NFL DFS: Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons
Philadelphia Eagles
After a sluggish start to the game, I think we can safely say that Carson Wentz is back in a big way. He led a phenomenal second-half comeback against the Redskins en route to a 313-yard, 3-touchdown performance. He showed chemistry right off the bat with DeSean Jackson, who posted a team best 8-154-2 stat line. The Falcons were 29th in pass DVOA last season, making this yet another exploitable matchup for the already-dynamic duo.
With Jackson soaking up all of the love, it’s easy to overlook Alshon Jeffery‘s production. While he only saw 6 targets, he turned it into a 5-49-1 line while also rushing for a 2-yard touchdown on a goal-line dump-off. Zach Ertz also saw less volume than normal (7 targets) but was able to convert it into a 5-54 line. It’s apparent that Wentz is going to spread the ball around here, making it hard to peg exactly who will benefit the most, but they are all viable in tournaments. Jackson, however, makes sense as a cash play given his lower salary and chemistry with Wentz.
Miles Sanders saw 11 carries in the game to Jordan Howard‘s 6, but it’s hard to entirely trust the backfield here until we see something more concrete. Howard was far more efficient, but who’s to say that’ll carry over week to week? While he was more efficient, he only saw a 23% snap share compared to Sanders’ 48%. Since it’s a 1 or 2-game slate, I would be okay with Sanders in GPPs, but I would avoid the entire backfield in cash.
Cash Plays: Wentz, Jackson
GPP Plays: Jeffery, Ertz, Sanders
Atlanta Falcons
I fully expect the masses to lean more towards the Eagles here and for good reason, as the Falcons looked awful on all fronts last week. Matt Ryan struggled to put up points, but overall had a rather efficient showing as he went 33-46 for 304 yards and a pair of TDs (with 2 interceptions). He demonstrated great rapport with Austin Hooper who led the team with 9 receptions, while Julio Jones led the team with 11 targets.
Seeing that the Eagles’ secondary finished 29th in pass DVOA last week against a paltry Washington offense, I have no problem targeting these three on a small slate, but would reserve Ryan for tournaments. All three are going to need productive outings to keep pace with the elite Eagles offense.
Devonta Freeman couldn’t get anything going on the ground and frankly, this isn’t a matchup where I’d go out of my way to target him. The Eagles ranked 3rd in rush DVOA in week 1 and finished the 2018 season 9th in rush DVOA.
Cash Plays: Jones, Hooper
GPP Plays: Ryan