The Chicago Bears will face the Detroit Lions 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 QB Jared Goff.
Is Jared Goff Playing in Week 13?
Goff is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play on Thursday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Lions’ 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 Jared Goff in Week 13?
While the Bengals need to squeeze every ounce of fantasy production out of Joe Burrow in order to have a chance to win, the Lions can win in half a dozen ways, and only a few of them require Jared Goff to produce in a helpful way for us.
Case in point? Detroit is angling for the conference’s top seed, and Goff has posted just one finish better than QB18 since Week 7. The Bears own the fourth-best red-zone defense, positioning themselves to potentially limit Detroit’s lethal run game (David Montgomery’s health could help with that as well).
Does that force Goff to win this game?
He’s been predictably potent at home (last three home games: 789 passing yards and nine touchdowns while completing 87.1% of his passes). The floor created by Goff’s profile has me ranking him ahead of Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes when it comes to the back end of my QB1 tier.
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.
Jared Goff’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 13
As of Thursday morning, Goff is projected to score 14.4 fantasy points in Week 13. This includes 213.2 passing yards, 1.4 passing touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions. It also includes 1.5 rushing attempts for 3 yards and 0 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 Bears' Defense
One of the most concerning things entering this season was that Matt Eberflus had presided over a struggling defense during his time as a head coach. As a defensive-minded HC, inheriting a top-10 unit and seeing them fall to last in the league in 2022 before finishing just 21st in 2023 was less than ideal. They have put that right this year, but unfortunately, offensive struggles have let them down.
This unit has been vulnerable against the run at times this season, but it was the pass defense that failed them against Minnesota. Granted, in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, the Vikings are a hard team to shut down through the air at times.
This defense is about to face a gauntlet of opponents, and any slight weaknesses could be exposed. One of the under-the-radar blinking red lights is that they are a below-average unit when it comes to yards per play this season. That is usually an indication of bend-but-don't-break defense, but that can fall apart spectacularly.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jared Goff’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 10:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 1. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 13 QB PPR Rankings
1) Jalen Hurts | PHI (at BAL)
2) Josh Allen | BUF (vs. SF)
3) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. PHI)
4) Justin Herbert | LAC (at ATL)
5) Jayden Daniels | WAS (vs. TEN)
6) Joe Burrow | CIN (vs. PIT)
7) Kyler Murray | ARI (at MIN)
8) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at JAX)
9) Tua Tagovailoa | MIA (at GB)
10) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. LV)
11) Baker Mayfield | TB (at CAR)
12) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. CLE)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (at CIN)
14) Anthony Richardson | IND (at NE)
15) Brock Purdy | SF (at BUF)
16) Jordan Love | GB (vs. MIA)
17) Jared Goff | DET (vs. CHI)
18) Sam Darnold | MIN (vs. ARI)
19) Drake Maye | NE (vs. IND)
20) Matthew Stafford | LAR (at NO)
21) Kirk Cousins | ATL (vs. LAC)
22) Geno Smith | SEA (at NYJ)
23) Derek Carr | NO (vs. LAR)
24) Jameis Winston | CLE (at DEN)
25) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. SEA)
26) Caleb Williams | CHI (at DET)
27) Bryce Young | CAR (vs. TB)
28) Drew Lock | NYG (at DAL)
29) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. NYG)
30) Will Levis | TEN (at WAS)
31) Mac Jones | JAX (vs. HOU)
32) Trevor Lawrence | JAX (vs. HOU)
33) Aidan O'Connell | LV (at KC)
Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions Trends
Chicago Bears
Team: The Bears last won in the United States in Week 5 (vs. Panthers) and this streak might not end any time soon (Lions, 49ers, Vikings, Lions, Seahawks, and Packers to end this regular season).
QB: Are the Bears protecting Caleb Williams? He hasn’t thrown an interception during this losing streak, but he also has seen the majority of his throws over that stretch travel no more than five yards downfield.
Offense: Chicago is averaging 2.1 points per drive at home and 1.1 on the road this season.
Defense: Over the past three weeks, the Bears have allowed just seven touchdowns on 17 red zone trips.
Fantasy: Roschon Johnson now has six one-yard touchdown runs this season, a number that leads the position.
Betting: The Bears are just 1-4 ATS in their past five games played on short rest.
Detroit Lions
Team: Three of Detroit’s next five games do not come on a Sunday (Thursdays in each of the next two weeks and a Monday Nighter in San Francisco to conclude Week 17).
QB: In Weeks 1-7, Jared Goff averaged 13 yards per blitzed pass attempt, a rate that has dropped to 5.2 since.
Offense: After running for three scores on Sunday against the Colts, Detroit now has 22 straight games with at least one rushing touchdown.
Defense: Opponents have picked up under 30% of their third down opportunities against the Lions in four of their past five games (last two weeks: five-of-22, 22.7%).
Fantasy: Jahmyr Gibbs was great last season and produced 7.7% over PPR expectations – he’s +40.1% through 12 weeks this season!
Betting: The Lions have covered six of their past eight games when playing on short rest.