It’s hard to believe that NFL Week 10 is coming to a close, but here we go with an old-school NFC East battle on Monday Night Football to finish things off. The Philadelphia Eagles are the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL and while we don’t expect them to pull off the perfect season, a la the 1972 Miami Dolphins, we also don’t expect them to struggle in this one. When building your DFS Showdown lineups for this game, your lean is going to be heavily in favor of their players. But that doesn’t mean you ignore the Washington Commanders. We, obviously, expect to see them put up a fight as division rivals do, so choosing the right players will be a bit tricky. Fortunately, we’ve got you plenty covered with the information you need to set some winning DFS lineups. 

 

 

Now before we begin, please take a moment to understand what exactly you are getting yourself into by playing single-game Showdown Slates. We love to have some skin in the game, for sure, but these slates are, for all intents and purposes, a lottery ticket. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but, more often than not, you need to hit on that random dart-throw that differentiates your lineup from that of the herd in order to claim the top prize. As a result, we encourage you to play responsibly and not over-invest. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll, and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

OK. Lecture over. Let’s get to tonight’s action.

Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles

Spread: Eagles -11

O/U: 43.5

Weather: Clear skies with temperatures in the high-30s; wind blowing NNW at 3mph

Notable Injuries:

Washington Commanders

Philadelphia Eagles

2022 DVOA Defensive Rankings

Washington Commanders

  • vs Pass: 25th 
  • vs Run: 2nd 

Philadelphia Eagles

  • vs Pass: 2nd 
  • vs Run: 27th 

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/Captain

Jalen Hurts, QB Philadelphia Eagles

He’s in the middle of an MVP-caliber season and should continue down that path this week. When the Eagles faced the Commanders back in Week 3, Hurts threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns while adding 20 rushing yards just for some window-dressing. Given the weaknesses of the Washington secondary, it is difficult to not project Hurts to have another big game, worthy of a very chalky captain’s selection.

A.J. Brown, WR Philadelphia Eagles

One of the three touchdowns Hurts threw for the last time these teams played went to Brown, along with a total of 85 yards on five catches. If he’s seeing Benjamin St-Juste in coverage throughout the night, we could be in for a big showing, but even if Kendall Fuller takes over or they float safety help towards him, Brown is tough to stop. He’s been on quite the tear with five touchdowns over his last three games and we don’t see that trend stopping anytime soon. 

Philadelphia Eagles D/ST 

Not only do the Eagles rank first in the league in takeaways with 18, but they also rank sixth in the league with 26 sacks on the season. And that was mostly without newly-acquired Robert Quinn. Tylor Heinicke is prone to the interceptions, the secondary is filled with ball-hawks and the pressure the front-seven applies to the opposition is relentless. If you need to pay down at the top spot to fit Hurts and Brown into your lineups, the Eagles’ defense is a smart choice. 

Mid-Tier and DFS Value Picks

Miles Sanders, RB Philadelphia Eagles

The Commanders front-seven has done a good job against the run this year, allowing an average of just 113.2 rushing yards per game and just four rushing touchdowns allowed on the season. But Sanders continues to see the volume with an average of just over 16 carries per game and has five touchdowns over his last five games, including one in each of his last three. He may not rack up a ton of yards, but he looks like he’ll be doing some end zone dancing if Hurts doesn’t poach all the goal-line work.

Taylor Heinicke, QB Washington Commanders

While the Eagles secondary is one of their strongest assets, Heinicke is going to have to throw in this one if the Commanders are going to at least try and be competitive. Perhaps some designed screens out of the backfield and some shorter quick-routes are the way to negate the corners, but throwing away from Darius Slay will be a must. Keep your expectations in check.

Curtis Samuel, WR Washington Commanders

Based off DVOA coverage numbers, Samuel seems to be the guy you want if you are looking for a Commander to add to your lineup. He’ll get his end-arounds and jet-sweeps so the rushing yards should help raise the floor a bit, but, more importantly, with Avonte Maddox out for the Eagles, you’ll probably see more of C.J. Gardner-Johnson trying to cover the slot. Samuel shouldn’t have much concern over him in coverage.

