Week 6 of the NFL season gets underway on Thursday Night Football with a prime-time NFC matchup between the Commanders and Bears at 8:15 p.m. ET. The oddsmakers can’t decide who is the favorite in this matchup, which is indicative of where both teams stand through five weeks. There aren’t many DFS stars on either team, which means we have to really hunt for sleepers and potential breakouts when putting together our DraftKings Showdown lineup.
The toughest question is whether to fade Washington’s backfield or try to guess which one of Brian Robinson Jr., J.D. McKissic, or Antonio Gibson will have the best game. We’re opting to fade that situation entirely and instead focus mostly on the passing games for each team.
MORE TNF: FanDuel Lineup (coming soon)
Here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They’re full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player’s original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Commanders vs. Bears Week 6 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): QB Justin Fields, Bears ($15,000)
Fields is the “safer” quarterback in this matchup despite not having the receiving options that Carson Wentz possesses. The second-year quarterback is coming off his best performance this season last week, completing 15-of-21 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown and adding 47 rushing yards. That’s not a huge performance, but for a young QB without much receiving talent, it’s a good start. He should be able to put up similar numbers against the Commanders, who allow the 11th-most DraftKings points per game to QBs this season. His rushing floor is the key here, as he’s run for at least 47 yards in each of his past three games (146 total). That’s the equivalent of an extra passing TD per game.
FLEX WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders ($9,000)
McLaurin only has one touchdown on the season for Washington but has scored 10 or more fantasy points in four out of five games this season, giving him a decent floor most weeks. Statistically, this isn’t a great matchup, but McLaurin is the Commanders’ top playmaker, and he’s always a threat to hit 100 yards, which he did in a similarly tough matchup in Week 3 against the Eagles. If he can record 100 yards Thursday night, that will give your lineup a three-point bonus, which could be the difference between a win or loss.
FLEX WR Curtis Samuel, Commanders ($8,200)
Sticking with the Commanders’ WRs, Samuel has been one of the standout stars in fantasy this season after struggling in his first year with Washington. Through five weeks, the versatile wide receiver leads the Commanders in receptions (32) and targets (45) and is second in receiving yards (281). He’s also averaging 15.2 DraftKings points per game, which is better than McLaurin (12.3). Samuel is more reliable at this point, especially in full-point PPR formats, and will be featured often on Thursday night, especially if Jahan Dotson (hamstring) can’t play. Samuel might be the best WR in this game, so don’t overthink this pick!
FLEX WR Darnell Mooney, Bears ($7,600)
Mooney has had a couple of great catches this season but has not scored a touchdown. However, that should change on Thursday night, as the Commanders have allowed seven touchdowns to wide receivers this season (third most in the NFL). Mooney only had 7.2 DraftKings points last week against the Vikings (two receptions for 52 yards), but he posted 13.4 points the prior week against the Giants. Mooney is the team’s best WR, and the Commanders know that. However, it would be crazy for the Bears to not feature him against a defense that is giving up 190 yards per game to WRs this season (fourth most in the NFL).
FLEX RB Khalil Herbert, Bears ($6,200)
Herbert took a back seat last week to David Montgomery, who returned from an ankle injury. The second-year running back had a season-low 11 yards on four carries against the Vikings. The last time Herbert had fewer than 10 fantasy points was in Week 2 against the Packers, where he had 38 yards on four carries (5.1 fantasy points). It’s hard to trust Herbert on Thursday night because the Bears could continue to feature Montgomery more. However, Herbert has shown multiple times this season that he can be a playmaker out of the backfield. Furthermore, the Commanders are slightly below average against RBs and allow 110.6 rushing yards per game. Herbert should give our lineup some differentiation, too, as DFS players might be scared off by last week’s dud.
FLEX DST Bears ($4,000)
The Bears’ D/ST should feast against the Commanders on Thursday night. Washington allows the fourth-most DraftKings points to D/STs this season and has struggled in pass protection. Wentz has been sacked an incredible 20 times, which includes three times last week against the Titans. The Bears’ defense only has eight sacks through five games. However, they should be able to sack Wentz a couple of times and force a turnover, providing some value at the end of your lineup.