The Minnesota Vikings will face the Chicago Bears in Week 12. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding QB Sam Darnold.
Is Sam Darnold Playing in Week 12?
Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold was limited in Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a shoulder injury. This doesn’t look like a serious issue, as he was upgraded to a full participant on Thursday.
Darnold fully practiced again on Friday and was officially removed from Minnesota’s injury report. He will start against the Bears in Week 12.
Last week, Darnold began the week with a limited practice while battling a right hand injury.
We’ll continue to monitor the Vikings’ 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 Sam Darnold in Week 12?
Are we nearing pumpkin time for Sam Darnold? He’s earned a below-average grade over the past two weeks per our QB+ grading metric, and while the fantasy box line looked fine last week (QB9, thanks in part to a sneak touchdown), the advanced numbers suggest that some regression is already taking place.
The Bears rank second in pressure rate since Week 5 (41.7% of dropbacks; league average: 34%), a strength that has given Darnold issues at times. A QB reached 14.5 fantasy points against the Bears just three times this season, and that trio of signal callers averaged 4.9 fantasy points with their legs.
Maybe Darnold can rediscover his form when December starts (Cardinals and Falcons in Weeks 13-14), but I’m not at all comfortable slotting him into one-QB lineups right now.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 12 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 12
As of early Sunday morning, Darnold is projected to score 15.4 fantasy points in Week 12. This includes 200 passing yards, 1.3 passing touchdowns, and 0.8 interceptions. It also includes 4.3 rushing attempts for 15.8 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 Insight on the Lions' Defense
The massive spate of injuries to the Detroit Lions defense will remain the team's biggest question mark heading into the playoffs. Thanks to a disastrous start in the team's Week 17 Monday night contest at the San Francisco 49ers, the Lions posted a 60.2 (D-) grade, their worst over the past two seasons.
The scary thing is that things could have been much worse. Detroit had the second-worst EPA-per-play average in the first half of any defense in Week 17 (-0.56) but improved to a more reasonable (but still woeful) -0.15 in the second half.
The pass defense has become a major concern. Monday night saw Detroit record a 29.5% pass defense success rate. That's the second-lowest by any team in a game this year, with the Lions being on the other end of the worst game (Jacksonville Jaguars had a 24.3% pass defense success rate in Week 11 when the Lions scored 52 points).
This unit is a major concern in its current state, though the likes of Alex Anzalone and Carlton Davis could return in the playoffs. The Lions sorely need to hold serve at home in Week 18 vs. the Vikings and buy a week off for its ailing roster, which had its bye week way back in Week 5.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Sam Darnold’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 QB PPR Rankings
1) Lamar Jackson | BAL (vs. CLE)
2) Jayden Daniels | WAS (at DAL)
3) Baker Mayfield | TB (vs. NO)
4) Joe Burrow | CIN (at PIT)
5) Sam Darnold | MIN (at DET)
6) Jared Goff | DET (vs. MIN)
7) Jordan Love | GB (vs. CHI)
8) Bo Nix | DEN (vs. KC)
9) Kyler Murray | ARI (vs. SF)
10) Justin Herbert | LAC (at LV)
11) Drake Maye | NE (vs. BUF)
12) Bryce Young | CAR (at ATL)
13) Russell Wilson | PIT (vs. CIN)
14) Geno Smith | SEA (at LAR)
15) Caleb Williams | CHI (at GB)
16) Aaron Rodgers | NYJ (vs. MIA)
17) Joe Flacco | IND (vs. JAX)
18) Michael Penix Jr. | ATL (vs. CAR)
19) Mason Rudolph | TEN (vs. HOU)
20) Aidan O'Connell | LV (vs. LAC)
21) Mac Jones | JAX (at IND)
22) Tanner McKee | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Kenny Pickett | PHI (vs. NYG)
24) Cooper Rush | DAL (vs. WAS)
25) C.J. Stroud | HOU (at TEN)
26) Drew Lock | NYG (at PHI)
27) Jimmy Garoppolo | LAR (vs. SEA)
28) Carson Wentz | KC (at DEN)
29) Davis Mills | HOU (at TEN)
30) Tyler Huntley | MIA (at NYJ)
31) Joshua Dobbs | SF (at ARI)
32) Spencer Rattler | NO (at TB)
33) Mitchell Trubisky | BUF (at NE)
34) Taylor Heinicke | LAC (at LV)
35) Bailey Zappe | KC (at DEN)
36) Dorian Thompson-Robinson | CLE (at BAL)
37) Sam Howell | SEA (at LAR)
38) Josh Allen | BUF (at NE)
Vikings at Lions Trends and Insights
Minnesota Vikings
Team: Since the start of 2022, Minnesota has played two more games and won two more wins than any other team in games decided by a single score.
QB: Sam Darnold has 12 multi-pass touchdown games this season; only Joe Burrow has more (13).
Offense: Sunday was the third time this season that Minnesota has averaged over 40 yards per drive (they are 8-0 when averaging 32+ yards per drive).
Defense: Green Bay picked up 57.1% of their third downs against Minnesota last weekend, the highest rate the Vikings have allowed this season.
Fantasy: Jordan Addison ranks sixth among receivers with at least 75 targets this season in production over expectation (+28.9%, just ahead of Ladd McConkey and Ja’Marr Chase).
Betting: Minnesota is 4-1-1 ATS in their past six road divisional games.
Detroit Lions
Team: The Lions currently have a +200 point differential. Nine teams in the 2000s finished a regular season with such a mark—none of them won the Super Bowl.
QB: Jared Goff stands alone at the top of the NFL in terms of games with at least three touchdown passes and zero interceptions (six; Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are the only others with more than three).
Offense: Jahmyr Gibbs is now one touchdown away from tying the franchise record (Jamaal Williams and Barry Sanders currently hold the mark with 17).
Defense: Detroit allowed 55.4 yards per drive on Monday night, their worst defensive showing of the season.
Fantasy: Sam LaPorta has three straight games with 100 yards or a touchdown catch -- he had three such games all season prior to this run.
Betting: After a run where they covered eight straight home divisional games, the Lions are just 1-3-1 in their past five such spots.