Welcome to the Sunday Night Showdown Slate for NFL Week 15!

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, differentiated yourself from the herd dart-throw to hit in order to claim that top prize. As a result, we are encouraged 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.

Cleveland Browns vs New York Giants

Spread: Browns -6.5

O/U: 44.5

Weather: High 30’s, partly cloudy but no precipitation; winds 1 MPH.

 Notable Injuries

Browns:

None

Giants:

Daniel Jones, QB (ankle – OUT)

James Bradberry, CB ( Covid-IR – OUT)

DVOA Defense Ranks

Browns:

vs Pass: 11th

vs Run: 9th

Giants:

vs Pass: 18th

vs Run: 14th

Please note that players not listed below do not mean they are a complete fade. All players listed can be used as MVP/Captain.

MVP/Captain

Browns Defense: Yes, I know the Browns were just lit up by the Ravens but Colt McCoy is no Lamar Jackson. With the Browns defense back healthy I am expecting them to get after this Giants offense and an offensive line that ranks among the leagues worst in pressures allowed and sacks allowed. Plus, they start with 15 FP when using them in your MVP/Cpt slot.

Nick Chubb, RB CLE – Chubb has been a monster of late with four rushing touchdowns over the last three games while totaling at least 100 total yards in every game since returning from IR. I know the Giants run defense is solid but few teams are stopping Chubb right now.

Jarvis Landry, WR CLE – Landry is getting a ton of volume in this offense right now as the top receiver in the offense and while he wasn’t going to draw James Bradberry coverage, it helps that the Giants secondary is without their best player. Love Landry in these PPR formats.

 Mid-Tier

Baker Mayfield, QB CLE – Yes, this playbook has been all Browns so far but for good reason in my opinion. While the Giants defense has been better of late, they did allow three touchdowns to Kyler Murray last week and well we all saw what Baker just did to the Ravens. With the Giants missing their top corner tonight I think we should see another multiple touchdown game from Mayfield.

Rashard Higgins, WR CLE – Higgins has 19 targets over the last two games while totaling 12 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He gets the benefit that James Bradberry will not be playing in this game for the Giants as he likely would have drawn that lock down coverage. We expect Baker to take some shots down field tonight.

Evan Engram, TE NYG – The Giants passing attack is in tough shape with Colt McCoy who is largely a game manager but at least we saw Engram get 17 targets with McCoy under center in place of Daniel Jones. The upside is limited but he would be the Giant receiver worth taking a shot on tonight.

Graham Gano, K NYG – I don’t think the Giants will score many touchdowns tonight but they could be set up for a handful of field goal attempts which will benefit the veteran kicker here. While he has just one field goal attempt over the last two games, he did attempt four against the Bengals a few weeks back and has the leg to kicker it from 50-plus yards out.

Kareem Hunt, RB CLE – We saw Hunt have himself a big game against the Ravens last week and he could very well be in for another solid game tonight given his ability to impact both the running and passing game. Will this game be as high scoring as Monday night? Most likely no, but it doesn’t mean Hunt can’t find the end zone either.

Wayne Gallman, RB NYG – Gallman should get the volume and we saw the Ravens run all over this Browns defense last week but the Giants offense is not the Ravens offense so while Gallman could certainly have some success I would temper my expectations.

Dart Throws

Austin Hooper, TE CLE – Hooper is active tonight and while in recent weeks his target share has not been there that does not mean he is a complete fade given the showdown slate variance. Though catching just two passes against Jacksonville in Week 12 he did find the end zone and that’s the type of dart throw we want.

Sterling Shepard, WR NYG – Solid contributor but again, being down on the Giants passing offense I think his upside is a bit limited. What he does have going for him however is the target share having seen no less than five targets in all but one game this season.