Monday Night Football delivers a matchup out of the NFC featuring two teams with playoff aspirations. The Atlanta Falcons visit the Philadelphia Eagles for this week’s edition of Monday Night Football. Both teams feature offensive standouts with plenty of upside for the NFL DFS Showdown Playbook. 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, some late-week injury news popped up that could keep us adjusting our lineups up until roster lock. We definitely have potential for a great game, but if Atlanta looks as flat as they did in Week 1, we might be able to pack it in and go to bed at halftime and wake up on Tuesday to see how much we won. Let’s dig into this week’s NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook.

NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook; Falcons vs. Eagles Game Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles looked outstanding in Week 1 when they beat the Green Bay Packers in Brazil. Saquon Barkley, despite all the doubters of his fantasy football outlook in the offseason, popped off for three touchdowns, including two on the ground. He also grabbed the 100-yard bonus on DraftKings and without a doubt, was the optimal captain in that matchup.

A.J. Brown went off for over 100 yards and a score while Jalen Hurts looked a little rusty and was lacking chemistry with new center, Cam Jurgens. All in all, it was still a great performance by the Eagles and we once again look at them in another matchup where they can provide plenty of fantasy output. A.J. Brown popping up on the injury report was far from ideal. Fortunately for this write-up, he’s already been ruled out.

The Atlanta Falcons sorely disappointed in Week 1. As someone who was at the game, there were good moments. Bijan Robinson looked great when the ball was in his hands. Kyle Pitts even found the end zone. But there were some horrendous turnovers from Kirk Cousins and they blew it against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It’s hard to label Week 1 as a “must win” game, but for the Falcons that almost seemed to be the case. The Falcons have one of the easier schedules in the NFL. However, they face the Eagles on Monday and then they have the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3. Then they kick off the divisional portion of their schedule, but they also have the Dallas Cowboys the first weekend of November. All this is to say, a 3-6 start isn’t out of the realm of possibilities for this team, so they really couldn’t afford to lose last week’s game to the Steelers.

 

 

 

Falcons vs. Eagles MNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread: Eagles -6 (-110)
  • Money Line:
    • Falcons (+220)
    • Eagles (-270)
  • Game Total: Over 47 (-108) / Under 47 (-112)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread: Eagles -6 (-115)
  • Money Line:
    • Falcons (+225)
    • Eagles (-275)
  • Game Total: Over 46.5 (-115) / Under 46.5 (-105)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Falcons vs. Eagles SNF, September 16th

The weather is looking relatively tame until we get later in the evening. Temperatures will be in the 70’s around kickoff and cooling off through the evening with partly cloudy skies. There is a chance of rain/showers later in the game, but we’ll address the forecast closer to lineup lock. Overall, we shouldn’t be too reactive to a little rain especially if winds aren’t exceeding 15 miles per hour.

 

Falcons vs. Eagles Notable Injuries & Inactives

The Atlanta Falcons enter this matchup having already ruled out linebacker Nate Landman and defensive back Antonio Hamilton. There were some concerns regarding Kaleb McGary heading into this matchup, but he was a full participant in practice on Saturday so he’s looking good for this game.

And while he isn’t injured, it’s worth noting that Kirk Cousins didn’t look great in Week 1. Whether it was the play calling or lack of speed as he returns from injury, he couldn’t move nor escape the pocket. Even this great offensive line couldn’t help him out. So again, he’s not injured but he just doesn’t look like himself.

For the Philadelphia Eagles, the lone concern is now with just Johnny Wilson. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury, similar to A.J. Brown. Brown has already been declared Out for Monday’s game. 

 

 

 

NFL DFS Showdown MVP/Captain for Monday Night Football, 9/16

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $10,600 | FanDuel: $13,500

Barkley made quite the impression in Week 1 and has the luxury of getting extra rest alongside his teammate. Barkley had 24 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while catching both his targets and finding the end zone through the air. Jacob Gibbs broke down the efficiency and usage metrics in this tweet regarding his performance in Week 1. To me the 86 yards gained after contact really stands out, but we shouldn’t be too surprised.

Overall, it was a very impressive debut for Barkley with his new team. The Atlanta Falcons gave up 137 yards on the ground to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 so that bodes well for Barkley and our next Captain recommendation…

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $17,500

We love quarterbacks with rushing upside. Justin Fields didn’t light up the Atlanta Falcons last week, but he still managed 57 rushing yards. Hurts ran for 33 yards in Week 1 against Green Bay, but we know he has a higher ceiling than that.

