Week 12 wraps up with an NFC North battle between one team in the thick of the playoff race and another already looking ahead to the 2024 draft. Despite these circumstances, the Minnesota Vikings are just 3.0-point home favorites over the Chicago Bears, per the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is a modest 43.5 points.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and numberFire has projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

MVP Candidates

While it remains to be seen if Justin Fields ($16,500) will be Chicago's franchise quarterback next season, he continues to be a high-upside fantasy play in the present. After missing a month with a thumb injury, Fields returned in Week 11 and rushed for a season-high 104 yards on 18 carries. In his last three full games, he's now scored 28.90, 32.98, and 21.16 FanDuel points.

Yet Fields' inconsistencies as a passer continue to make him a more volatile play than we would like, and that's reflected by his passing prop being set at just 197.5 yards. His 12.3% sack rate is the league's second-worst mark, as well.

This feels like a boom-or-bust spot against a defense that blitzes at the league's highest clip. Will Minnesota's aggressive tactics lead to a plethora of sacks and turnovers, or will Fields be able to counter by scrambling for big gains with his legs?

Nonetheless, Fields leads numberFire's projections and figures to be the slate's most popular MVP option.

Feel-good story Joshua Dobbs ($15,500) should also be fairly popular, and he has the second-best median projection. Dobbs tends to rely on his rushing ability for fantasy points, too, as he has the NFL's third-most rushing yards at the position and has scored a rushing touchdown in five straight games.

Despite being thrown into the fire right away since joining the Vikings, Dobbs hasn't missed a beat, scoring 24.92, 25.12, and 17.94 FanDuel points. It also can't hurt that he's facing a Bears team that's 32nd in schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire.

If you want to avoid these two chalky options at MVP, D.J. Moore ($14,000), Khalil Herbert ($11,000), and T.J. Hockenson ($13,000) are the other players projected to score double-digit FanDuel points.

In Fields' five full games, Moore has logged a 26.4% target share, 44.4% air yards share, and 35.7% end zone share. Over the last four in that sample, Moore has exceeded 100 yards and/or scored a touchdown in each. Minnesota ranks just 20th in adjusted pass defense.

Herbert should see the majority of opportunities in Chicago's backfield tonight, particularly with D'Onta Foreman ruled out. numberFire's model projects him for 14.1 carries and 2.7 targets. The biggest issue for Herbert's MVP viability is that the Vikings are fourth in adjusted rush defense and have allowed the sixth-fewest FanDuel points per game to RBs. The good news is that I doubt he'll see an especially high roster percentage in the multiplier slot.

Hockenson has been Dobb's favorite pass-catcher, and that should stay the case with Justin Jefferson expected to miss yet another week. Over his three games with Dobbs, Hockenson has recorded a 35.4% target share and 41.0% air yards share. Against tight ends, the Bears are 25th in adjusted fantasy points allowed per target. When factoring in roster percentages, Hockenson might be my favorite MVP for tournaments.

Flex Breakdown

Jefferson's continued absence also benefits rookie wideout Jordan Addison ($12,500). With Dobbs under center, Addison has a rock-solid 20.8% target share and 34.9% air yards share, yet he's been held to single-digit FanDuel points in all three weeks. Better days should be ahead, and he can even be considered as a potentially overlooked MVP.

K.J. Osborn ($8,000) and Brandon Powell ($7,500) are the other notable Minnesota wide receivers. Last week, Osborn led all Vikings pass-catchers with a 95.7% snap rate and 100.0% route rate -- but it amounted to just two targets. Still, that kind of playing time can't be ignored on a single-game slate. Powell had the team's fourth-highest route rate (76.5%) in Week 11, so he's also worth considering as a value option.

Alexander Mattison ($10,500) is Minnesota's lead back, but the gap could be closing between him and Ty Chandler ($8,500). While Mattison held the edge in snap rate (65.2% to 30.4%) and adjusted opportunities (22 to 18) in Week 11, Chandler ultimately finished with more scrimmage yards (110 to 80). Mattison did get five of six red zone carries between the pair, though.

It's hard to say how this split will look moving forward, but Chandler could be the more appealing play by default due to salary. The Bears actually rank 2nd in adjusted rush defense but also sit 31st in adjusted fantasy points allowed per target to RBs.

On Chicago's side, Cole Kmet ($10,000) is the top pass-catcher after DJ Moore. Kmet's seen a 20.3% target share and 30.0% red zone share in the six full games with Fields, and like many tight ends, he generally needs to find the end zone to pay off. While that makes him somewhat risky, this isn't a bad salary to take a shot.

Things quickly enter dart-throw territory among the rest of the Bears' options. Darnell Mooney ($8,000) is the No. 2 wideout but has a mere 10.4% target share with Fields. He's cleared 10 FanDuel points twice this season. Equanimeous St. Brown ($6,500) should see the most playing this as a third wide receiver, but last week's 40.0% route rate doesn't inspire much confidence.

At running back, with Foreman out of the picture, Roschon Johnson ($7,500) projects for 6.6 carries and 2.9 targets as Herbert's backup. He's viable at this salary, but he hasn't posted a meaningful fantasy score since Week 1.

Based on this year's perfect lineups for single-game slates with similar totals and spreads, this rates as an average spot to roster a kicker, but playing in a dome helps, and we're not exactly swimming in reliable value plays. Among the defenses, the Minnesota D/ST ($9,500) and its blitz-happy ways are intriguing against Fields.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.