We have an interesting matchup in store for Sunday Night Football in NFL Week 9. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. The Bears are listed as six-point home favorites, while the total sits at 47.5.
Each of these squads enters this contest on a winning streak, albeit in different fashions. The Buccaneers have relied on an elite defense and rushing attack in back-to-back games. They’ve had 250+ yards on the ground in both contests, and they made some history last week when they became the first team to win a game without completing a pass since 1974.
Meanwhile, the Bears have been rolling since getting Caleb Williams back in the lineup. They’ve racked up three straight wins, with the last two over last year’s Super Bowl participants. They picked up a 17-point win over the defending champs in Seattle last week, establishing themselves as legit contenders in 2026-27.
Let’s dive into all the DFS options for Sunday Night Football.
As news breaks throughout the week and we adjust our projections (powered by award-winning expert ranker Sean Koerner), player ratings in our Player Models will change as the projections change. For updates, visit the models directly.
And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Or you can just use our NFL DFS sims to effortlessly create advanced lineups.
Finally, make sure to check out all the projections available for purchase within the FantasyLabs Models. Subscribers now have the option to purchase Derek Carty’s THE BLITZ from our Marketplace.
You can also combine them to create your own aggregate projections:
NFL DFS Stud Picks
Williams has played as well as any QB in football when available for the Bears this season. He’s been limited to just four full games, and the Bears have won each of them. His lone disappointing start was the game where he got injured, and that was against the Vikings’ elite defense in subpar weather.
Overall, Williams has averaged 8.5 adjusted yards per attempt this season, which represents a new career high. He grades out even better in some of the more advanced stats, including a No. 5 ranking in EPA per pass. Williams ranks eighth at the position in fantasy points per game, though that number would be significantly higher if you remove the outlier performance vs. the Vikings.
Most of Williams’ production comes with his right arm, but he also has some upside on the ground. He ripped off two rushing touchdowns in his first game this season, and he’s averaged 25.8 rushing yards per game. Ultimately, he’s not actively looking to use his legs often, but he’s capable of taking advantage if running lanes emerge.
However, Williams is going to have his hands full in this contest. The Buccaneers have been an elite defensive team this season, arguably the best in the league. They rank first in EPA per play defensively, and they’re No. 2 against the pass. They’ve allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, giving Williams an Opponent Plus/Minus of -4.2.
That’s definitely a concern, but we just saw Williams succeed in a tough matchup vs. the Seahawks last week. With Ben Johnson at the helm, the Bears offense is good enough to get the job done vs. anyone. Williams ranks first in our NFL Models in both median and ceiling projection, and he’s also first in projected Plus/Minus. Between the Captain spot and the Flex, Williams is popping up in the Sim Labs optimal lineup simulations nearly 75% of the time.
D’Andre Swift is the other stud option in this contest, and he should continue to serve as the Bears’ bell-cow running back. Kyle Monangai remains out of the lineup, and Swift has done some serious damage in his absence. He’s handled 82% of the snaps and 84% of the carries over the past two weeks, and he’s responded with 19.0 and 27.9 DraftKings points. Overall, he’s posted a positive Plus/Minus in four straight games.
Swift wasn’t particularly effective last week vs. the Seahawks, but he made up for it by scoring three touchdowns. He’ll probably need to use a similar formula this week. The Buccaneers have been even better against the run than the pass, with no team allowing fewer fantasy points per game to opposing RBs. It results in a slate-worst -4.6 Opponent Plus/Minus.
Add in the fact that Swift’s price tag keeps rising, and he’s simply a middling option this week.
NFL DFS Midrange Picks
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