offense that you’re considering – Carolina is 2-2 over their past four games with a cumulative score of 93-92.
Betting: Overs have come through in four of the Panthers’ past five games.
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles close the regular season with four of their final five games at home (except Week 16 at Commanders). Each of their past seven games played at home or in a neutral setting has been decided by a single possession.
QB: Jalen Hurts has improved his completion percentage in enemy territory every season of his career, and he completed five-of-six such passes in the big win over the Ravens last weekend.
Offense: Philadelphia averaged just 4.7 yards per play on Sunday, their lowest mark in a win this season (second lowest overall).
Defense: The Eagles pressured Lamar Jackson on 56.8% of dropbacks last week, their best rate of the season.
Fantasy: Over 11% of Saquon Barkley’s carries have gained 10+ yards in five of his past seven games (13% on Sunday in Baltimore against an elite run defense).
Betting: The Eagles have seen three of their past four home games go over the total (under tickets chased in their previous six games).