Sunday Night Football features the Patriots traveling to Baltimore for a showdown slate that’s more about usage and roles than predicting a clean winner. New England and Baltimore both have concentrated touches in key spots, which simplifies the player pool but raises the stakes on getting the construction right. This slate comes down to identifying which pieces actually accumulate volume when the game inevitably shifts script.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL Showdown $1M Sunday Night Showdown [$250K to 1st] (NE @ BAL)
Captain’s Pick
Lamar Jackson ($15,900 CP): If you’re playing tournaments, Lamar is still the best raw-ceiling Captain, even at the inflated salary. This matchup sets up perfectly for him to get there in multiple ways — early passing production if New England sells out to stop the run, plus late rushing upside if Baltimore is protecting a lead. The Patriots don’t have the personnel to spy him effectively, and Lamar doesn’t need 300 passing yards to break the slate. One rushing TD plus 80–100 yards on the ground already puts him ahead of the field. Yes, he’ll be popular, but fading Lamar at home in a standalone game is how you finish 8,000th instead of first.
UTIL Plays
Zay Flowers ($9,000): This is the leverage off the Baltimore run game. New England’s defense tends to bend underneath, and Flowers thrives in that short-to-intermediate role where manufactured touches turn into explosive plays. He’s the most likely Raven to break the slate without needing a perfect script — jet sweeps, screens, and quick hitters all count the same in DraftKings scoring. If Lamar is your Captain, pairing him with Flowers gives you access to a ceiling game that doesn’t require multiple long touchdowns, just sustained efficiency.
Rhamondre Stevenson ($5,600): Even in a negative game script, Rhamondre is the Patriot most likely to matter. If New England falls behind, his receiving role becomes critical, and those PPR points add up quickly on DraftKings. He’s also the one Patriot who can stumble into a touchdown without the offense actually playing well. You don’t need New England to be good — you need volume and desperation, and Stevenson checks both boxes. He’s firm in Lamar Captain builds where the Ravens control the game.
Mark Andrews ($5,400): This is the spot where Andrews quietly wins you a tournament. New England’s defensive philosophy often funnels targets toward the middle of the field, and Andrews is still Lamar’s most trusted option in high-leverage situations. If the Patriots manage to keep this competitive early, Andrews’ red-zone role becomes even more valuable. He doesn’t need double-digit catches — two touchdowns or a 6–80–1 type line is enough to separate your lineup from the Zay-only builds.
Fade
Ravens DST ($4,000): This is the kind of play that looks good on the surface and quietly sinks GPP lineups. Yes, Baltimore is at home, and yes, the Patriots’ offense can look completely lost at times — but Ravens DST projects to be over-owned relative to its actual slate-winning upside. Defensive scoring is fragile, and once you bake in the salary and ownership, you’re basically betting on multiple turnovers or a defensive touchdown to justify the click. In a Lamar-led game script, the Ravens are more likely to bleed the clock than aggressively hunt sacks, which lowers the DST ceiling. I’d rather take the volatility of an offensive player with real usage than hope the most popular defense on the slate gets there the hard way.
The Outcome
Baltimore jumps out early and never really lets New England settle in, controlling the game with physicality and tempo. The Patriots struggle to sustain drives, relying on a few chunk plays but failing to finish consistently. By the fourth quarter, it’s clear the Ravens are the better team, and they close it out without much drama.
