We close out Sunday’s Week 12 slate featuring a matchup out of the NFC with two teams with playoff aspirations. The Eagles enter this road matchup on a six-game winning streak and have a nice control on the NFC East lead. The Rams are still in contention in the NFC’s version of the Wild West as the Arizona Cardinals sit at 6-4 while the other three teams in that division are 5-5. We have a high total for this game so it should deliver on the fireworks. Let’s start prepping for tonight’s Showdown slate with the Eagles vs. Rams DFS picks!

 

 

 

Eagles vs. Rams DFS Picks & Preview: Sunday Night Football, 11/24

The latest Sunday Night Football DFS Playbook does feel like it could be a potential playoff preview if the Rams are able to sneak in. As we just mentioned, the Philadelphia Eagles are riding a six-game winning streak after picking up a crucial win over the Washington Commanders in Week 11.

They have a game in hand over Washington and currently sit at 8-2. We know how good the offense is. The running game delivers a spectacular one-two punch with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. And while he’s been quiet of late, A.J. Brown is still a physical WR1 that can win contested battles. 

But it’s been the defense that has really been Philadelphia’s bread and butter of late. More specifically, the secondary is giving opposing wide receiver rooms absolute fits. Since Week 5 (Philly’s Bye Week), the Eagles have held six straight opponents to 18 or fewer points and only Joe Burrow has been able to throw for more than 200 yards on this defense.

The Rams come into this matchup with some momentum. They sit at 5-5 but they’ve won four of their last five games. The one loss being the absolute dud against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football in Week 10.

But the offense has been much better since Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned from injury. Matthew Stafford’s fantasy numbers have seen a noticeable improvement as well. Can their receivers and pass catchers hang with Philadelphia’s elite secondary? It’s a stiff test for this group but they do have the luxury of playing at home for this matchup. Let’s take a look at my top plays and lineup building strategies with tonight’s Eagles vs. Rams DFS picks.

 

 

 

Eagles vs. Rams SNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread: Eagles -2.5 (-122)
  • Money Line:
    • Eagles (-155)
    • Rams (+130)
  • Game Total: Over 49 (-110) / Under 49 (-110)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread: Eagles -2.5 (-120)
  • Money Line:
    • Eagles (-152)
    • Rams (+128)
  • Game Total: Over 48.5 (-115) / Under 48.5 (-105)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Eagles vs Rams SNF, November 24th

This game will be played indoors in a controlled environment, so we have zero weather concerns for this matchup.

 

Eagles vs Rams Injuries: Sunday Night Football Week 12

The only noteworthy injury for the Philadelphia Eagles is that DeVonta Smith has been ruled out after he didn’t practice all week with a hamstring injury. Jalen Hurts did pop up on the injury report earlier in the week with an ankle issue, but he was a full participant Thursday and Friday so we can assume he’s a full go.

There aren’t too many injuries on the Los Angeles side. The offensive line is a little beat up which is nothing new for this organization. Rob Havenstein is doubtful, and Kevin Dotson only logged one practice session this week. The Rams have overcome the injury bug before and the offense has been surging since Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned a few weeks back.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $11,200 | FanDuel: $16,000

I’m not really sure how much explanation is needed. For the sake of not mailing it in, I’ll still hit you with the goods. And I think this will be one of those approaches I take where I either play him at Captain/MVP or I don’t play him at all.

With DraftKings scoring, Barkley has five games with 29+ fantasy points and in four of those games he’s gone for over 36 fantasy points. He’s recorded the 100-yard bonus on six occasions this year and he already has 10 touchdowns in as many games.

The reason I’m taking the “Play him at Captain, or don’t play him at all approach” is because he’s either popping off for a big game or being sniped of touchdowns and putting up a modest score. As we just discussed, in half his games he’s gone for 29+ fantasy points. In the other five games he’s returned between 7-to-18 fantasy points. And if you’re paying this hefty price tag and that’s the return, then he likely isn’t optimal at Captain or at the Flex. But he’s been a slate breaker in half his games, so we know the juice is worth the squeeze.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $14,500

We love targeting rushing quarterbacks on Showdown slates and we go back to the well with one of the best in the game. Hurts may only have a dozen touchdown passes on the season. However, he does compensate with 11 rushing touchdowns thanks to the tush push, brotherly shove, or whatever it’s called nowadays.

In his last five games, Hurts has nine rushing touchdowns including three games with multiple touchdowns on the ground. And in four straight games he has 35+ rushing yards. Ball security has been better as he only has two turnovers in his last six games.

