Bears at Bills: Week 15 preview, odds and injuries

Week 15 · Sat, Dec 19 · Highmark Stadium8:20 PM ET

at8:20 PMET · CBS

At a glanceUpdated Nov 10, 2026, 2:46 PM ET

The Chicago Bears (7-2) visit the Buffalo Bills (7-1) on Sat, Dec 19, 8:20 PM ET at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY (Week 15, 2026 season), on CBS.

When and where is Bears vs Bills?

Sat, Dec 19, 8:20 PM ET at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. TV: CBS.

Who is injured for Bears vs Bills?

Bears: Case Keenum (QB, out), Kyle Monangai (RB, out, toe), Malik Muhammad II (CB, out, toe), Luther Burden III (WR, questionable, concussion) and Tyrique Stevenson Sr. (CB, questionable, hand). Bills: Tyrell Shavers (WR, out, knee - acl), Alec Anderson (OT, questionable, ankle), Dion Dawkins (OT, questionable, ribs) and Greg Gaines (DT, questionable, calf).

Cite this page

Pigskin Nightly, “Bears at Bills: Week 15 preview”, https://pigskinnightly.com/games/2026-12-19-chi-at-buf (updated 2026-11-10).

How we calculate Plain-text version Report an error

Regular season through week 14 · rank out of 32

Where this game will be decided

1Bills big-play offense vs Bears defense against big plays
The Bills' big-play offense ranks 1st in explosive-play rate (13.5%, 504 plays) against a Bears defense against big plays ranked 22nd (9.9% allowed, 473 plays faced).
1stBUF offense21 spots apart22ndCHI defense
2Bills takeaway defense vs Bears ball security
The Bills' takeaway defense ranks 5th in turnovers per game (1.5 takeaways a game, 8 games) and faces a Bears ball security ranked 29th (1.9 giveaways a game, 9 games).
29thCHI offense24 spots apart5thBUF defenseSmall sample, read with care Why sample size matters
3Bears pass rush vs Bills pass protection
The Bears' pass rush ranks 3rd in sack rate (8.6% of dropbacks, 303 dropbacks faced) and faces a Bills pass protection ranked 18th (6.1% sacked, 277 dropbacks).
18thBUF offense15 spots apart3rdCHI defense

When the Bears have the ballNo big edge

CHI dropback offenseEPA per dropbackBUF pass defense

12th+0.09354 dropbacks

+0.05 allowed328 dropbacks faced16th

CHI run gameEPA per rushBUF run defense

11th-0.04270 rushes

-0.11 allowed176 rushes faced8th

Dropbacks include sacks and scrambles; rushes are designed runs. What EPA measures.

When the Bills have the ballEdge BUF · +8 ranks

BUF dropback offenseEPA per dropbackCHI pass defense

4th+0.25277 dropbacks

-0.03 allowed303 dropbacks faced7th

BUF run gameEPA per rushCHI run defense

7th+0.00227 rushes

BUF +8

-0.08 allowed170 rushes faced15th

Third downNo big edge

CHI third-down offensethird-down conversion rateBUF third-down defense

7th45.3%128 third downs

39.0% allowed100 third downs faced14th

BUF third-down offensethird-down conversion rateCHI third-down defense

5th45.7%92 third downs

22.8% allowed92 third downs faced1st

Conversions are third-down snaps that gained a first down or scored.

Red zoneNo big edge

CHI red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateBUF red-zone defense

20th54%37 trips

63% allowed30 trips faced21st

BUF red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateCHI red-zone defense

9th65%34 trips

56% allowed25 trips faced14th

A trip is a drive with at least one snap inside the opponent's 20; the rate is trips that ended in an offensive touchdown. Small samples swing fast here.

Explosive playsEdge BUF · +21 ranks

CHI big-play offenseexplosive-play rateBUF defense against big plays

11th9.8%624 plays

9.5% allowed504 plays faced16th

BUF big-play offenseexplosive-play rateCHI defense against big plays

1st13.5%504 plays

BUF +21

9.9% allowed473 plays faced22nd

Completions of 20+ yards and runs of 10+, per snap. Definition.

Pressure & sacksEdge CHI · +15 ranks

CHI pass protectionsack rateBUF pass rush

13th5.6% sacked354 dropbacks

CHI +8

5.2% of dropbacks328 dropbacks faced21st

BUF pass protectionsack rateCHI pass rush

18th6.1% sacked277 dropbacks

CHI +15

8.6% of dropbacks303 dropbacks faced3rd

Sacks per dropback. The public play-by-play has no pressure charting, so this is the sack side of it only.

TurnoversEdge BUF · +24 ranks

CHI ball securityturnovers per gameBUF takeaway defense

29th1.9 giveaways a game9 games

BUF +24

1.5 takeaways a game8 games5th

BUF ball securityturnovers per gameCHI takeaway defense

23rd1.5 giveaways a game8 games

1.1 takeaways a game9 games19th

Interceptions and lost fumbles on offensive snaps, per game. Turnover rates are among the least stable numbers in football.

AbsencesCHI 1 · BUF 0 regulars out or doubtful

Bears5 listed

1 of them is a regular ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

OUTMalik Muhammad IICB75% defense · 7 wk
QTyrique Stevenson Sr.CB67% defense · 8 wk
QLuther Burden IIIWR60% offense · 9 wk
OUTCase KeenumQB45% offense · 3 wk
OUTKyle MonangaiRB41% offense · 4 wk

Bills4 listed

0 of them are regulars ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

QDion DawkinsOT99% offense · 7 wk
QGreg GainesDT32% defense · 6 wk
OUTTyrell ShaversWRno snaps
QAlec AndersonOTno snaps

Snap share is the average of the weeks each player was on the field this season. Full injury report ↓

Rest & travelSame rest · CHI travels 455 mi

AwayBears

6days since last game

455miles to get here

1time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 at MIA · Miami Gardens · 6,181 mi flown this season

Normal week

Rest edgeEvensame restTravel gap 455 mi

HomeBills

6days since last game

0miles · home

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 at GB · Green Bay · 12,423 mi flown this season

Normal week

League splits for these situations ↓

Sample: CHI 9 games, 624 offensive and 473 defensive plays · BUF 8 games, 504 offensive and 504 defensive plays. Rank 1 is the best offense or the best defense in each stat. Keys are the largest rank gaps (12+ spots) between an offense and the defense it faces, one per stat. Ranks are not schedule-adjusted.

Season to date · rank out of 32