NFL Week 10 closes out with a classic NFC East battle on Monday Night Football as the Philadelphia Eagles look to keep their perfect season alive against the Washington Commanders.
For those who are playing the DFS Showdown slate, we have a lot to look at with regard to properly setting up our lineups. The Eagles are 11-point favorites in this game and there is an over/under of just 43.5, which indicates not just an Eagles win but also relative blowout — so when you are tending to your roster construction, you will want to lean a little more heavily toward Philadelphia players. But that doesn’t mean we are completely ignoring the Commanders for a value play or 2. We just have to be very selective as to which ones we want to use. The breakdown of players below should help you make those tough lineup decisions.
**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, PHI
Hurts is 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 3 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, PHI
One of the 3 touchdowns Hurts threw for the last time these teams played went to Brown, along with a total of 85 yards on 5 catches. If he is 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 toward him, Brown is tough to stop. He has been on quite the tear with 5 touchdowns over his last 3 games and we don’t see that trend stopping anytime soon.
Eagles D/ST
Not only do the Eagles rank 1st in the league in takeaways with 18, but they also rank 6th 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 7 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.
Check out our Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles predictions
Mid-tier DFS value picks
Miles Sanders, RB, PHI
The Commanders front 7 has done a good job against the run this year, allowing an average of just 113.2 rushing yards per game and just 4 rushing touchdowns allowed. But Sanders continues to see the volume with an average of just over 16 carries per game and has 5 touchdowns over his last 5 games — including 1 in each of his last 3. He may not rack up a ton of yards, but he looks like he will be doing some endzone dancing if Hurts doesn’t poach all the goal-line work.
Taylor Heinicke, QB, WAS
While the Eagles’ secondary is 1 of their strongest assets, Heinicke is going to have to throw 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, WAS
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 will 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 will 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, PHI
While Brown has been the receiver Hurts has leaned on the most in recent weeks, Smith was the big bully during the Week 3 matchup between these 2 teams. He saw 12 targets and caught 8 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 will 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, PHI
The Commanders actually give up the fewest fantasy points per game to the tight end and rank 4th 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 endzone against Washington in Week 3, but it was on 3 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, WAS
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, WAS
The expectation is that McLaurin will se a lot of Darius Slay, and that’s not what we would call a favorable matchup. 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, PHI
Gainwell good for a handful of carries, especially if the Eagles jump out to a sizable lead, and has seen an uptick in work around the passing attack over the last 2 games. Should Philly jump ahead and need someone to chew up the clock in the second half — maybe even sneak into the endzone — Gainwell can help save some salary for you.
Quez Watkins/Zach Pascal, WR, PHI
They are lumped together because they both share snaps and targets out of the slot when the Eagles go into their 3-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, WAS
This is 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 2 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 matchup.
Brian Robinson, RB, WAS
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 2 games our patience is wearing thin. The Eagles’ run defense is their Achilles’ heel, so if you are 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.
Don’t miss our expert’s best player prop bets for Commanders vs Eagles
Dart-Throw DFS bargains
Jahan Dotson, WR, WAS
After missing the last 5 games with a hamstring issue, Dotson returns to the field for Thursday night action. He did have 4 touchdowns through his first 4 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, PHI
Scott is 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 probably won’t need the full-court press in the second half, so perhaps Scott gets a little late work to chew up the clock.
For additional NFL DFS Week 10 coverage, check out our full coverage on Fantasy Alarm
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