Per Pro Football Focus, Hurts ranks fourth among quarterbacks with 251 scramble yards. The Rams, for all their deficiencies on defense, are top eight in pressure rate (26.2%) so that could force Hurts out of the pocket more to rack up additional rushing yards.

A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $12,500

I’m going to be honest. He’s the cover boy of the article because he is actually my favorite play at Captain. I know some people are going to ask in Discord “Who is your favorite Captain for tonight,” and I’m making it clear that it’s A.J. Brown. The only reason he’s third in this article is because I list the players in order of DraftKings pricing within each section.

Why do I like hm so much? Well for starters, we will see much more ownership go to Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts. It certainly feels like both players could garner 20+% ownership at Captain/MVP. If that’s the case, then I anticipate Brown’s Captain exposure coming in closer to 10-13% and I want to jump all over that.

Per Dataroma and Fantasy Points Data, the Rams are the worst team in the NFL against perimeter receivers and they give up 10.39 yards per attempt to pass catchers lined up out wide. Brown has the highest yards per route run in the NFL at 3.99 when he lines up out wide, which he does on 80% of his routes. Brown hasn’t found the end zone since Week 7, but this has the makings of a matchup where he could score twice.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $9,600 | FanDuel: $13,500

This is tough because it’s a brutal matchup for all of the Rams pass catchers. This Philadelphia secondary is no joke. The Eagles have held six straight wide receiver groups to less than 113 yards and in that six-game sample size they’ve yielded just one touchdown to opposing receivers.

Kupp lines up in the slot more than most of the Rams receivers so I am slightly partial to him over the others. Kupp likely sees most coverage against Cooper DeJean. DeJean has been impressive in his rookie season, but with the Eagles allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to perimeter receivers, we’ll go with Kupp who is as reliable as they come and a favorite target for Matthew Stafford. Since returning from injury, Kupp has 39 targets over his last four games and not a single drop. He’s scored three touchdowns since returning and gone for over 100 yards twice.

The Rams do still have an implied team total of about 23 points. I don’t want to completely write the receiving room off because of the matchup. This offense will be throwing plenty especially if they’re playing from behind, so we do need to get exposure to the L.A. pass catchers despite the matchup.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Core Plays

Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $10,600 | FanDuel: $15,000

Stafford is averaging about 37.75 pass attempts per game since Kupp and Nacua returned from injury while completing 66.2% of his passes while averaging over 290 passing yards per game. So we have volume and he’s flirted with the 300-yard bonus in three straight games.

We just alluded to the 23-point implied total for the Rams so if they’re scoring points, Stafford is likely involved. He also has thrown four touchdowns in two of the four games since Kupp and Nacua came back.

Tough matchup against this secondary? Yes. But it’s a tough matchup all around against this Eagles defense and there’s always the negative game script where the Rams are playing from behind and abandon the run game. I prefer him as a core play over Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams. I’ll elaborate on the other two in the next section, but on DraftKings we prefer the savings we get with the Rams quarterback.

Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $6,400 | FanDuel: $10,000

I’m going bold and locking in Goedert as a core play. The price is affordable and allows you to fit multiple top plays and stacks into your lineups. Last year against the Rams, Goedert went off for eight receptions (on nine targets) for 117 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams allow the sixth-most yards per game to tight ends and this defense is 24th in DVOA against the position. In the two games this year where either DeVonta Smith or A.J. Brown were inactive, Goedert caught 17 passes on 19 targets for 232 yards. So an expanded role seems like a lock considering Smith has already been ruled out and the price tag is incredibly friendly. He’s only found the end zone once all season, but it feels like that could change in this game.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Kyren Williams, RB, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $11,000

I prefer the price tag for Kyren Williams on FanDuel over DraftKings. We love running backs with volume and Kyren certainly gets carries. But we also need production and that hasn’t been the case the last three weeks where he’s finished as a low-end RB2.

Obviously with Kupp and Nacua back, there’s less pressure on him but the drop off in production is an eyesore. Maybe he’s a bit run down at this point in the season, but they’re still trotting him out there for 15+ touches every week.

The negative game script could keep him involved in the passing game. The Eagles have only allowed 76.8 rushing yards per game the last five weeks and they’ve held six straight opponents to 18 or fewer points. It’s a tough matchup but I don’t love the outlook for Williams this week. Play him at your own risk.

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel: $13,000

We’ll start with the good. Puka Nacua has simply been awesome since returning from injury. He’s gone over 100 receiving yards in two games, went for 98 in another, and the game where he only logged one catch was when he was ejected for throwing a punch.

