The rubber match is a term that is used far more often in the world of baseball than football, but the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles third encounter of the 2024 NFL season has the stakes of a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Here is a closer look at the top 5 DFS options entering the NFC Championship Game.
1. Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley feels like he has been on a historic tear in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles after turning in another outstanding performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round with 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
Could this hot streak continue this Sunday? Well, if Barkleyâs production against the Commanders this season continues â then the answer is a definitive yes.
Saquon Barkley Stats Vs. Washington Commanders This Season
Week 11: 26 carries for 146 yards and 2 TDs
Week 16: 29 carries for 150 yards and 2 TDs
The second of these two games was with Jalen Hurts out of the lineup for the majority of the matchup, which makes his 150 yards that much more impressive considering the increased attention he received from the Commanders defense.
Barkley has topped the century mark in 13 of his 18 games in an Eagles uniform and should be setup for another monster outing against a Washington defense that just gave up 105 rushing yards and two scores on just 14 carries to Jahmyr Gibbs on Saturday.
2. Jayden Daniels
It was a tale of two different performances for Jayden Daniels against this stingy Eagles defense earlier this year.
In the first encounter versus Philly, Daniels threw for just 191 yards with one score and one interception while rushing for just 18 yards on seven carries. For some context, itâs possible that Daniels was still battling through a rib injury that saw his rushing production drop significantly for a small section of the schedule in the middle of the season.
Yet, the second contest proved to be an entirely different story. Daniels produced 44.4 fantasy points against the Eagles in Week 16 with 258 passing yards and five scores to go with an additional 81 yards on the ground.
Did the second game see Jalen Hurts exit early due to a concussion? Yes. However, that surely doesnât negate the fact that Daniels found a way to dissect this defense that we simply havenât seen very often this season. Itâs also worth pointing out the obvious that Hurts doesnât play defense, which means his exit from the game really shouldnât detract from him performance at all.
Daniels has been magnificent through his first postseason starts, which was headlined by his 350 total yards and two passing touchdowns against the Detroit Lions to secure the organizationâs first trip to the Conference Championship round since the 1990s.
Daniels is tasked with a tough matchup, but the rookie has simply been far too dynamic to suggest you should fade him from your DFS lineup this week.
3. Jalen Hurts
Speaking of Hurts, his fantasy production against the Commanders this year â just 231 passing yards to go with 80 yards and one rushing score â needs the context of him suffering a concussion in the first half of the Eagles Week 16 loss.
The passing numbers this postseason have been very modest while the team has been leaning heavily on Barkleyâs dominance on the ground, which does make this a tricky fantasy outlook for a dynamic dual threat option for this slate.
Hurts is essentially an automatic touchdown producer when the Eagles get to the opponentâs one yard line and is still a threat to score through the air or on the ground any time he takes the field.
Hurts produced 32 total touchdowns in what can be considered 14 games this year and still has explosive playmakers on the outside who can rip off huge plays in the passing game at a momentâs notice.
The Washington defense is an improved unit from what we saw to start the year, but still gave up 31 points to the Lions last week.
While he may not be my top QB play of this weekend, he is certainly still a quality option with his track record of producing touchdowns in a variety of ways against a scoring defense that is still a vulnerable unit.
4. A.J. Brown
Three catches for 24 yards. That is the total production we have seen from A.J. Brown through the first two postseason game… combined. Yikes.
This has been the least productive two-game stretch of Brownâs tenure in Philadelphia â which makes this suggestion a bit risky considering how uninvolved he has been in the game plan combined with the Eagles dominance on the ground this postseason.
While there may be some hesitation on my end for making this suggestion, I still believe Brown is simply a bad matchup for this secondary.
Brown has 13 receptions for 162 yards and a score over his two games against this Commanders secondary this season â which is encouraging considering Kenny Pickett was his quarterback for the vast majority of the second game.
In a matchup against a Washington offense had great success against the Eagles defense the last two times these teams faced off, the Philadelphia passing game will likely be forced to play a much bigger role in this contest â which only benefits Brownâs fantasy outlook.
5. Terry McLaurin
In a similar fashion, Terry McLaurinâs production against the Eagles this year was very different.
In their Week 11 loss, McLaurin caught one pass for 10 yards. In their Week 16 victory, McLaurin produced 60 yards and a score on five receptions.
While his second game against Philly this year was encouraging, his postseason performances have been nothing short of outstanding.
McLaurin has produced a minimum of four receptions for 87 yards and a score in both playoff wins. Granted, both of these productive outings came against a weaker secondaries â but it doesnât discredit his elevated level of play in big moments.
McLaurin is a quality deep threat who prodved on Sunday that he can be a menace in the screen game with his 59-yard catch and run to the house to help send the Commanders to the NFC Conference Championship.
If the Commanders stand any chance of knocking off the Eagles, McLaurin is going to have to come up big for a third straight game as the focal point of the Washington passing attack.
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