The Chicago Bears will face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Caleb Williams.
Is Caleb Williams Playing in Week 9?
Williams is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bears’ 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 Caleb Williams in Week 9?
If you drafted Caleb Williams and/or are counting on him in any capacity, the roller-coaster ride has been an experience. Depending on when you’ve jumped on and off will influence your feeling toward rostering the rookie, but I’ve generally been encouraged of late, and this matchup has me willing to go back to the well, even after a dreadful Week 8 showing.
What caused the disaster that was the Washington game? In short, Williams didn’t handle the blitz well.
In Weeks 3-7, he was the third-best quarterback in terms of passer rating against the blitz (133.3, trailing only Jared Goff and Joe Burrow). But in Week 8, Williams checked in 31st of 33 qualifiers (61.7, worst of QBs who had more than five pass attempts against the blitz for the week).
I’m not sure if that’s a blip on the radar or cause for long-term concern, but that’s a problem for another day. The Cardinals (third-most red-zone trips allowed this season) are a middle-of-the-pack defense in terms of blitz rate and the second-worst at creating pressure when they do elect to bring an extra defender. That’s the driving force behind my QB12 ranking of the rookie, one spot ahead of Mahomes.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Caleb Williams’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Williams is projected to score 15.9 fantasy points in Week 9. This includes 209 passing yards, 0.8 passing touchdowns, and 0.6 interceptions. It also includes 4.3 rushing attempts for 32.3 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Arizona Cardinals Defense
The Cardinals’ defense has had an up-and-down year, with three performances in the top 12 and three in the bottom three. That lack of consistency makes them a tough team to judge on a week-to-week basis, and they must make it tough for the offense if they are not sure whether they need 25 or 35 points in any given week.
This unit has struggled against both the run and pass and ranks last in the third-down conversion rate. Arizona has been largely unable to get much pressure, ranking 25th when they do not send extra men and 27th in sack rate. Even their best performances are inconsistent in how they are achieved, and the word inconsistency best describes this entire roster.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Caleb Williams’ Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship QB PPR Rankings
1) Josh Allen | BUF (at KC)
2) Jalen Hurts | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at PHI)
4) Patrick Mahomes | KC (vs. BUF)
Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals Insights
Chicago Bears
Team: For the first time in the 2000s, the Bears have allowed 21 or fewer points in each of their first seven games of a season.
QB: It’s been a simple story with Caleb Williams – his passer rating is 42.8 points higher when not pressured than when he is this season.
Offense: The Bears didn’t run for even 85 yards in any of their first three games – they’ve cleared 125 rushing yards in all four games since (Week 8 at Washington: season-high 196 rushing yards).
Defense: Bend but don’t break – the Bears haven’t allowed a red zone touchdown in two of the past three weeks (that, of course, isn’t going to help when defending Jayden Daniels Hail Marys).
Fantasy: Is there a running back playing better than D’Andre Swift? Over his past four games, he’s produced 33.4% over expectation, averaging 22.6 PPR points per game in the process.
Betting: Six straight Bear road games have come in under the closing total.
Arizona Cardinals
Team: The Cardinals are seeking their first three-game win streak since starting the 2021 season 7-0.
QB: Kyler Murray posted a 127.2 in-pocket passer rating against the Dolphins last week, his highest since Week 13, 2021.
Offense: The Cardinals beat the Dolphins last week without leading for a single offensive snap. It’s their second game this season in which every offensive snap came from behind and their second win when they were trailing for over 87% of their offensive snaps (Also: Week 5 at the 49ers).
Defense: Arizona has allowed their opponent to pick up at least half of their third downs in five of the past six games (Dolphins in Week 8: 11-of-15, 73.3%).
Fantasy: Marvin Harrison Jr.’s sliding touchdown catch was a work of art and paid the fantasy bills, but be careful – his 19.4% on-field target share was his lowest since his NFL debut. That said, he was in the slot for a season-high 32.1% of his routes, an encouraging sign of this team’s willingness to move him around.
Betting: Overs are 9-4 in Kyler Murray’s career when he starts in a game with a spread of less than three points.
