There is an important Thursday Night Football matchup this week, as the Lions host the Packers in an NFC North battle to kick off Week 14 of the 2024 NFL season.
The Lions have won ten straight games and are the top team in the NFC at the moment. However, the NFC North is still ultra-competitive between the Lions, Packers and Vikings. The Packers have won seven of their last eight games, with the only loss coming to the Lions so they will be looking for revenge here.
There are plenty of breakdowns for the game’s outlook, player props and more, but this article will look at some of the top DFS options to help you build your Showdown team.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st]
Captain Plays
Hitting on your captain (CPT) is essential to having Showdown DFS success on DraftKings. Players drafted as the captain earn 1.5x fantasy points, so they can make or break your entry. Here are my favorite captain plays for this week’s TNF matchup:
Josh Jacobs ($14,700)
Josh Jacobs is having an incredible season for the Packers. He ranks 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards behind only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. Jacobs has had over 100 all-purpose yards in each of his last five games and really emerged as a receiving threat last week. Despite a slow day on the ground, Jacobs broke a long reception of 49 yards and racked up a total of 74 receiving yards. Jacobs is also on a hot streak of getting into the end zone with five touchdowns in his past three games.
Detroit has a really good rushing defense but the Packers matched up well with them earlier this season. The last time the Packers faced the Lions, Jacobs ran for 95 yards on just 13 carries. That 7.3 yards per carry is his highest average in any game this season. The Packers have such a dangerous passing attack with so many weapons that it opens up space on the ground for Jacobs to pick up chunks, even against a great defense like Detroit. If the Packers are going to compete in this game Jacobs will need to have a big day so he is a great player to captain.
Jahmyr Gibbs ($13,500)
Jahmyr Gibbs is having a great season as part of the “Sonic and Knuckles” running back duo in Detroit, alongside David Montgomery. Gibbs is fourth in the league in rushing yards this season, just behind the aforementioned Josh Jacobs. Gibbs has also consistently found the end zone, with 11 total touchdowns in 12 games played this season. Gibbs is also a consistent receiving threat for the Lions with 10.1 yards per catch this season.
The Packers are solid defensively against the run and the pass but they have been more vulnerable against the run. They rank 13th in the league in defensive EPA/rush compared to 9th in EPA/dropback. Gibbs should get a good amount of action on the ground and find some success. Also, the Packers have been comfortable giving up underneath passes this season. They are 24th in opponent completion percentage and 31st in defensive dropback success rate, despite being 9th in defensive EPA/dropback. That implies that they are willing to give up short chunk passes in order to prevent explosive plays, which is good news for Gibbs’ usage in the passing game.
Value Picks
David Montgomery ($8,600)
David Montgomery is the second half of “Sonic and Knuckles” and is just as dangerous of a threat. There is nothing wrong with picking both Gibbs and Montgomery in your lineup. Some running back duos you want to avoid altogether because it can be tough to determine which one will have a big game on a given week. However, this Lions duo is consistently productive every week with so much yardage to go around. Montgomery is tied for 3rd in the league in rushing touchdowns with 11 and Gibbs is right behind him with ten.
This duo shares the action equally but Montgomery was the dominant force last week. Montgomery had 124 all-purpose yards last week against the Bears on Thanksgiving and was a threat running and catching the ball. Last time out against the Packers, Montgomery had a very productive day. In Green Bay, Montgomery had 96 all-purpose yards. Just like Gibbs, he should benefit from the Packers’ willingness to give up short chunk plays as that will add up over the course of the game.
Jameson Williams ($7,000)
Jameson Williams is a great weapon for Jared Goff. While Gibbs, Montgomery and others pick up chunk yardage, Williams waits for his one deep shot. Williams missed the last game against Green Bay and Detroit’s offense wasn’t nearly as effective without him. This offense is so dangerous because they have so many weapons that can be used down-to-down like Montgomery, Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta, then Williams as the deep threat.
Opposing linebackers and safeties have to get more and more shallow as the game goes on so they don’t get dink-and-dunked to death and that’s when Williams can take the top off the defense and hit a huge play. Williams is 15th in the league in yards per catch this season and has four catches of 50+ yards this season. All four of those 50+ yard catches have come at home, where this game will be played. Goff is more comfortable throwing deep inside the dome in Detroit so this is the perfect game to target Williams who can earn his price on just one play.
Tucker Kraft ($5,400)
The Packers have a plethora of weapons in the passing game, but Kraft has the advantage of being the primary tight end. The wide receivers like Watson, Reed, Wicks and others have to share snaps and there are very few targets to go around. However, Kraft is the leader in total snaps for the Packers offense this season, even more than Jordan Love because of his missed games this season. Kraft is a solid consistent target for Jordan Love and just had one of his best games of the season last week against Miami. Kraft had six catches for 78 yards on Thanksgiving and will look to carry that momentum into this matchup. Kraft is also tied for tenth in the NFL in receiving touchdowns so he has a real chance of finding the end zone as well.
Jake Bates ($5,200)
Jake Bates is having a great rookie season as the Lions’ kicker. He is 7th in the NFL in kicking points and has a monster leg. Bates has hit from 58 yards already this season and is 5/5 on field goals of 50 yards or more. Overall, he is 19/20 on field goals and 44/45 on extra points this season. The Lions’ offense has been more productive at home this season than on the road so that makes this a good time to target Bates. He has 55 kicking points in six home games this year compared to 46 kicking points in six away games. Bates should have another solid performance against Green Bay and is worth a spot in your lineup if you need someone at a cheap price.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown [$500K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is blakekrass) 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 do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and cannot access any non-public information.
