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With real-life sports in the midst of an extended time out, DraftKings has been helping to fill the void with some very entertaining simulated sports action. Each day, there are six Madden Streams and eight free contests, with a single-game Showdown for each game along with a pair of classic contests. Each of the simulations is played out via an online Madden Stream using Madden 2020 with rosters and ratings from the end of the 2019-20 season. In this format, you can enjoy watching the game stream on the DK Live app or right here in this post. Follow along to watch your fantasy team rack up some big fantasy points.
Tuesday’s 2 p.m. ET single-game Showdown contest focuses on the Texans traveling to Oakland to face the Raiders. Both of these teams actually have shown some offensive potential but their defenses have let them down on a regular basis. That seems like it should be a formula for some very nice fantasy production from both sides, though, so this is definitely a game to keep your eye on. The Raiders are only 12-15 in their 27 sims, but that record is better than the Texans, who have struggled to just 10-17. Houston has the bigger names in their offense, but can they get a road win in Oakland after slipping up at home against the Bengals? Or will the Raiders bounce back from three straight losses with a win over the Texans? I’ll give you my pick to win and players to watch for your fantasy lineup below.
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SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Houston Texans
The most consistent fantasy option on these two inconsistent offenses has definitely been Deshaun Watson ($12,000), which is why he’s so expensive in this matchup. Watson has an 86 overall rating with the Superstar abilities of “Escape Artist,” which makes him faster and more responsive while scrambling behind the line of scrimmage, and “Agile Extender,” which makes him almost guaranteed to evade the first sack attempt by a blitzing DB. His 86 overall rating is supported by an 84 speed rating, an 82 elusiveness rating and an 89 throw power rating. He has run for an average of 46.6 yards per sim in addition to his average of 217 passing yards. He has thrown 46 touchdown passes and run for nine more scores to help him average 22.2 DKFP per contest. He has an extremely high ceiling and has over 19 DKFP in seven of his past 10 sims and over 30 DKFP in three of his past six. He should be able to dominate the Raiders’ low-rated defense but will take up a huge chunk of your salary cap.
The highest-rated player on the Texans is WR DeAndre Hopkins ($11,200), who has a 98 overall rating with a 99 awareness rating, a 92 speed rating and a 98 catch rating. While he’ll be playing in Arizona this season, he has continued to thrive for the Texans in our sims. He has averaged 16.1 DKFP on 4.3 catches for 68.3 yards per sim. He has 19 touchdowns in his 27 contests but has only found the end zone twice in his past seven sims. The Raiders don’t have a CB who can match up with Hopkins, so he could be set up for a big day if Watson goes his way often.
Hopkins isn’t the only receiver who will be in a mismatch, though, since Will Fuller V ($6,800) also has big-play potential with his 94 speed rating and 82 overall rating. He has been very boom-or-bust but has an extremely high ceiling, which he showed off with 42.5 DKFP against Arizona. He hasn’t been that productive regularly enough, though for me to like him at this salary. WR3 Kenny Stills ($4,600) has just nine catches in his 27 sims and has never caught multiple passes in one contest, so I’ll definitely be passing on Stills. The WR value that is worth a look is Keke Coutee ($3,200), who is the Texans slot receiver out of the slot and has multiple catches in 20 of his 27 sims. He has been relatively quiet lately with 8.0 DKFP or fewer in six straight sims, but he remains one of the best bargains on the board. Another solid play who gets a high volume of catches is Houston’s big TE Darren Fells ($5,800), who has averaged 3.9 catches per sim. He hasn’t found the end zone very often with just four scores on the season but is a solid play due to his PPR volume.
The Texans’ run game is all about a healthy Lamar Miller ($7,400), who is the RB1 and the third-down back with his 84 overall rating and 92 speed rating. He had a bad game against the Bengals in his most recent sim with only 6.0 DKFP but had posted over 14 DKFP in four of five before that. He is averaging 9.8 DKFP in his 13 road games and is actually a pretty solid play against the Raiders’ porous front-seven.
