Welcome to the Sunday Night Showdown Slate for NFL Week 10!

We have a matchup of two struggling offenses with the Ravens heading to New England to face the Patriots. First, for the road team, Baltimore’s offense has taken a huge step back from a year ago with their passing attack as Lamar Jackson is completing just 62.9-percent of his passes this season. Now, his 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions looks much better than his counterpart in this game Cam Newton , there has been a lot of frustration regarding his inconsistent play. When it comes to running the football the Ravens lead the league, averaging 170.1 yards per game. This is a great matchup for the Ravens tonight as the Patriots defense ranks 31st per DVOA against the run. Baltimore uses a trio of players in their backfield with Mark Ingram , Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins all seeing their share of snaps. Ingram is expected to return this week after missing the previous few games due to injury.

For the Patriots, their offensive struggles have been noted, especially with their passing attack. While Cam Newton is completing nearly 70-percent of his passes, he has just two touchdowns with seven interceptions. Recently Jakobi Meyers has stepped up to be the team’s top receiving target, notching back-to-back games with double-digit targets. It’s possible that N’Keal Harry makes his return to the Patriots lineup tonight after missing the prior two games due to a concussion. It will not be an easy task for this passing offense against a tough Ravens defense. What New England does do well is run the football. The average the fourth most rushing yards per game, lead by second-year player Damien Harris and, of course, quarterback Cam Newton who has eight rushing touchdowns on the season.

Before we start, please allow me to reiterate that while we all love having a little skin in the game, these showdown slates are basically lottery tickets. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but more often than not, you need that random, differentiate yourself from the herd dart-throw to hit in order to claim that top prize. As a result, we encourage to play responsibly. 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.

 

Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots

Spread: Patriots +7

O/U: 44

Weather: 50 degrees, overcast, rain expected around 9pm ET with winds reaching 20 mph/

Notable Injuries:

Ravens:

Calais Campbell – calf (out)

Jimmy Smith – calf (doubtful)

Mark Ingram – ankle (questionable)

Patriots:

Damien Harris – chest/ankle (questionable

N’Keal Harry  – concussion (questionable)

Stephon Gilmore -  knee (questionable)

Defensive Rankings (Using DVOA)

Ravens:

vs Pass: 7th

vs Run: 1st

Patriots:

vs Pass: 30th

vs Run: 31st

 

Please note the players listed below are in order of preference. If a player is not listed that does not mean they are a full fade for your lineups.

MVP/Captain

Ravens D/ST – In rare matchups do I think a defense is worth using as a captain/MVP and tonight is going to be one of those nights. The Patriots offense has shown minor improvements of late, but the competition has been the Bills and Jets during that recent stretch. They now face off against one of the leagues top defensive units and I am skeptical at best that New England will be able to sustain much. Using the Ravens D/ST as your captain/MVP also is a nice salary saver to fill out your util spots.

Lamar Jackson , QB BAL – Jackson is the most expensive play on the board tonight but it’s for good reason. The Patriots rank near dead last in most defensive categories this season and though Jackson at times has struggled, this would be a matchup that he should be able to take advantage of with both his arm and legs. He will for sure be in my lineups tonight, whether it be as an captain/MVP or util play.

Marquise Brown , WR BAL – If you watched last Monday’s game between the Jets and Patriots then you saw Breshad Perriman just torch this secondary on deep patterns. So, while Brown has struggled this year due to Jackson’s passing regression, there is likely going to be some opportunities for Brown to hit that home run play tonight. This makes him a nice boom or bust captain/mvp option.

Mid-Tier

Baltimore RBs – I know this isn’t overly helpful but one of these three running backs is going to find the end zone tonight. It honestly could be two of the three, the Patriots run defense is that bad and we know that the Ravens will use Mark Ingram , Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins pretty evenly. I’d love to say the answer here is going to be Dobbins given that Ingram is just returning from injury but it’s really a toss up.

Cam Newton , QB NE – Newton has looked better of late and his ability to scramble with the football will help his fantasy floor. Newton has eight rushing TD’s on the season but when throwing the football he has just two passing TD’s and seven interceptions. This will be the toughest defense he has faced this year. Things will not be easy.

Mark Andrews , TE BAL – The Patriots generally do a very good job shutting down tight ends. Even this season they have held the likes of Travis Kelce , Darren Waller and George Kittle to pedestrian fantasy outputs. Andrews touchdown upside is the only real appeal for me tonight.

Jakobi Meyers, WR NE – Meyers has been the top receiving target over the past few weeks, garnering 30 targets over the last three games which included 14 targets last week against the Jets. The Ravens secondary is an elite unit and Meyers will really need to work to get his yards today.

Dart Throws

Justin Tucker , K BAL – One of the leagues top kickers should get a few shots tonight. Typically in games with low point totals like we have tonight we can expect a few field goals. I would even consider Tucker as an captain/MVP play tonight if you really want to spend down. He has 50+ yard range which is great for his value.

N’Keal Harry, WR NE – If Harry is active tonight he is worth a dart throw. He has the size to be a red zone target and at times has flashed the ability that made him a first-round pick. There are numerous videos and screencaps from games this season where he was open and Cam Newton just missed him. With New England simplifying the offense of late, maybe Harry gets seen this time.