Eagles vs. Commanders Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 8

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Eagles vs. Commanders Week 8 matchup on Sunday Night Football.

Find a breakdown of every Week 8 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Eagles vs. Commanders Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Jayden Daniels

Since returning to the lineup, Daniels has been the QB2 (32.3 points) and QB6 (21 points).

In Week 5, he did his damage as a runner, rushing for 22.3 points.

In Week 6, he ran for only 10 yards but threw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That was the second 300-yard passing game of his career.

The marriage of rushing and passing upside is what made Daniels so good in his rookie season.

That is what makes Daniels an upside QB1.

Daniels has averaged 8.0 Y/A and 7.5 Y/A in his two starts since injury.

When these teams met in Week 1, it wasn't pretty in a tough matchup, but Daniels still turned in a serviceable fantasy game.

He closed the week as the QB13 (17.7 points).

Daniels completed 18 of 34 passes (52.9%) for 164 yards and 4.8 yards per pass attempt.

He threw 2 touchdowns while adding 31 rushing yards to anchor a poor passing day.

Since the opener, the Eagles have trended in the wrong direction.

They have allowed three straight QB1 scoring weeks and top-12 weeks to four of the past five passers they have faced.

The Eagles still allow only a 59.8% completion rate (4th).

Dak Prescott (55.6%) and Bryce Young (51.3%) were inefficient in completing passes against the Eagles over the past two weeks.

But both, and previous quarterbacks, have connected on explosive plays and touchdowns.

When the Eagles allow completed passes, they give up 11.9 yards per completion (27th).

They allow a 4.5% touchdown rate (19th), with multiple passing touchdowns in five games.

One of this defense's biggest issues (other than being tied to the offense) is that they aren't getting to the quarterback.

The Eagles are 26th in pressure rate (26th) and last in the NFL in quick pressure rate (8.9%)

They are last in the NFL in sack rate (3.2%).

When the Eagles have gotten pressure, they have allowed a league-low 32.8% completion rate, 4.8 yards per pass attempt (7th), and a 0% touchdown rate.

Without pressure, they are allowing 7.9 Y/A (24th) and a 6.1% touchdown rate (24th).

That was the story in Week 1.

Their best game this season for creating pressure was Week 1 against this offense (40%).

When the Eagles pressured Daniels in Week 1, he threw 2 of 12 passes for 17 yards (1.4 Y/A).

Daniels' other avenue to score points when the pressure comes and passing is muted is his legs.

The Eagles are 26th in rushing points allowed to quarterbacks this season (3.9 per game).

Tanner McKee

McKee has finished as the QB18 (12.6 points) and QB22 (10.5 points) in his two starts.

The Eagles are so banged up offensively that you can give McKee some leeway, but it is ultimately hard to use him as more than back-end QB2 on needy 2QB rosters.

We did see gradual changes in the offense during McKee's second start, with a game plan built around him.

The Eagles went from a 21.3% rate under center in Week 6 up to 33.9% last week.

That allowed them to raise their play-action rate from 11.1% in Week 6 to 22.9% on Monday.

They went from a 43.8% rate of pre-snap motion to 52.6%.

Those are still bottom-end rates, but there was some growth.

McKee once again draws a favorable matchup if you are playing that card before accounting for who the Eagles may still be without on Sunday night.

Washington is 30th in passing points allowed (19.6 per game).

Washington has lived and died by the blitz this season.

They are blitzing at a 42.5% rate, second in the league.

When they blitz, Washington is allowing a 60.2% completion rate (13th) and 6.1 Y/A (12th).

Without it, they have allowed a 70.6% completion rate (29th) and 8.3 Y/A (30th).

When blitzed over the past two weeks, McKee has completed 10 of 21 passes (47.6%) for 4.8 yards per attempt.

Eagles vs. Commanders Fantasy Running Back Preview

Saquon Barkley

Barkley suited up Monday night and turned 9 touches into 71 yards and a touchdown on only 10 snaps.

He was still dealing with his hamstring injury.

On the first run of the game, Barkley went for 29 yards but pulled up out of bounds instead of hitting another gear.

He returned to the game and scored his first touchdown of the year, but after the first quarter, he was limited to just 4 more touches on 8.3% of snaps.

Barkley said he tweaked his hamstring on his first run of the game and then picked up a back injury trying to play through it.

He said neither was an issue and that his hamstring “came out great” despite what you have read.

The Eagles have a short week, so we will have to follow Barkley's availability in practice.

If he logs a full practice, we can feel more confident about going back to him, but the risk of re-injury still feels fragile and makes him a volatile RB2.

The thing is, Barkley has looked good on the small sample we have seen this year.

Especially in the context of this offense.

He is averaging 5.3 yards per touch.

He has a 44.2% success rate as a runner (12th among backs with 25-plus attempts) and a 10-plus-yard run on 14% of his carries (10th).

50% of his runs have gained more yards than expected per Next Gen Stats, third in the league.

But he has finished just two games.

Barkley rushed 15 times for 83 yards when these teams played in Week 1.

A 42-yard scamper in the second quarter anchored his rushing day.

Washington has allowed 3.8 YPC (10th) to running backs, allowing 0.89 yards before contact per rush (8th) on those runs.

They are third in the league in rate of runs allowed for 10 or more yards (5.7%).

If Barkley returns to sitting out, Dameon Pierce was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, leaving Elijah Mitchell (6 touches for 34 yards) and Jaydon Blue as the backfield duo. 

Rachaad White

White led the backfield in Week 6, playing 70.5% of snaps and turning 11 touches into 57 yards and a touchdown.

As a rusher, White was ineffective, rushing 7 times for 27 yards.