The Texans’ DST ($4,000) have forced only 11 turnovers in their 27 sims, but they can get after the opposing QB, which they have shown with 62 sacks (2.3 per contest). The group is led by J.J. Watt, who has an impressive 97 overall rating and an X-Factor of “Fearmonger” to go with superstar abilities of “Strip Specialist” and “Edge Threat Elite.” The Texans are my preferred DST in this matchup and I also like Ka’imi Fairbairn ($4,200), who has averaged 6.0 DKFP per sim.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders’ offense has actually been pretty solid overall, and they use one of the best playbooks in all of Madden, which is why it’s a go-to option for user’s teams. They’ve had to play catch-up quite a bit since their defense has struggled, which has forced them to go pass-heavy, creating nice opportunity for QB Derek Carr ($10,800), who has averaged 18.1 DKFP per sim. Carr has an impressive 52 touchdowns to just three interceptions in his 27 sims and has thrown multiple scores in four of his past six sims. He has actually been held under 20 DKFP in seven straight contests, though, so I’d go with Watson if you’re only playing one QB since he has higher upside and a higher floor due to his rushing yards. Even though I like Watson better, Carr could be a solid play as well if he is able to find the holes in the struggling Texans’ secondary.
RB1 Josh Jacobs ($9,000) is the only skill-player on the team with a superstar ability, but his ability of “Bulldozer,” which gives him more powerful truck animations, hasn’t been able to help him produce more than an average of 7.3 DKFP. He has had a few decent contests but is extremely touchdown-reliant. His big problem is that he loses all the passing-down work to RB Jalen Richard ($2,800), who is averaging 7.9 DKFP. Richard has the potential to go off but has been limited to under 5.0 DKFP in five of his past six sims. Usually, he’s involved when the WRs are shut down but I don’t think that will be the case in this matchup.
Typically, Carr focuses the passing game on TE Darren Waller ($8,800), who has an 85 overall rating, tops among all the pass catchers for the Raiders. His 89 speed rating and 94 catching rating make him a great target over the middle and give him a high ceiling. He has 12 touchdowns on the sim season and has averaged 66.0 yards per sim on 4.9 catches per contest. He has over 18 DKFP in three straight with a touchdown and at least 60 yards in each sim, and this is a great matchup for him to excel in. He’s my top Raiders play on the board and someone I like for both single-game and classic lineups.
The rest of the receiving options for Carr are pretty solid as well, starting with WR1 Tyrell Williams ($9,400), who has an 82 overall rating, a 92 speed rating and 93 jump rating making him a standout athlete and a big-play threat. He had six catches in each of his past two games for 90 and 109 yards against the Cowboys and Eagles, respectively. He can be boom-or-bust but definitely has upside in this matchup. WR2 Zay Jones ($5,200) is a a solid salary-saver to consider as well with his 75 overall rating and 11.2 DKFP per sim. His 90 speed rating gives him good upside, and he has 13 touchdowns. He doesn’t usually see a ton of volume but can make plays when given the chance. WR3 Hunter Renfrow ($3,800) serves as Oakland’s slot receiver and is another value play worth a look. He hasn’t hit double-digit DKFP in four straight, and I’d prefer both Jones and Coutee since Renfrow can sometimes have quiet games when Waller goes off.
The Raiders do have some solid value options but I’d rather the Texans’ options instead of Daniel Carlson ($3,600) and the Raiders’ DST ($3,400). If you need a total punt play, you could consider TE2 Foster Moreau ($1,000) since he’s at the minimum salary and can get involved in power formations near the goal line.
THE OUTCOME
It’s going to cost a lot to go with Deshaun Watson ($18,000 CP) as your Captain’s Pick, but he has the ceiling to return value if he has one of his better games. You will have to go cheap in your flex spots, though, with so much salary in that Captain’s spot. If you want to go with Watson in a flex spot and use a non-QB in the Captain’s Pick slot, my favorite option is Darren Waller ($13,200 CP), who gives you much more flexibility. If you really want to stack your flex spots, you could even drop to Zay Jones ($7,800 CP) or Keke Coutee ($4,800 CP) and hope they get enough targets to go off while saving you the salary to stack top options in your flex spots.
Both teams have been hard to predict from game-to-game since they have been so inconsistent offensively. The star power of Watson and Hopkins against this Raiders defense should be enough to get Houston this road win, but they’ve also been a letdown often enough that I’m not confident in them. The best thing about this contest is that both defenses have been so bad that we should get plenty of points.
Final Score: Texans 31, Raiders 28
DEPTH CHARTS
Texans
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Raiders
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.