Sunday Night Showdown Strategy: Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants

Week 6 of the NFL season continues with a bang as the Bengals take on the Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford In this article, I’ll share my top DFS showdown picks and strategies for DraftKings and FanDuel, helping you build winning lineups.

For a deeper dive into general showdown rules, make sure to check out David Jones’s “Daily Fantasy Football Showdown: Strategy for Building Winning Lineups” article. It’s essential reading for anyone crafting MME lineups, as player salary and team dynamics can impact each game’s approach.

Link: https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-football-showdown-strategy/

Note on Quarterbacks:

I will not write up the quarterbacks because the wide receiver and tight end section tend to cover the matchups. The QB rankings are at the bottom of the article. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Running Back

The Giants have been a good team against the run this season, allowing only 424 rushing yards in the first five games, the seventh-fewest. The Giants have also allowed the 13th fewest fantasy points to running backs, at 21.8 DK. The Bengals’ backfield has been a bit of a mess through five weeks. Both Chase Brown and Zack Moss have seen 40+ carries and have double-digit receptions.

Last week was the first week where Brown saw more touches than Moss. Brown had 12 carries, three receptions, and scored a touchdown. Meanwhile, Moss saw three fewer touches with nine carries and three receptions but failed to find the end zone. Both running backs are dealing with injuries, but neither should miss Sunday’s game. Of the two, I am going to prioritize Moss as he is priced $600 cheaper on DK, and he should see an identical workload as Brown.

Tier 1: Zack Moss/Chase Brown

Wide Receiver

New York has been alright against wide receivers this season. They allow the fourteenth fewest DK points to opposing wide receivers at 32.8. The Giants are also tied for the fourth most receiving touchdowns allowed to opposing wide receivers. The Giants have the challenge of stopping Ja’Marr Chase and a Bengals team hungry for a win.

The top guy for the Bengals is Chase. He is top 10 in the NFL in receiving yards (493), receptions (29), touchdowns (5), and YAC (233). Chase is a must-play on name alone, but this week is a lock because of his matchup. He sees a target on 20.8% of his routes and is now going up against Cor’Dale Flott, who allows the second most points per route to opposing wide receivers of all of NY’s corners. Chase is averaging 2.66 yards per route run. Meanwhile, Flott allows 1.25 yards, the second most of the Giant’s defensive backs.

The other player who has a favorable matchup is Tee Higgins. Higgins has been solid since returning in Week 3; he has 30 targets for 18 receptions, 182 yards, and two touchdowns. This week, Higgins is going to see a lot of Deonte Banks, who is allowing .4 fantasy points per route, which is the most points given up by any Giant player. I will still prioritize using Chase over Higgins, but if you are fading Chase in any lineup, then Higgins is a must.

Andrei Iosivas will be the Bengal’s third receiver, but he is more of a deeper punt play for me this week. He has only had two receptions for 68 yards on three targets in the past two weeks. Higgins being fully back has ended the momentum Iosivas had to start the year.

Tier 1: Ja’Marr Chase

Tier 2: Tee Higgins

Punts/Fades: Andrei Iosivas

Tight End

The Giants have been okay against tight ends this season. They have given up the 18th most DK to opposing tight ends at 9.6. They have allowed 25 receptions for 231 yards but have not given up a touchdown. Similarly to their running game, the Bengals tight end situation is a bit of a mess. Over the past three weeks, both Erick All Jr. and Mike Gesicki have seen at least eight targets, with All leading the two with 10. For that reason, both tight ends are in play for me. Of the two, I will have more of Gesicki, while I like All Jr. I think Gesicki should find the end zone this week.

Tier 1: Mike Gesicki

Tier 2: Erick All Jr. 

New York Giants

Running Back

The Bengals have been decent against running backs this season. They have allowed 556 rushing yards and five touchdowns. They are also allowing the thirteenth most fantasy points to opposing running backs at 24.5. The Bengals will catch a bit of a break as starting running back Devin Singletary will be out.