DeVonta Smith, WR Philadelphia Eagles

While Brown has been the receiver Hurts has leaned on the most in recent weeks, Smith was the big bully during the Week 3 match-up between these two teams. He saw 12 targets and caught eight passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Will we see a repeat of that? It likely depends on how much St-Juste he sees in coverage. We’ll hedge a little and say that you want him in your lineup, but don’t expect the same output with Brown seeing so much recent attention.

Dallas Goedert, TE Philadelphia Eagles

The Commanders actually give up the fewest fantasy points per game to the tight end and rank fourth in DVOA against the position. Still, Goedert is a major part of this team’s passing attack, so we don’t expect him to get shut down. He did find the end zone against Washington in Week 3, but it was on three catches for just 26 yards. He could find his way into the box once again, but it’s not likely to come with a huge yardage output.

Antonio Gibson, RB Washington Commanders

He has seemingly taken back the reins of this backfield from Robinson, as evidenced by the double-digit carries in two of the last three games while maintaining his slight uptick in targets we’ve seen in recent weeks. The Eagles run defense has softened and, overall, the defense really takes its foot off the gas in the second half, so Gibson should be able to find a little bit of running room. The pass-catching might be featured as the Eagles do rank 23rd in DVOA against running back pass-plays and the best way to neutralize their pass-rush are the quick dump-offs. It won’t be a lot, but it’ll be something. 

Terry McLaurin, WR Washington Commanders

The expectation is that McLaurin will se a lot of Darius Slay and that’s not what we would call a favorable match-up. If you are building multiple lineups and want a contrarian slice of this Commanders passing attack, then add him in to a couple, but understand the risks involved and don’t expect a huge week. 

Kenneth Gainwell, RB Philadelphia Eagles

He’s good for a handful of carries, especially if the Eagles jump out to a sizeable lead, and has seen an uptick in work around the passing attack over the last two games. Should Philly jump ahead and need someone to chew up the clock in the second half – maybe even sneak into the end zone – Gainwell can help save some salary for you.

Quez Watkins/Zach Pascal, WR Philadelphia Eagles

They’re lumped together because they both share snaps and targets out of the slot when the Eagles go into their three-receiver sets. The problem is you never know which one is going to get the target you want. Watkins plays more snaps and has seen more targets, so the lean is there, but Pascal can be a sneaky play if you want to get a little weird with your lineups.

Logan Thomas, TE Washington Commanders

Another contrarian play as Thomas seems to still be working his way into this passing attack. His snap count has gradually increased over the last two games and he should remain the featured tight end in this system which usually brings some decent targets. If he can show the team they don’t need to split his workload with John Bates anymore, he should see all of the tight end targets for this match-up.

Brian Robinson, RB Washington Commanders

Yes, we are now moving closer into dart-throw territory with Robinson who has been steadily losing that backfield job we were hoping he would take over. Unfortunately, a 3.3 yards per carry average and falling down after initial contact aren’t the ways to endear yourself to the coaching staff. He’s still seeing carries on the early downs, but with just one red-zone touch in the last two games, our patience is wearing thin. The Eagles’ run defense is their Achilles heel, so if you’re looking for maybe a cheap touchdown, this could be the way.

**Both kickers are in-play this week, so if you think the Commanders offense stalls in Eagles territory often, get Joey Slye into your lineups. If you’re looking to save salary and get a high-floor from extra-points, then use Jake Elliott.

Dart-Throw DFS Bargains

Jahan Dotson, WR Washington Commanders

After missing the last five games with a hamstring issue, Dotson returns to the field for Thursday night action. He did have four touchdowns through his first four games so if the Commanders are in catch-up mode and Dotson is on the other side of the field from Slay, he could catch a late, garbage-time touchdown.

Boston Scott, RB Philadelphia Eagles

He’s as good a dart-throw as any if you believe the Eagles win this one in a lopsided victory like the 11-point spread tells us they will. The Eagles won’t need the full-court press in the second half, so perhaps Scott gets a little late work to chew up the clock.

 

 

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