So target volume is all fine and dandy. But the matchup is abhorrent. Over Philadelphia’s last eight games they’ve allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing receivers. On the season, they’re allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to perimeter receivers because Quinyon Mitchell is looking as elite as advertised out of Toledo.

Nacua lines up on the perimeter for about 74% of his routes and he should draw plenty of coverage against Mitchell so we have to downgrade him slightly in this matchup. The upside is still there, but I’ll have less shares of him at Captain/MVP than Cooper Kupp.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Value Plays

Demarcus Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams – DraftKings: $4,400 | FanDuel: $9,500

Robinson had a nice run of four touchdowns in two games when Kupp and Nacua returned from injury. However, in his last two games he’s caught just three of his nine targets for 42 yards. There’s a bit of a blessing and a curse. He and Tutu Atwell may mostly see coverage from Darius Slay depending on who is on the field. Slay isn’t bad but he turns 34 in a couple months and may not have much left in the tank.

But the Rams deploy three-wide receiver sets more than most teams in the league, but with Atwell only seeing seven offensive snaps last week, I still prefer using D-Rob as the value receiver in this offense.

Jahan Dotson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $7,500

Dotson hasn’t done much since being traded from the Washington Commanders late in training camp. In fact, he only has nine receptions for 106 yards on the season. But we know that he still carries a first-round draft pedigree and there’s a tremendous opportunity here with DeVonta Smith unavailable for this game.

For this very reason, if we need the salary savings, we can consider Johnny Wilson, who has plenty of size for a rookie receiver and can win contested catches. His issue has just been playing time but there are extra snaps to go around for our SNF DFS picks.

If you really want to get in the mud with our Eagles vs. Rams DFS picks, keep an eye on Britain Covey at the bare minimum salary on DraftKings. He’s eligible to come off IR for this game and don’t forget what he did back in Week 2 when A.J. Brown couldn’t play against the Atlanta Falcons. Covey got the first-team reps and caught all six of his targets. He was $1,600 for that game and is now $200. We’ll need to keep an eye on who gets the first-team reps during warmups but keep an open mind with this value play.

 

 

 

SNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

Part of the reason I hate D/ST scoring in fantasy football is because it doesn’t do a D/ST justice for how good they are. In six games since their Bye week, the Eagles have held each opposing offense to 18 or fewer points. They have 22 sacks in that span, and in their last four games they have 11 takeaways. In this six-game sample size they do have some big performances of 15 and 20 fantasy points. But so much emphasis is given to touchdowns that the other four performances look rather pedestrian. So when I cover the weekly NFL DFS D/ST Coach, and I mention “position of variance” over and over, well this is why. But I’ve given enough praise to the Eagles D/ST to where you should know they’re in play, especially at just $4,000 on DraftKings.

I wish I could say the same for the Rams. I don’t have as much confidence in them as most of my lineup construction will be 5:1 or 4:2 in favor of Philadelphia. I’ll have some 3:3 lineups that won’t feature a D/ST at all and those will be built with a shootout game script in mind. The Rams have three double-digit fantasy point performances in their last six games but those three games each had a D/ST touchdown, and we can’t predict those. Philadelphia hasn’t been turning the ball over much and they’ve moved the ball against opposing defenses with ease. Tread with caution regarding the Rams D/ST and play at your own risk.

Jake Elliott has been frustrating in terms of consistency, but he correlates so well with Jalen Hurts, a quarterback who can get it done with his legs. If playing Hurts or Barkley at Captain, I’m almost assuredly locking in Elliott as a flex play. Elliott only attempted eight field goals in his first six games this year, but over his last four outings, he’s attempted 11 (but missed three). Two misses came last week against Washington so hopefully he can right the ship and we should naturally be drawn to the 26-point implied total.

The 23-point implied total for the Rams does help elevate Joshua Karty a little bit. However, the Eagles don’t see too many opposing kickers get many opportunities. Zane Gonzalez had just one last week and Brandon Aubrey had just two the week before. And Karty’s had just two games all year with three or more field goal attempts. In every other game he’s attempted two or fewer. From a correlation standpoint, he’s playable. If you’re building 5:1 or 4:2 lineups in favor of the Rams then he’s a viable play to open up salary. But overall, I prefer the Eagles options for special teams but won’t completely disregard the options from the Rams.

 

 

 

Eagles vs. Rams DFS Player Pool: SNF, 11/24

Player Pool

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