With Singletary out, the backfield is going to be split between two guys, Eric Gray and Tyrone Tracy. Without Singletary last week, Tracy led all running backs with 45 snaps, and Gray got 26. Gray’s fumble at the goal line gave Tracy the starting role. So, while I think Gray will see some work, mainly in the passing game, this is going to be a big workload game for Tracy.

Tier 1: Tyrone Tracy

Tier 2: Eric Gray

Wide Receiver

The Bengals have been decent against wide receivers this season. They are ranked 16th in DK points allowed per game at 34.4. They have allowed 59 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Just like the running back situation, the Bengals are catching a break as rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers will be out.

With no Nabers last week, only two wide receivers that saw targets were Wan’Dale Robinson and Darius Slayton. Slayton led the two with 11 targets, while Robinson finished two behind with nine. With Nabers out, Slayton should get Cam Taylor-Britt for large portions of the game. Britt is allowing 1.79 yards and .38 fantasy points per route. Robinson also gets a favorable matchup in the slot. He is averaging the most fantasy points for an active Giants wide receiver.

Jalin Hyatt is also in play, last week he played 67% of the Giants snaps but didn’t see any targets. He is not reliable but with another week under his belt with more first team snaps, he can see a slight increase in his workload. At $2000 he doesn’t need much to have a solid game.

Tier 1: Wan’Dale Robinson/Darius Slayton

Punt: Jalin Hyatt

Tight End

The Bengals have not been great going up against tight ends. They give up the ninth most points to opposing tight ends at 13.2 DK. Tight ends have 23 receptions, and 247 yards, and have three touchdowns.

Theo Johnson is the Giant’s top tight end. He has 13 targets in the first five weeks, which is the most for a Giants tight end. His $4200 price makes it slightly more of a priority for me. He saw a season-high five targets last week without Nabers in the lineup. Nabers was averaging 13 targets per game, so while Robinson and Slayton will see a lot more targets, there will still be targets available that Johnson should take advantage of. 

I want no Daniel Bellinger who is the Giants second tight end. He has played 73 snaps but has only been targeted twice. Unless you are maxing out the 150 contests, he shouldn’t be in your lineups. Unless Johnson gets hurt, he will not see any work.

Tier 1: Theo Johnson

Punt/Fade: Daniel Bellinger

FanDuel MVP and DraftKings CPT Picks—SNF Showdown 

I want a high-usage player at MVP on FanDuel like a quarterback or a workhorse running back. You need the highest-scoring player, not the best value. The salaries do not change from flex to MVP on FanDuel, so the value at the MVP is not a priority. Take the points up top. 

On DraftKings, you look for the best “value” in the mid to high price range. 

FanDuel

DraftKings

Flex Tier 1:

• Ja’Marr Chase
• Wan’Dale Robinson
• Tyrone Tracy
• Joe Burrow
• Tee Higgins
• Daniel Jones
• Darius Slayton
• Zack Moss
• Chase Brown
• Theo Johnson

Flex Tier 2/Punts:

• Bengals D/ST
• Giants D/ST
• Evan McPherson
• Greg Joseph
• Andrei Iosivas
• Mike Gesicki
• Erick All Jr
• Eric Gray
• Jalin Hyatt
• Isaiah Hodgins

Best Rules for the slate:

• Play at least 1
  • Wan’Dale Robinson and/or Darius Slayton
  • Ja’Marr Chase and/or Tee Higgins
• Don’t play more than 1 defense.
• Don’t play more than 2 skill positions against your defense.
• Don’t play a kicker against your defense
• Don’t play your MVP QB against the opposing defense
• Stack your kicker with at least one skill player, someone has to move the ball down the field

Favorite prop for the game: Wan’Dale Robinson Over 51.5 Receiving Yards (-110 FD) and 60+ (+138)