This article is part of our Showdown/Single Game DFS Breakdown series.
International games are always difficult to call, and Friday's showdown in Brazil between Green Bay and Philadelphia is no exception. Both teams have Super Bowl ambitions and would present major challenges to each other even back in the US, so this makes for a harrowing showdown between two of the league's top quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts and the newly extended Jordan Love. Luckily, both teams are reasonably healthy and the weather should be good. The over/under is 49.5 with the Eagles favored by 2 points.
QUARTERBACKS
Jalen Hurts ($10600 DK, $17000 FD) has been worth the expense in almost all of his games the last two years, but it will be interesting to see if Hurts' rushing production scales back at all with the arrival of Saquon Barkley at running back. Particularly if Barkley claims more rushing touchdowns than prior Eagles runners did, it could put some pressure on Hurts' profit margins. Then again, it's almost inconceivable to imagine a game plan for Philadelphia that doesn't centrally include Hurts, including as a runner. The Packers defense seems mostly competent but less than frightening.
Jordan Love ($9800 DK, $15500 FD) started slow in 2023 but was red-hot in the last 2/3 of the season, and of course the hope is that he maintains that dominant play he showed toward the end of last year. Barring weird effects of the travel, this should be a setting where Love can make some big plays. The danger is the Eagles pass rush –
International games are always difficult to call, and Friday's showdown in Brazil between Green Bay and Philadelphia is no exception. Both teams have Super Bowl ambitions and would present major challenges to each other even back in the US, so this makes for a harrowing showdown between two of the league's top quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts and the newly extended Jordan Love. Luckily, both teams are reasonably healthy and the weather should be good. The over/under is 49.5 with the Eagles favored by 2 points.
QUARTERBACKS
Jalen Hurts ($10600 DK, $17000 FD) has been worth the expense in almost all of his games the last two years, but it will be interesting to see if Hurts' rushing production scales back at all with the arrival of Saquon Barkley at running back. Particularly if Barkley claims more rushing touchdowns than prior Eagles runners did, it could put some pressure on Hurts' profit margins. Then again, it's almost inconceivable to imagine a game plan for Philadelphia that doesn't centrally include Hurts, including as a runner. The Packers defense seems mostly competent but less than frightening.
Jordan Love ($9800 DK, $15500 FD) started slow in 2023 but was red-hot in the last 2/3 of the season, and of course the hope is that he maintains that dominant play he showed toward the end of last year. Barring weird effects of the travel, this should be a setting where Love can make some big plays. The danger is the Eagles pass rush – that front four is about as strong as any in the league – but the Eagles' cornerback personnel is so questionable that Love and Matt LaFleur might be able to cook up some bombs even in max protection. The Eagles corners cannot cover the Packers route runners.
RUNNING BACKS
Saquon Barkley ($9400 DK, $13500 FD) is arguably the biggest question of the game, because if he's vintage Saquon Barkley then that would almost certainly be production that occurs at the expense of Hurts' rushing production. Similarly, if Hurts maintains his rushing production from previous years then there's only so much usage and space that the Eagles can cut out for Barkley – ie, much less than what was the case with the Giants. It would be crazy for the Eagles to not feed Barkley given his abilities and given how well he leverages the Eagles' offensive line personnel, so it would be surprising if Barkley isn't very busy in this game. The Eagles should probably consider it a bad sign if he isn't. Kenneth Gainwell ($3400 DK, $7000 FD) is likely the top backup, but he might play less than he did in 2023 given the arrival of Barkley. Will Shipley ($2000 DK, $6000 FD) shouldn't be far behind Gainwell but still isn't expected to play much.
Josh Jacobs ($8200 DK, $12500 FD) is another highly-anticipated free agent running back pickup, and one who should see a heavy workload now that the Packes are without AJ Dillon for the year. The Eagles front four is very tough, but if you can wear them down a little then the linebackers are revealed for mediocre. If the Packers keep this game close Jacobs should see heavy work pretty much every quarter. Backups Emanuel Wilson ($2400 DK, $7500 FD) and MarShawn Lloyd ($3000 DK, $7000 FD) should also see some playing time, but how much or in what situations is unclear. Neither of Wilson nor Lloyd have proven themselves as pass blockers, so they might not play that much, especially if the game is close.
WIDE RECEIVERS + TIGHT ENDS
It's tough to afford both A.J. Brown ($11000 DK, $14000 FD) and DeVonta Smith ($9000 DK, $12000 FD), but you might want at least one of them in your lineup given how narrowly-channeled the pass-catching usage is in the Philadelphia offense. Even the addition of Jahan Dotson ($3200 DK, $7500 FD). Dotson may well prove a quality NFL player yet, and he's probably a big upgrade over the likes of Quez Watkins before him, but the fact is that the Eagles offense spaces itself such that the WR3 almost never sees looks unless the defense sort of just forgot to cover them. Dallas Goedert ($5800 DK, $9500 FD) is probably the better threat to emerge as the Eagles' third (or second!) leading pass catcher than Dotson. TE2 Grant Calcaterra might also stumble into some cheap usage.
Jayden Reed ($6400 DK, $10000 FD), Romeo Doubs ($6800 DK, $9000 FD), Christian Watson ($5600 DK, $11000 FD) and Dontayvion Wicks ($5400 DK, $6500 FD) are all capable targets, which makes it difficult to guess which one will see the usage in any given week. All three of Philadelphia's starting cornerback reps are dubious for various reasons – Darius Slay is almost 34, Kelee Ringo is a fringe prospect, rookie first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell is probably playing out of position in the slot – so these Packers receivers can likely get open here. The question, in addition to the specific usage, is whether the Packers can stall the ferocious Eagles front four. The Packers offensive line seems solid, so hopefully they can show up here and let the Packers wideouts get open. In addition to their deep wideout rotation the Packers also feature two quality, starter-caliber tight ends between Luke Musgrave ($4600 DK, $9000 FD) and Tucker Kraft ($2800 DK, $6000 FD), but Kraft's standout blocking tends to reduce him to the secondary pass-catching threat of the two.
KICKERS
Jake Elliott ($5000 DK, $8000 FD) has proven himself as one of the NFL's better kickers, and he went over double-digit fantasy points six times last year. Curiously, five of them occurred in the first five weeks, meaning Elliott finished the season rather lightly used. If this game is close (and it's expected to be), then Elliott should be fairly involved.
The kicker on the other side is much less proven, as Brayden Narveson ($4400 DK, $8000 FD) was only recently added by waiver claim after the Titans cut him. Narveson showed off 60-yard range throughout his time with the Titans, so the hope is that the Packers got themselves a steal here after they otherwise bungled their kicker situation the last two seasons.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The New Kickoff rules were kind of a big nothing in the season opener, but perhaps the speed will pick up as the season progresses. In the meantime it might be worth recalling that KeiSean Nixon might be one of the league's better kick returners, so the Packers ($3600 DK, $8500 FD) have the kick return touchdown route for potential DST points here. Then again, this is not an enviable matchup for a defense. New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley would really impress here if the Packers show strong on defense.
The Eagles ($4000 DK, $8500 FD) are always somewhat tempting due to their pass rush, and their lively rush could very well be a big part of the story in this matchup. The Packers nonetheless seem like one of the worst offenses to prey on, if only because their offensive line seems rather solid, and durable too. The Packers offensive line is in good enough shape that they still don't know who will start at right guard, because they like both right guard options enough to start them.
