The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 8 matchup between the Commanders and Bears.
Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Chicago | Rank | @ | Washington | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.5 | Spread | 1.5 | ||
| 22.5 | Implied Total | 21 | ||
| 24.7 | 12 | Points/Gm | 31.1 | 1 |
| 16.8 | 4 | Points All./Gm | 21.7 | 15 |
| 64.5 | 5 | Plays/Gm | 61.9 | 17 |
| 58.7 | 9 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 56.7 | 3 |
| 4.7 | 28 | Off. Yards/Play | 6.2 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 26 |
| 43.41% | 18 | Rush% | 51.50% | 3 |
| 56.59% | 15 | Pass% | 48.50% | 30 |
| 41.48% | 10 | Opp. Rush % | 47.10% | 21 |
| 58.52% | 23 | Opp. Pass % | 52.90% | 12 |
- The Bears have the most expected points added as a pass defense (48.7) this season.
- Washington is first in EPA added as a passing offense (80.9).
- Washington has scored a touchdown on a league-high 34.4% of their possessions.
- The Bears have averaged 2.52 points per drive over their past four games (7th) after 1 point per drive over their opening two games (30th).
- Washington has punted on only 18.8% of their possessions, the lowest rate in the league. The league average is 35.9%.
- Chicago has converted 70.6% (12-of-17) of their red zone trips into touchdowns, 3rd in the league.
- 23.9% of the plays against Washington have gained 10 or more yards, the highest rate in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Caleb Williams: Williams comes out of the bye week off the best game of his early career.
Williams was the QB1 (28.6 points), completing a season-high 79.3% of his passes with 4 touchdowns in London.
He has back-to-back 20-point fantasy games.
He took advantage of favorable spots against the Panthers and Jaguars, but we have seen the Bears incorporate more pre-snap motion into this offense in those weeks.
Over the opening four weeks, Chicago used motion on 29% of their dropbacks. That rate has been 54.3% and 41.2% in the past two games.
With the use of motion in those games, Williams is 19-of-27 (70.4%) for 8.6 yards per pass attempt with 3 touchdowns.
A few weeks ago, we would have been giddy to attack this Washington defense, but they have been thwarting our attempts to take advantage of them of late.
The past four quarterbacks to face the Commanders have failed to log QB1 scoring weeks.
Three of those four (Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, and Andy Dalton) are quarterbacks that have been let downs in totality, but all of those quarterbacks and Lamar Jackson also scored fewer points against the Commanders than they had averaged entering that week.
If you were streaming Williams in 1QB formats, I would not run and hide here based on the full body of work against this defense, but this is something to keep tabs on and a reason to keep him as a floor-based QB2 with an upside outcome.
Even with the past four weeks factored in, Washington is 27th in passing points allowed (14.5).
Over that span, Washington has been getting home a lot.
They have a 41.9% pressure rate over their past four games, fourth in the NFL.
Williams is 19-of-47 (40.4%) for 4 yards per attempt under pressure this season.
Even during his hot run these past two weeks, he is 5-of-11 (45.5%) for 4.6 Y/A when pressured.
Washington QB: The fantasy deities took Jayden Daniels from us after one drive (he had 5.2 points on that drive) on Sunday due to a rib injury.
X-rays were negative, but the team is calling Daniels “week-to-week.”
We will follow his status throughout the week.
The NFL moved this game to the late afternoon in hopes of drawing eyeballs to the marketing of Daniels vs Williams, and we could be without that.
In relief of Daniels, Marcus Mariota came in and kept this train moving at full speed, connecting on 18-of-23 (78.3%) for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns and adding 34 rushing yards.
That came against the Panthers, and Mariota’s larger body of work for his career should be factored in before we assume he is a plug and play option replacing Daniels, but this offense continues to operate at a high level.
If Mariota does start this week, he is a viable QB2 with upside.
If Daniel can play, there is a risk or re-injury and a tough matchup on deck.
Even with both factored in, Daniels has been too strong to run away from as a QB1 with added upside if he is close to 100%.
The Washington offense has had success against Cleveland and Baltimore (with Daniels), and they get another test here.
Chicago has allowed the fewest passing points per pass attempt (0.269) and 8.4 passing points per game (2nd).
They have not allowed a QB1 scoring week this season and have not allowed more than 2 passing touchdowns in a game going all of the way back to Week 8 of last season.
Running Back
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Learn MoreMore Week 8 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Vikings @ Rams -- FREE | Thursday Night Football |
| Eagles @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Titans @ Lions | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Falcons @ Bucs | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Jaguars | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Bills @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Panthers @ Broncos | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Commanders | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ 49ers | Sunday Night Football |
| Giants @ Steelers -- FREE | Monday Night Football |