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Fantasy football start em, sit em MNF lineups advice for Vikings vs. Bears on Monday Night Football in Week 1 (2025). NFL matchups analysis and MNF starts/sits.
The 2025 NFL season is officially underway! It's been an exciting Week 1 slate that kicked off on Thursday, and will close with a NFC North rivalry matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.
Minnesota will look to break in new quarterback J.J. McCarthy, while Chicago is starting the Ben Johnson era. Both squads have several question marks heading into the 2025 NFL season, which means this is an intriguing matchup.
We will bring you Monday Night Football analysis all season, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Let's dive into this first MNF matchup for the 2025 season. Good luck in your first 2025 fantasy football week, RotoBallers!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Monday September 8th, 8:15 PM ET
Notable Injuries:
- Jordan Addison - Out (Suspension)
- Roschon Johnson - Questionable (Foot)
Matchups We Love
RBs Aaron Jones Sr. / Jordan Mason
Both Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason are worth starting in Week 1. The Bears allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing running backs last season, and running backs averaged just under 4.8 yards per carry against this front seven in 2024. With J.J. McCarthy starting in his first-ever game, look for the Vikings to establish the run. That makes Jones a solid RB2 play and Mason a viable flex play in 12-plus team leagues.
Aaron Jones + Jordan Mason = Boom & Doom pic.twitter.com/09GCtBnUmf
— Purple FTW! Podcast (@PurpleForTheWin) September 4, 2025
Matchups We Hate
Fantasy managers should be a little hesitant to start Caleb Williams in Week 1. Williams is still getting familiar with Johnson's offensive scheme in Chicago, and there are expected to be some growing pains early in the season. Given that Minnesota gave up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks last year, Williams is more of a QB2 this week.
Other Notable Matchups
QB J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy makes his highly anticipated NFL debut after missing his entire rookie season due to a knee injury. So, expectations should definitely be tempered for the Michigan product in his first start, especially against a solid Bears secondary. Chicago allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to QBs last season. So, the Vikings QB will be more of a QB2 play this week.
It’s ok to have incredibly high expectations on JJ McCarthy
-he was a 4 star recruit out of HS who went to Michigan
-he won the national title at Michigan
-he was a top 12 pick in the NFL draftWe SHOULD fully expect him to have a very good season. @Vikings
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 3, 2025
Although D'Andre Swift scored under 10 PPR fantasy points in both games against the Vikings last season, he will still come into Week 1 as an RB2 option. He is really the only healthy running back on this roster right now, and he should see upward of 15 touches in this contest. That should help him finish with solid fantasy numbers in this game.
WR DJ Moore
Even though Williams is on the hate list this week, there is a path where DJ Moore could still have a solid fantasy day. He scored at least 15 PPR fantasy points in both meetings against Minnesota last year, and the Vikings allowed the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers in 2024. So, Moore will have WR2 upside in this matchup.
WR Rome Odunze
A Year 2 breakout is certainly in the cards for Odunze, but he'll need to bank on Williams improving as a passer in his second season. In this Week 1 matchup against the Vikings, though, the 23-year-old will be a low-end WR3 in fantasy. He didn't do much in either of his matchups against Minnesota in 2024, and there is some risk in trusting him following a mediocre rookie campaign.
Rome Odunze entering his second NFL season 👀
- The prospect charting
- The weird Year 1 usage
- Where he needs to get better
- The 78.9% success rate vs. press coverage (87th percentile) from his 2024 #ReceptionPerception profile and what that says about his future role in Ben… pic.twitter.com/2hC2Irh4iC— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) August 28, 2025
This is actually a really tough matchup for Justin Jefferson. Bears corner Jaylon Johnson will be shadowing the Vikings wideout in this contest, and Johnson has had Jefferson's number in his career. The All-Pro playmaker only caught nine passes for 100 yards and one touchdown in two matchups against Johnson in 2024. Still, he should be started everywhere in Week 1.
T.J. Hockenson will be a solid TE1 play in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. Once he was off a snap count last year as he worked his way back from a torn ACL, Hockenson emerged as a TE1 option. He scored at least 10 PPR fantasy points in both games against the Bears in 2024, and the six-year vet should be a safe option this week.
Colston Loveland will look to make an immediate impact in the NFL after being drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he faces an uphill battle to see significant targets right away. With Moore, Odunze, Cole Kmet, and Luther Burden III all striving for targets, Loveland is just too risky to trust in Week 1. He will be a low-end TE1 in this game.
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