Welcome to the Week 15 NFL Inactives and Fantasy Cheat Sheet, a one-stop shop for The athleteMatch previews, injury and weather updates, and expert analysis. Bookmark this page and check back often as we offer regular updates to help you with fantasy lineups and betting decisions.
The player rankings mentioned in this article are current as of December 16th. For updated rankings, see the Fantasy Football Player Rankings section.

The latest NFL news and headlines

Last updated: 7:05 p.m. ET, December 16

Injury News | Weather report
Selected games | Week 15 insights
Takeaways of Week 15 | Fantasy football player rankings

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Injury news

Updated through December 16, 7:05 p.m. ET

Monday Night Football

Zamir White, RB, LV (Quadriceps) – Injured reserve
Alexander Mattison RB, LV (Ankle) – Active
White was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday and Mattison is active for Week 15. Head coach Antonio Pierce said Mattison will take on a backup role, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. Sincere McCormick was far more efficient than Mattison, White and Ameer Abdullah and appears to be the new starter going forward.

Aidan O’Connell, QB, LV (knee) – Out
O’Connell did not practice on Friday and is inactive for Week 15. Desmond Ridder will start at quarterback while O’Connell will be the emergency QB on the third line. Brock Bowers plays every week no matter who is under center, but Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker’s numbers could be affected by a QB change. Jake Ciely has Meyers at WR25 this week.

Roschon Johnson, RB, CHI (knee) – Out
D’Andre Swift, RB, CHI (Bar) – Active
Johnson is out while Swift is active in Week 15. Swift could see high usage despite averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. He averages 13.21 PPR points per game and can be called upon when needed. Travis Homer will likely see some work in the backfield as well.

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Weather report

Outdoor games only

Monday night’s games will be played in domed stadiums, meaning weather will not be a factor. For a complete guide to how weather affects gameplay, check out Jake Ciely’s Fantasy Football Strategy Guide to Weather.

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Selected games

Match-specific previews and live updates will be available on match day.

Monday evening

Chicago Bears (4-9) vs. Minnesota Vikings (11-2)

• Venue: US Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Time: 8pm ET
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: ESPN+

The Minnesota Vikings are touchdown favorites at home against the struggling Chicago Bears as 2018 third overall draft pick Sam Darnold faces 2024 top pick Caleb Williams. Darnold is well aware of Williams’ struggles, but is having a career year under head coach Kevin O’Connell as a fantasy QB7 with a 108.1 passer rating (T-3rd), throwing for 3,299 yards (6th) and 28 touchdowns (T-3.) behind him. His performance is bolstered by star WR Justin Jefferson (Fantasy’s WR2) and Jordan Addison (WR20). Addison benefits when the defense focuses heavily on Jefferson. RB Aaron Jones provides stability, averaging 14.35 PPR points per game, giving O’Connell game-planning flexibility against a vulnerable Bears defense.

Williams has been under scrutiny, but shows some promise with 16 touchdowns, just five interceptions and nearly 3,000 yards passing to go with 254 yards in this game. Although his completion percentage and passer rating are low, he has scored over 26 fantasy points in two of his last four games. His inconsistency impacts receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze; However, Moore and Allen had two outings with more than 20 PPR points in the last three weeks, while Odunze scored 20.2 points in Week 14. Williams’ challenges are compounded by RB D’Andre Swift, whose EPA is 3.8 yards per carry and rush -31.95 are concerning. For comparison, league leader Saquon Barkley’s rush EPA is 49.3. Additionally, Minnesota’s defense leads the league in Defensive Total Rush EPA and ranks second in yards per carry allowed, making Swift a bench candidate this week.

Read the full preview.

