Welcome to the NFL Week 12 Monday Night Football Showdown Slate!

We’ve got a very interesting match-up tonight as most people simply look at the two teams and assume the Seattle Seahawks, with all of their marquee talent, are the better team. However, the Seahawks have now lost their last two-straight games and five of their last six. They play a very slow-paced game and don’t run as many plays as they once did before Shane Waldron took over as the offensive coordinator.

Meanwhile, the Washington Football Team has won their last two games and pushed themselves right back into playoff contention in the NFC East. A win tonight puts them in a very good spot to compete the rest of the way, so expect them to try and pull out all the stops. With a few players coming back from injury, this could be the first time since Week 1 they had all of their weapons available. 

Now before we begin, please take a moment to understand what exactly you are getting yourself into by playing single-game Showdown Slates. We love to have some skin in the game, for sure, but these slates are, for all intents and purposes, a lottery ticket. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but, more often than not, you need to hit on that random dart-throw that differentiates your lineup from that of the herd in order to claim the top prize. As a result, we encourage you to play responsibly and not over-invest. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll, and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

OK. Lecture over. Let’s get to tonight’s action.

Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team

Spread: Seahawks -1

O/U: 47.5

Weather: mostly clear with temperatures in the mid-30s; winds NW 5 mph

Notable Injuries:

Seattle Seahawks

Rashaad Penny, RB – hamstring (out)

Travis Homer, RB – calf (out)

Damien Lewis, LG – elbow (out)

Washington Football Team

Curtis Samuel, WR – groin (questionable)

Adam Humphries, WR – hip (questionable)

Ricky Seals-Jones, TE – hip (doubtful)

Tyler Larsen, C – knee (out)

Samuel Cosmi, RT – hip (out)

DVOA Defensive Rankings

Seahawks

vs Pass: 25th 

vs Run: 9th 

Washington

vs Pass: 30th 

vs Run: 11th 

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/Captain

Terry McLaurin, WR WAS – After a two-game lull, McLaurin was back on top last week with another 100-yard effort and his fifth touchdown of the season. Bless Austin is going to have his hands full all night and has been beaten on the deep ball before this season so expect Washington to take some shots downfield.

Russell Wilson, QB SEA – Tough to put your trust into Wilson based on his last two games, but the extra rest, extra preparation and the fact that Washington’s secondary has been atrocious all year should help him get back to that level of play we’re used to seeing. The bounce-back is coming and no better time to start than the present.

DK Metcalf, WR SEA – He’ll spend most of his time being covered by Kendall Fuller which may not look great on paper based off Fuller’s coverage numbers, but Metcalf has significant physical advantages over the cornerback and should put them on display all game long.

Mid-Tier

Taylor Heinicke, QB WAS – If you’re like me, you’ve got concerns over the Washington ground game, especially with their center and right tackle both being out. Heinicke should take it to the air against a weak Seattle secondary and even if the coverage tightens, the check-downs to McKissic will be in full effect this week.

Tyler Lockett, WR SEA – Whether it’s Landon Collins covering the slot or William Jackon on the outside, Lockett’s speed should be on full display tonight for deep shots downfield. He’s racked up more than 100 receiving yards in two of his last three games and continues to see strong target numbers each and every week.

Logan Thomas, TE WAS – Thomas is expected to be activated off IR in time for this game and with Ricky Seals-Jones doubtful, you can probably expect Thomas to get 100-percent of the snaps, just like before. The Seahawks rank 17th in DVOA against the position but they’re also allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to them.

J.D. McKissic, RB WAS – If Washington struggles to get the running game going, they’ll turn to a more pass-heavy game-plan which puts McKissic on the field more as the pass-catching back. Seattle ranks 31st in DVOA against running back pass-plays, so if he can grab a half-dozen passes, he’ll easily pay off his salary. If he can get into the end zone, even better.

Alex Collins, RB SEA – The Seahawks are a slow, plodding team and they’ll try to get Collins heavily involved early as Pete Carroll loves to establish the run. Washington is allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game, but they have allowed eight rushing touchdowns on the year. Collins won’t give you a ton of yards, but he could find his way into the end zone.

DeAndre Carter, WR WAS – The Seahawks actually rank 26th in DVOA against the opposition’s No. 2 receiver which has clearly been Carter over the past few weeks. He’s got touchdowns in each of his last three games and will look to keep that streak alive against such a suspect secondary. 

Antonio Gibson, RB WAS – He’s going to have some difficulty getting the ground game established, but Ron Rivera and Scott Turner like to at least try to do so. I would guess a lot of outside zone runs to the left side, so if you’re thinking he maintains this 21-carry average we’ve seen over the last two weeks, he’s a nice contrarian play.

DeeJay Dallas, RB SEA – People are starting to hone in on Dallas a little more lately what with Washington ranking 23rd in DVOA against running back pass-plays and the Seahawks being without two members of their backfield in Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer. Expect him to be on the field for passing downs which could result in a few extra targets this week. 

Gerald Everett, TE SEA – Washington usually doe a good job against th tight end, rankings 12th in DVOA against the position, but they are allowing almost 60 receiving yards per game to them and they’re giving up almost 13 fantasy points per game to the position as well. Everett has seen an uptick in targets over the past two games, so this could be an interesting spot for him.

Dart Throws

Curtis Samuel, WR WAS – Perpetually injured, but Rivera and Turner love this kid and, even better, love to use him the way the 49ers use Deebo Samuel. We saw them utilize Samuel as both a runner and receiver when they were all in Carolina together and Turner always seems to get the best out of Samuel when he is healthy. Risk? Sure, but for a dart-throw? This could really pay off.

Will Dissly, TE SEA – The Seahawks have been throwing to their back-up tight end more than they have their third receiver over the past two weeks. If this trend continues, Dissly will be a better dart-throw than either Freddie Swain or Dee Eskeridge.

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