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Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans will feature two quarterbacks who can change a game more with their legs than their throwing arm.
The Eagles (3-8-1) have moved on from Carson Wentz for now and have installed second-round rookie QB Jalen Hurts as their starter this week. Hurts replaced a struggling Wentz early in the third quarter of last week’s loss to the Packers and completed 5 of 12 passes for 109 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also picked up 29 yards on five rushes. Tight end Dallas Goedert paced the team’s receiving corps with five catches on seven targets for 66 yards. But Goedert was targeted just twice by Hurts; their only connection went for 6 yards. Wideout Jalen Reagor caught his only target of the afternoon — a 34-yard pass from Hurts — and also returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown. Philly couldn’t get its ground game revved up, and Miles Sanders ended the day with 10 carries for 31 yards.
The Saints (10-2) got past the Falcons last week to notch their eighth consecutive victory. Taysom Hill had his best performance as a passer, going 27 for 37 for 232 yards and throwing his first two passing touchdowns in the NFL. He added 83 rushing yards on 14 carries. The mild panic surrounding Alvin Kamara died down a little bit as he racked up 88 rushing yards and a score. However, he still wasn’t much of a factor as a pass-catcher (two receptions on three targets for 9 yards). Hill’s touchdowns were caught by Tre’Quan Smith and tight end Jared Cook, but he continued to lean on Michael Thomas whenever possible. Thomas registered a 9-105-0 line on 11 targets.
TV Info
Date: Sunday, Dec. 13
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Broadcast map
Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)
Saints: #1 Overall — #8 offense, #2 defense, #7 special teams
Eagles: #26 Overall — #29 offense, #15 defense, #14 special teams
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Saints: -7, -315
Eagles: +7, +265
Total: 44
Fantasy football start/sit advice
Saints
Michael Thomas, WR, $7,100
Thomas should be a chalky pick on DraftKings. He has a 38 percent target share in Hill’s three starts and has topped 100 yards twice. The only time he didn’t reach the century mark was in that weird game at Denver a couple of weeks ago when Hill attempted just 16 throws. Thomas is due for a touchdown and should be able to win often in this matchup against Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, who is dealing with calf and knee injuries. Ten WRs have a higher price than Thomas on DraftKings this week.
Latavius Murray, RB, $5,400
Murray starred in Week 12 against the Broncos and then fell back into the shadows versus the Falcons, gaining a total of 17 yards on seven touches. Anything is possible, but that kind of line is much more likely from Murray than his 124-yard, two-TD performance the week prior. Murray isn’t worth your time in any format, especially against an Eagles run defense that ranks as the fifth-best in the league on DraftKings. The benefit of that one big, outlier week from Murray is it has helped lower Kamara’s price to a relatively affordable $7,100.
Eagles
Jalen Hurts, QB, $5,100
The Saints are a hellacious matchup for quarterbacks. They have allowed just six passing TDs since their Week 6 bye and have yet to permit 300 yards to any QB. However, Hurts is probably going to be a popular play in Week 14. It might be a bumpy ride, but his price and rushing upside make him very much worth a DFS roster spot.
Dallas Goedert, TE, $4,000
Goedert has been one of the best tight ends in fantasy for the past three weeks. However, there are question marks now pasted all over his Week 14 outlook. Can he produce against a Saints defense that has allowed only one tight end to exceed 30 yards since Week 4? How much will Zach Ertz cut into his target share in his second week back from IR? Will Jalen Hurts target him as often as Carson Wentz? There are too many red flags here to really trust Goedert this week.