Thursday Night Football DFS Breakdown: Commanders vs. Eagles

Thursday Night Football DFS Breakdown: Commanders vs. Eagles

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

The NFL begins Week 11 in style with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Eagles and Commanders. The winner will stand alone atop the NFC East. Let's dig into the DFS options for the single-game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts ($11,000 DK, $15,000 FD) continues to rack up touchdowns in bunches. Last week, he had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns against the Cowboys. Following a Week 5 bye, Hurts has eight passing touchdowns and eight rushing touchdowns in the last five games. While the Commanders have allowed just one rushing touchdown to quarterbacks this season, they have allowed 17 passing touchdowns.

Jayden Daniels ($10,400 DK, $14,500 FD) had four rushing touchdowns in his first four games, but hasn't scored a rushing touchdown since. He also has just three games this season with multiple touchdown passes. The Eagles have allowed eight passing touchdowns all season, so between these two quarterbacks, Hurts has the higher upside.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley ($10,600 DK, $15,500 FD) has proven to be a huge addition for the Eagles. They didn't need him to do much last week in their blowout win against the Cowboys, but Barkley still produced 66 rushing yards over 14 carries. Prior to that, he had three consecutive games with at least 108 rushing yards. A potentially close game should leave him with a lot of work against a Commanders team that allows 4.95 yards per carry to running backs.

Brian Robinson Jr. ($8,200 DK, $11,000 FD) has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, but has been cleared to return against the Eagles. Despite having just two games with at least 100 rushing yards, Robinson has scored a touchdown in five of his seven games this season. He should split some of the running back workload with Austin Ekeler ($8,000 DK, $10,000 FD), who has scored three touchdowns over the last two games with Robinson out. It's difficult to get excited about either option for DFS, though, because the Eagles have allowed just two total touchdowns to running backs this season.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

After producing a modest stat line the week prior against the Jaguars, A.J. Brown ($10,000 DK, $13,000 FD) bounced back in Week 10 with five receptions for 109 yards against the Cowboys. He has an average target depth of 14.3 yards and is averaging 6.1 yards after the catch. That makes him a great option against a Commanders defense that allows 12.6 yards per reception to wide receivers. DeVonta Smith ($8,600 DK, $11,500 FD) has battled a hamstring injury at practice this week, but all signs are pointing to him taking the field. He has yet to surpass 87 receiving yards in a game this season and has posted fewer than 15 yards in two of his last four games, so he comes with some risk.

It's been mostly a one-man show at wide receiver for the Commanders with Terry McLaurin ($9,000 DK, $12,500 FD) posting at least 100 receiving yards in four of his last eight games. He also has six touchdown receptions over that eight-game span. For DFS purposes, it's difficult to feel good about any of the other wide receivers on the team. Noah Brown ($6,200 DK, $9,500 FD) might be worth a look in tournament play at his cheap salary because he has caught at least three passes in seven of the eight games that he has played. However, he only surpassed 50 receiving yards in four of those games, so temper your expectations.

Both teams have reliable veteran tight ends. Dallas Goedert ($6,600 DK, $9,500 FD) only had two receptions in his return from an ankle injury last week, but one was a touchdown. The Commanders have allowed five receiving touchdowns to tight ends, which is tied for third most in the league. Goedert has more upside than Zach Ertz ($5,600 DK, $8,000 FD), who has posted six games with fewer than 40 receiving yards. Another concern with Ertz is that the Eagles are tied for the fifth-fewest receptions allowed to tight ends.

Kicker

The Commanders have ruled out Austin Seibert (hip), which means that Zane Gonzalez ($4,800 DK, $5,000 FD) will serve as their kicker for the second straight week. He didn't disappoint against the Steelers in Week 10, making both of his field goal attempts and all three extra points. Jake Elliott ($5,200 DK, $9,000 FD) has made all 12 of his field-goal attempts of fewer than 50 yards this season for the Eagles, but he is 0-for-3 on kicks of at least 50 yards.

Defense/Special Teams

The Eagles ($4,400 DK, $9,000 FD) have given up just 17.9 points per game this season. One of their strengths has been allowing only a 60.7 completion percentage, fourth lowest in the league. They have just six interceptions, though, to go along with 25 sacks. The Commanders ($3,600 DK, $8,500 FD) have 27 sacks, but just four interceptions. A concerning stat with the Commanders is that they have allowed at least 28 points in a game four times. In the six games that they didn't, four came against some of the worst offenses in the league in the Browns, Panthers and Giants (twice).

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Mike Barner plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: mbarner, DraftKings: mbarner51.
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only NFL Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire NFL fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Barner
Mike started covering fantasy sports in 2007, joining RotoWire in 2010. In 2018, he was a finalist for the FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Mike also won the 2022-23 FSGA NBA Experts Champions league. In addition to RotoWire, Mike has written for Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, DK Live, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Lineup Lab and KFFL.com.
NFL Expert Picks: Christmas Special - Chiefs vs. Steelers; Ravens vs. Texans
NFL Expert Picks: Christmas Special - Chiefs vs. Steelers; Ravens vs. Texans
Survivor: Week 17 Strategy & Picks
Survivor: Week 17 Strategy & Picks
NFL DFS Breakdown: Christmas Matchups
NFL DFS Breakdown: Christmas Matchups
NFL Game Previews: Week 17 Christmas Matchups
NFL Game Previews: Week 17 Christmas Matchups
NFL Odds: NFL Key Line Moves for Week 17
NFL Odds: NFL Key Line Moves for Week 17
NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Week 17 Christmas Day
NFL DFS Picks: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Week 17 Christmas Day