Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers Highlight Defenses to Sit in Week 13
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This weekend becomes weird trying to figure out the best defenses to sit, Why? Simply, there are quite a few potentially good options that could be traps.
Week 13 conflicts with some potentially bad weather. See Cleveland for example. No teams are on a bye week which only increases options for this long holiday weekend.
Let us examine some defenses to sit for this week. Remember to pass the stuffing, cranberry sauce, and check out three of the must start defenses for Week 13.
Chicago Bears (@ Philadelphia Eagles)
Black Friday blesses us with a solid matchup between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles. Ben Johnson and Chicago have become an interesting story as they lead the NFC North with an 8-3 record. Name one good team they have beaten. Okay, we will wait.
People kind of forget that Chicago ranks 27th in points allowed for a reason. Some of that is because of the 52 points Detroit dropped on them earlier in the season. However, even with the Bears potentially getting one of their best defenders back, they are playing on the road in Philadelphia. The Eagles are in a bad mood already and expect to take their frustrations out on the Bears.
Chicago allowed 28 points to the Pittsburgh Steelers who started Mason Rudolph. Philadelphia's balanced offense has come a bit unglued with Jalen Hurts struggling. Last year featured Hurts starting to play better as the holiday season approached. Could we see that again?
After squandering a 21-point lead to Dallas, Chicago might be the unfortunate team that finds out what it is like to play Philadelphia after a meltdown.
Carolina Panthers (vs Los Angeles Rams)
The Carolina Panthers are going up against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at home. However, Matthew Stafford is enjoying one of those historically good seasons. Teams do like to pass a bit more against the Panthers. Although, Carolina is 14th in passing yards allowed and has not yielded greater than 266 yards through the air, teams have been successful throwing the ball.
The problem for Carolina is the opportunistic Los Angeles Rams defense. Offenses often load up on the pass against them because they are behind. This results in turnovers and shorter fields for the Rams offense. Carolina and Bryce Young are prone to mistakes against swarming defenses. When Buffalo was at their best, Carolina was routed 40-9.
Another double-digit play scoring drive for the 49ers, with CMC capping it off from 12 yards out.
— CharlotteVibe (@charlottevibe) November 25, 2025
Tough to watch, especially with the Panthers’ defense dropping like flies. Need to offense to wake up.
San Francisco 17, Carolina 3.
Last week may pave the way to what is more disastrous this week. San Francisco wore Carolina's defense out despite the Brock Purdy interceptions. What do the Panthers have left? If it starts poorly early, things could get ugly fast.
Minnesota Vikings (@ Seattle Seahawks)
How bad is it for Minnesota? The mere fact that there are this many questions about J.J. McCarthy are ominous here. Minnesota generated only 145 yards of offense. Seattle's defense is a little worst but how tired is the Vikings defense? Green Bay pounded the ball relentlessly and for a 4-7 team that can have an effect as time passes on.
Seattle also likes playing at home and has scored 27+ points in their last four games in the Emerald City. The Seahawks are also chasing the Los Angeles Rams for the division title and top seed in the NFC. With how demoralized the Vikings looked last week, this week might be even worse.
