The NFL DFS Grind Down: Sunday Night Football - Eagles vs. Commanders
For this Week 8 Sunday Night Football matchup on 11/1 featuring the Eagles vs. Commanders, Notorious will take a look at the top NFL DFS plays on DraftKings and FanDuel. As always, you can visit our NFL lineup optimizer, LineupHQ, to help you with your lineup-building process.
NFL DFS Showdown Picks – Eagles vs. Commanders
Jump straight to the DFS Showdown salaries and projections →
My friends, welcome back!
I hope everyone’s main slate went even better than expected. Tonight’s matchup between the Eagles and Commanders would have looked a lot better to the schedule makers a few months ago. Jalen Hurts is out for the season, and the Commanders have been one of the worst teams in football. The game features a total of 40.5 points, which is the 2nd-lowest of any game on the entire Week 8 schedule. The Commanders are 6.5-point favorites, which is a tad surprising.
Key Injuries (as of Sunday, 11:00 AM ET)
▪️ QB Jalen Hurts (PHI) — Out (blood clot)
▪️ WR DeVonta Smith (PHI) — Out (hamstring)
▪️ WR Terry McLaurin (WAS) — Out (knee)
▪️ WR Dontayvion Wicks (PHI) — Out (ankle)
▪️ RB Dameon Pierce (PHI) — Out (undisclosed)
▪️ RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (WAS) — Out (groin)
▪️ RB Tank Bigsby (PHI) — Out (core)
▪️ RB Will Shipley (PHI) — Out (foot)
Philadelphia Eagles Preview
Tanner McKee is a pure pocket passer who has struggled in his first 2 games of the season. Despite 80 pass attempts in those 2 games, he’s only thrown for 426 yards and 2 touchdowns. He doesn’t offer rushing upside, but he’s still viable on a Showdown slate. The Commanders are an elite matchup, ranking 26th in EPA allowed per dropback and 32nd in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
Eagles’ 2026 WR/TE usage:
🔹 Makai Lemon: 84% route part., 15% target share, 11% air-yards share, 6.9 XFPPG
🔹 Dallas Goedert (TE): 58% route part., 17% target share, 14% air-yards share, 9.1 XFPPG
🔹 Darius Cooper: 51% route part., 8% target share, 13% air-yards share, 5.0 XFPPG
🔹 Hollywood Brown: 35% route part., 7% target share, 21% air-yards share, 2.7 XFPPG
🔹 Elijah Moore: 16% route part., 2% target share, 1% air-yards share, 1.2 XFPPG
With DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks out last week, Makai Lemon was the clear WR1 for the Eagles. He caught 7-of-8 targets for 67 yards and a touchdown. He doesn’t have a high aDOT, but the targets should be there in an elite matchup against the Commanders, who are 27th in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. He’s one of the top CPT targets on the slate. Darius Cooper and Hollywood Brown will round out 3-receiver sets. Both are capable of beating this defense downfield.
Elijah Moore will mix in as well and could see some targets underneath. He’s cheap enough to keep in your large-field tournament player pool. Dallas Goedert has seen 15 targets in 2 games with McKee under center. He could easily lead the Eagles in targets tonight, and the price point is more than fair. It’s an elite matchup for him too, as the Commanders have allowed the 2nd-most fantasy points to tight ends. I love the McKee double-stacks for this game.
Saquon Barkley has been involved in some trade rumors, but the Eagles are adamant that he won’t be moved before the deadline. He’s coming off his best game of the season, turning 9 touches into 71 yards and a touchdown. With only Jaydon Blue and Elijah Mitchell behind him, we can expect an uptick in snaps this week. The matchup is middling, as the Commanders are 20th in EPA against the run and 10th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to running backs. We can’t target Blue and Mitchell, as they are priced as if Barkley were out.
The Eagles have one of the lowest pressure rates of any defense in the NFL. I’m not prioritizing them in DFS. Kicker Jake Elliott is viable if you think the Eagles will be competitive in this game.
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Washington Commanders Preview
Jayden Daniels has been sharp since returning from injury. He scored 35 fantasy points against the Giants in Week 5 and 24 fantasy points against the Niners in Week 6. Coming off the bye, we have to like his prospects for this game. He has rushing upside and an exploitable matchup against the Eagles, who are 27th in EPA allowed per dropback and 24th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. He’s the easiest click at CPT and MVP.
Commanders’ 2026 WR/TE usage:
🔹 Stefon Diggs: 66% route part., 21% target share, 21% air-yards share, 12.3 XFPPG
🔹 Chig Okonkwo (TE): 65% route part., 13% target share, 11% air-yards share, 6.9 XFPPG
🔹 Antonio Williams: 55% route part., 12% target share, 18% air-yards share, 8.0 XFPPG
🔹 Treylon Burks: 53% route part., 9% target share, 18% air-yards share, 7.4 XFPPG
🔹 Dyami Brown: 45% route part., 8% target share, 16% air-yards share, 4.7 XFPPG
With Terry McLaurin on injured reserve, Stefon Diggs is the clear WR1 for the Commanders. He has racked up a 21% target share and a 21% air yards share this season. Antonio Williams should be the WR2 tonight, but Williams and Treylon Burks have had similar target and air yards shares this season. Williams is expected to have a bigger role tonight, but they are both viable. Dyami Brown will mix in as well and could see his role expand if Burks is out.
Chig Okonkwo doesn’t have elite usage metrics (13% target share and an 11% air yards share), but he should also see a boost with McLaurin out. As far as the matchup goes, the Eagles are 31st in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to wide receivers and 7th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to tight ends. I’ll side with Washington’s receivers in this one, but I would get exposure to Okonkwo if building multiple lineups.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt is out, which means Rachaad White will serve as the feature back for the Commanders. Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols will mix in as well, but they aren’t expected to have major roles in this one. White has yet to have more than 8 carries in a game this season, and the targets have been volatile. While the game script sets up well for him, I plan to be underweight. The Eagles have surprisingly allowed the 6th fewest schedule-adjusted fantasy points to running backs this season.
The Commanders have a terrible defense, but they are 6.5-point favorites at home against a team that is without their best quarterback and two best wide receivers. At the very least, Washington’s defense is viable in tournaments. Kicker Drew Stevens is viable in all formats.
DraftKings Ownership Angle & CPT Picks
As expected, Jayden Daniels and Makai Lemon are dominating the projected ownership at CPT. They are my favorite targets if you are building 1-3 lineups. If you want to be a little different, Dallas Goedert and Stefon Diggs are appealing targets at low ownership.
FanDuel Ownership Angle & MVP Picks
It’s the same story on FanDuel, as Jayden Daniels and Makai Lemon are projected for over 50% of the combined ownership at MVP.
Prop Pick – Eagles vs. Commanders
Season Record: 10-8
✅ Dallas Goedert o4.5 receptions
For a full stat preview of every game in Week 8, head to the NFL First Look.
Image Credit: Imagn
Stats credit: Fantasy Points Data