But he saved his night by catching 4 of 5 targets for 30 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.

White had 57.9% of the backfield touches and 53.9% of the rushing attempts, which is a flimsy profile for an RB2/FLEX.

The door is still open for White to concede more rushing work here.

Jeremy McNichols had 5 touches for 13 yards while Austin Ekeler had 3 touches for 7 yards.

The Eagles are coming off an embarrassing showing on Monday night, allowing 196 rushing yards to the Dallas backfield, 155 of which came from Javonte Williams.

The week before that, they allowed 120 yards on the ground to Chuba Hubbard.

In the Week 1 matchup, Washington backs rushed 27 times for 101 yards (3.7 YPC) and a touchdown, led by Jacory Croskey-Merritt (16 rushes for 63 yards).

Eagles vs. Commanders Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview

Stefon Diggs

Diggs caught 6 of 7 targets for 44 yards and his 4th touchdown of the year back in Week 6 before the bye.

Dan Quinn said the plan was to keep Diggs at a similar route rate, even after the Terry McLaurin injury.

Diggs has run a route on 69.2% of the dropbacks in his games played.

When McLaurin missed Week 4, Diggs was at 75.6%.

Diggs had a 25% target share in that game, which was played by QB3 Athan Kaliakmanis.

That ballpark will still work for Diggs as a WR3 with scoring upside.

Diggs leads Washington with a 27.3% target share.

He has 23.5% of red-zone targets in his games played, with a team-high 3 end-zone targets.

Diggs has played 63.2% of his snaps in the slot, which provides matchup appeal here.

The Eagles have allowed the most fantasy points to slot receivers (18.3 per game).

They allow the most receptions to slot receivers (5.7 per game), with 8.9 yards per target (18th) and a 10.2% touchdown rate (28th).

Washington wore out Cooper DeJean in the first matchup.

DeJean allowed 7 of 9 targets in his coverage to be completed for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Diggs caught 4 of 9 targets for 55 yards and a touchdown in the first matchup.

Antonio Williams

Williams will take on a larger role after the bye with Terry McLaurin done for the season.

Williams has the highest route rate on the team with McLaurin off the field (70.8%).

When McLaurin missed Week 4, Williams ran a route on 73.2% of the dropbacks, second only to Diggs.

In that game, Williams had a season-high 22.2% target share.

He caught only 3 of 8 targets for 21 yards in that game, but he was playing with Kaliakmanis.

Williams also had an 87-yard touchdown called back in that game.

The new opportunity puts Williams in play as a WR4/FLEX, but we still don't know if there's much ceiling to latch onto.

Williams is playing 42% of his snaps in the slot without McLaurin on the field, giving him a piece of the matchup notes laid out above.

Williams had a season-high 64 yards and his touchdown this season on only 11 routes in Week 1 when these teams played.

Makai Lemon

Lemon had the best game of his early career on Monday night, catching 7 of 8 targets for 67 yards and his 1st NFL touchdown.

Without DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, Lemon set season highs in route participation (92.1%) and targets share (24.2%).

We don't expect Smith back this week, and Wicks will impact Darius Cooper more than Lemon, so Lemon still has appeal as a WR4 to lead the receiving corps this week.

He only had 40 air yards on his targets and played 71% of his snaps from the slot, so he is still tied to a volume-necessity role.

Washington has been better against slot receivers than outside, allowing 6.6 yards per target (8th) to slot receivers compared to 9.6 yards per target out wide (26th).

Darius Cooper

Cooper started on Monday night and matched Lemon with a 92.1% route rate.

But he only caught 1 of 3 targets for 17 yards.

If Wicks remains out here, Cooper has another good matchup as WR4/FLEX or for single-game DFS.

Washington is 30th in points allowed to outside receivers (26.7 per game).

Treylon Burks

Burks will also get more playing time with McLaurin out.

With McLaurin out in Week 4, Burks ran a route on 61% of the dropbacks, catching a 47-yard touchdown on his lone reception.

Burks has played 75% of his snaps out wide, so he will face the worst of the matchup and line up most often against Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen, making him a touchdown-or-bust play for single-game DFS.

Eagles vs. Commanders Fantasy Tight End Preview

Dallas Goedert

Goedert caught 5 of 7 targets for 48 yards on Monday night.

In two games with McKee, Goedert has seen 8 and 7 targets, with targets on 21.6% and 29.2% of his routes.

This would be a smash spot if not for McKee, but Goedert still has matchup appeal and has shown a good floor with McKee to be an upside TE1.

Washington is 31st in points allowed per target to tight ends (2.63), allowing 9.0 yards per target (29th) and a league-high 16.3% touchdown rate to the position.

Goedert caught 4 of 5 targets for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns against Washington in Week 1.

Chig Okonkwo

Before the bye, Okonkwo played full-time for the first time this season in Week 6, catching all 7 of his targets for 69 yards.

Okonkwo ran a route on a season-high 88.9% of the dropbacks.

McLaurin obviously left the game with an injury, but we had already seen McLaurin miss Week 4, and in that game Okonkwo ran a route on just 61% of the dropbacks.

That could be happenstance, but Washington may view him as one of their best offensive players without McLaurin moving forward.

Okonkwo has target shares of 26.1% and 20% in his past two games, working as a fringe TE1/high-end TE2.

That role has more upside, but he faces another tough assignment here.

The Eagles aren't as dominant against tight ends this year as in previous seasons, but tight ends still account for only 14.7% of the fantasy points Philadelphia has allowed this season (4th).

The only high-end spike week they have allowed was Tommy Tremble, who had 2 touchdowns, the only 2 they have allowed to the position.

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