Atlanta Falcons (6-7) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11)

• Venue: Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN

In a potential low-viewing “Monday Night Football” matchup, the Atlanta Falcons are favored over the struggling Las Vegas Raiders, who are eyeing the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The fantasy impact is unclear, especially given the recent struggles of Kirk Cousins, who has averaged just 6.8 fantasy points per game (FPPG) since Week 10 with a 62.0 passer rating. However, a matchup against the Raiders could provide redemption, especially if Maxx Crosby can’t reach Cousins, who struggles under pressure. (Meanwhile, could a poor performance lead to a Michael Penix Jr. appearance?) Darnell Mooney remains a boom-or-bust flex, with 20.2 PPR points in Week 14 but just 5.0 in Week 13. Option. Drake London provides a good baseline with 15.18 PPR points per game this season, with a rare ceiling of around 30 points. Bijan Robinson is the RB4 in fantasy, which limits Tyler Allgeier’s appeal.

On the Raiders’ side, Aidan O’Connell’s MRI (after a Week 14 exit) showed a minor bone bruise and he is out for Week 15. Desmond Ridder has the starting kicker, which creates uncertainty for the Raiders receivers. Jakobi Meyers has a solid floor, averaging 15.1 PPR points per game, while Tre Tucker is a bench candidate, averaging just 7.9 PPR points per game. Sincere McCormick is the most intriguing fantasy prospect for Las Vegas. He is more efficient than any other Las Vegas defender, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Zamir White was placed on injured reserve, and even with the return of Alexander Mattison, McCormick was expected to lead this backfield against a weak Atlanta rush defense.

Can anyone believe this is an MNF matchup?

Read the full preview.

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Insights into fantasy football

Theo Gremminger outlines 13 insights fantasy football managers should know heading into Week 15.

Jordan Addison’s rise

Addison has been out of her mind lately. In the Week 14 win over Atlanta, he exploded for 39.8 fantasy points and finished with eight catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Addison led Minnesota in scoring for the second time in three games, outscoring Justin Jefferson 12-7.

Despite Jefferson’s limited target share, he still eclipsed the 30-point mark and finished the game with seven catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Jefferson and Addison’s combined 71.5 fantasy points were the most of any wide receiver duo in a game this season.

Scoring touchdowns was a consistent theme for Addison during his time in Minnesota. The second-year pro now has 17 touchdowns in just 28 career regular season games. If he can reach double-digit touchdowns again this season, he would become just the fourth Vikings receiver to record multiple double-digit touchdown seasons. The other three? Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Adam Thielen. Not bad company.

– Gremminger

Read all of Gremminger’s insights.

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Week 15 takeaways

Michael Salfino recaps Week 15.

Josh Allen solidified his MVP candidacy with another four-touchdown game, including two on the ground. I have to accept a massive loss Amari Cooperwho had neither a catch nor a target after having 14 targets and 254 air yards last week. (Throws up his hands)

The Eagles finally played the right game and beat their opponents early with their passing game. Saquon Barkley The best thing that could have happened to Philly is to be eliminated from its top season of all time. Now they can build on that and ensure the aerial game runs at peak efficiency, whatever that may be Jalen hurts. It was wonderful to see AJ Brown And DeVonta Smith both have 100-yard days. In the playoffs you need a knockout punch, not just a series of body punches like Rocky Balboa in the meat fridge.

Jerry Jeudy That seems really exciting for 2025, until you remember that Deshaun Watson will definitely be his starting quarterback, given the almost unimaginable salary cap impact of Watson’s contract. (If the Browns divorce Watson before June 1, the entire city of Cleveland will go bankrupt.)

–Salfino

Check out all of Salfino’s takeaways from Week 15.

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Jake Ciely’s Week 15 Fantasy Football Player Rankings

Find out Jake’s top QB, RB, WR and TE for the week!

• Unfortunately, there is still no perfect widget. I know many see this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop etc if possible, or 2) open it in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, to stop scrolling works (or Android users can try two-finger scrolling).
• ECR = “Expert” consensus ranking (which not everyone updates regularly, so use with caution).
• Will be updated regularly. Please find out about the blocking of the lineups.

Get Ciely’s full Week 15 analysis. Plus thresholds and ledges.

(Photo by Desmond Ridder: Ian Maule/Getty Images)