The NFL regular season is almost over as we’re already onto Week 14, starting with Thursday Night Football — a clash between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. Below, I’ll go over my top DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown picks for the Patriots vs Steelers TNF Week 14 game.
For those who watched last Thursday’s action-packed game between the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys and are expecting more of that, then I have some bad news. This game’s total opened at just 30 points on DraftKings Sportsbook, the lowest in sportsbook history. Neither team can score consistently nor string together enough plays to even make people think they’re real NFL teams.
It’s a good old-fashioned Bailey Zappe versus Mitch Trubisky quarterback duel –– what could get better than that? Perhaps no football at all but let’s dive into how you should tackle this week’s DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown fantasy football slate. I’ll highlight my favorite Captain’s plays and FLEX plays below.
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NFL DFS Showdown DraftKings Picks for Patriots vs Steelers TNF Week 14
Favorite Captain NFL DFS Picks
Ezekiel Elliott ($14,100)
With Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined for multiple weeks, the backfield is right there for Ezekiel Elliott to command. Stevenson was essentially New England’s only consistent offensive threat, and with QB struggles at an all-time high, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Elliott leaned on heavily. While Pittsburgh’s pass rush will certainly present some serious issues, its run defense hasn’t been as stout as one would imagine –– allowing over 121.0 rushing yards per game. As long as Zeke dominates the touches, he’ll likely be able to produce some solid fantasy value.
We can’t expect any high-scorers tonight because the score will likely be 12-9 with seven field goals, but Zeke offers the most upside of any Patriots player to find the end zone and even during their struggles, Stevenson still found success. It’s hard to justify paying over $14K for Ezekiel Elliott in the year 2023 but the volume is going to be there and hopefully, we see him eat.
As for the second and third options at the Captain’s spot, as expected, there isn’t much value. I’d seriously consider rostering the Steelers D/ST ($9,900), who could very easily be the highest scorer of the night because the Patriots have scored a total of *checks notes* 13 points over the last three games.
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Favorite Value FLEX NFL DFS Picks
Mitch Trubisky ($9,200)
Yes, I’m aware that we’re rostering Nickelodeon’s Most Valuable Player, Mitch Trubisky, but I like his chances of producing viable fantasy numbers against a Patriots’ defense that still has some weaknesses. We all witnessed Kenny Pickett’s struggles all season, but it seemed to look better once Matt Canada was fired as OC. Trubisky already has some experience and quite a solid disposal of weapons at any given time. He should be able to exploit a New England secondary that has allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers (434.4) this season.
Again, the scoring is not going to be there and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Trubisky finish the night with a mediocre stat line, but in a game like this, finding value is important. You can roster any of Pittsburgh’s pass-catchers or running backs but it’s simply too hard to predict who receives the most attention from Trubisky. New England’s run defense is much better than its pass defense, as well, so Pittsburgh should look to throw more often this week.
Like I said above with Zeke, there isn’t much value with this player pool. Assuming you rolled with the Steelers D/ST already, I’d suggest Chris Boswell ($5,400) or Hunter Henry ($5,200) for the cheap plug-in players as the Steelers should be able to move the ball enough to get into field goal range and Zappe will lean on the short-passing game.
Favorite NFL DFS Picks: NFL DFS Showdown DraftKings Picks for Patriots vs Steelers TNF Week 14
| Captain | Ezekiel Elliott ($14,100) |
| FLEX | Mitch Trubisky ($9,800) |
| FLEX | Steelers D/ST ($6,600) |
| FLEX | Jaylen Warren ($8,000) |
| FLEX | Chris Boswell ($5,400) |
| FLEX | Hunter Henry ($5,200) |
| Salary Remaining: | $1,500 |
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