There was definitely some rust though. He threw two picks and had two fumbles (lost one). So the absence of Jason Kelce was definitely felt on some snaps. Don’t worry, Kirk Cousins had similar problems last week as well.

With A.J. Brown officially out, we’re potentially looking at the Eagles leaning all the more on their running game. That’s beneficial for both Hurts and Barkley. Given the ceilings for both, they’re my favorite Captain candidates to kick off this NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook.

Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $16,000

Bijan had a solid performance in Week 1. He wasn’t efficient with the ground work (18 carries on 68 yards), but he caught all five of his targets for 43 yards. We love that usage in the passing game.

He has the benefit of running behind a great offensive line. He carried an 86% rush share in Week 1, but the involvement in the passing game could carry us here as he generated 8.9 yards after the catch per reception in 2023.

If Kirk Cousins is limited in the pocket, then that bodes well for Bijan. He’s also not game script dependent. If the Falcons are winning, he’s likely part of the reason why and they can just continue to run the ball. And if they’re trailing (as they should in this game), then he should once again be involved. Kirk Cousins only attempted 26 passes (completed 16) in Week 1. If he’s going to falter, Bijan will have to carry the offense.

DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $11,500

I would normally go with A.J. Brown in this section. But the hamstring injury is holding him out. So I have no problem pivoting to Smith. Smith primarily lined up as the slot receiver in Week 1 and we’ve seen in previous seasons that the slot receiver can pay huge dividends in Kellen Moore’s offenses. 

But be mindful, with Brown out, that may impact Smith’s role and they likely move him around more. I’d like to see him continue to work out of the slot because that led to seven receptions on eight targets for 84 yards against Green Bay.

Regardless of Brown’s status, Smith is at least healthy and the Eagles can pick apart this Falcons secondary. George Pickens posted six catches for 85 yards on seven targets. And Pickens was able to do that while only playing about 75% of the snaps.

 

 

 

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays for Monday

Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $7,800 | FanDuel: $10,500

I’m trying to remain optimistic regarding the Falcons offense. But outside of Bijan Robinson there are obvious concerns. London was targeted just three times last week. Sure, some drives were killed because of Kirk Cousins’ turnovers, but still… An 11.5% target share?

With lesser quarterbacks, London had a 26.8% target share and a 33.7% air yards share when he shared the field with Kyle Pitts. And I’m not a Pitts hater, but I did expect bigger things for both of them and there were moments of frustration for both.

Unfortunately, London’s production boils down to Kirk Cousins. Between Cousins’ play, lack of chemistry with his center, and awful play calling, it was a bad week for London, but we look for him to bounce back with hopefully some more play action which is where Cousins has thrived in the past.

Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $6,800 | FanDuel: $10,000

We get a $1,000 discount on DraftKings going from London to Kyle Pitts for our NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook. Kyle Pitts found the end zone last week on broken coverage. It was nice to see but believe me when I tell you, for most of the first half Kyle Pitts was not involved.

But Cousins managed to find him in the end zone and he finished with 11.6 fantasy points. That’s just okay, but in comparison to other tight ends from Week 1 it’s not so bad! But we need more. The Falcons have these great weapons on offense that they used first-round picks on. Unfortunately, there may be some growing frustration especially with Pitts.

Coming into the year, Pitts had a 26% career target share. But like London, he had an 11.5% share in Week 1. The game script could potentially be in favor for both London and Pitts in this matchup. It all depends on what we get out of Kirk Cousins.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $9,000 | FanDuel: $14,000

I’m not overly optimistic about Cousins after what I saw last week. The volume was low, the decisions were poor, and he looked slow. Sure, he’s an older quarterback coming off an injury that probably isn’t 100%. 

Even the clips that have emerged from training camp and recent practices feature Cousins working at a laboring pace. He does need play action, but at the same time it’s like he has no confidence to escape the pocket if he needs to.

Even some of the blame can, and should, be placed on Zac Robinson. Some reports around Atlanta have made excuses for him saying he’s a first-time play caller and went too conservative last week. But he could also be limited in his play calling because of Cousins’ current status.

There’s no reason for Atlanta to be as conservative as they were last week. They need to be more aggressive because they will likely be chasing Philadelphia in this game.

Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $5,800 | FanDuel: $9,500

A lot of the talk heading into this game, especially with A.J. Brown out, would pertain to who steps up for Philly? Why not Goedert? He’s a veteran, has a rapport with Jalen Hurts, and the Eagles don’t have the best depth behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith at wide receiver.

Goedert caught four of his five targets in Week 1 for 31 yards, but obviously this is a prime spot for Goedert to be more involved with Philly’s top pass catcher inactive. The Falcons weren’t really challenged by Pittsburgh’s offense last week, but Pat Freiermuth was able to bring in all four of his targets.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $5,400 | FanDuel: $8,000

Mooney is sporting an outstanding price tag on FanDuel, but he’s perfectly playable on both sites. If casual players are scared away because of his box score of one catch on three targets for 15 yards, then let’s find some leverage here.

Mooney played 95% of the offensive snaps last week (so he’s largely on for two-wide receiver sets) and had a 100% route participation rate. Philadelphia was a friendly matchup in 2023 for opposing wide receivers. I still lack faith in Kirk Cousins, but Mooney is too cheap for a player that might rarely come off the field.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Dart Throw Bargains

Jahan Dotson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $7,500

We’re all trying to figure out who gets upgraded to the WR2 for Philly in this matchup. Would it be great if it was Dotson? Sure. Dotson still has the pedigree of being a former first-round pick. But Washington gave up on him in training camp and traded him to a division rival.

There’s still upside but there are rumors that he struggles to learn a playbook and there’s still the fact that he’s only been on this team for a few weeks. Earlier in the week, Nick Sirianni did note that he believes Dotson is a “smooth route runner,” so he has that going for him. But obviously there’s a tremendous opening for Dotson, or any Philadelphia receiver, to carve out a nice role for themselves Monday night.

Ray-Ray McCloud, WR, Atlanta Falcons - DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $7,000

I really don’t like chasing points, and I don’t know how much exposure to McCloud I’m going to get. He lined up almost exclusively in the slot last week and strangely enough led the team in targets with seven. He’d go on to catch four passes for 52 yards.

I hate to admit it, but that kind of role, combined with Cousins’ own limitations at the moment, might reap fantasy goodness if he’s going to be treated as a “break glass in case of emergency” option for Cousins.

Parris Campbell, WR, Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $200 | FanDuel: $5,000

With A.J. Brown being ruled out, and Johnny Wilson questionable with a similar hamstring injury, it’s entirely possible (and likely) that Parris Campbell is elevated from the practice squad ahead of Monday’s game.

At this price tag, he doesn’t really need to do much. A couple catches and some yardage will pay off the price tag just fine, but we’ll need confirmation that he’s activated first.

 

 

 

MNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

I don’t believe the Atlanta Falcons make the same mistakes as last week. The play calling was abhorrent and there was almost no creativity with Zac Robinson calling the shots. They will need to be more aggressive.

But Kirk Cousins has almost no mobility and he had some highly questionable turnovers that could’ve been avoided. Cousins was hardly trying to escape the pocket and it’s surprising the Pittsburgh Steelers only collected two sacks, but they did force three turnovers.

I will get exposure to the Eagles D/ST, but not a ton. Cousins showed last week there’s still variance to his game and he’s very prone to preventable mistakes. But we did witness the Eagles surrender 163 rushing yards last week, so I recommend this team with some hesitancy. I can’t say I’m overly excited to play the Atlanta Falcons D/ST since the Eagles have an implied team total of roughly 26 points. But they’re not a full fade if building 20+ lineups.

As always, correlate your kickers appropriately. Jake Elliott will be used as a flex in any lineup I have Jalen Hurts in, especially at Captain. Even without A.J. Brown, the Eagles should still be able to move the ball and get Elliott some looks and if it’s another double-digit points week for him, then we’re happy.

Younghoe Koo is a great kicker. Probably top 10, maybe even top five. But for a position that is dependent on the offense moving the ball, I’m not entirely convinced he’ll get a ton of looks. Even last week he had just one field goal attempt and one extra point attempt. I will have some exposure, but not a ton. He’s still good enough to drill a long field goal or two. After all, the Eagles did put the Packers in position for Brayden Narveson to kick three field goals in Brazil.

 

 

 

Falcons vs. Eagles DFS Player Pool, 9/16

Player Pool

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