NFL Showdown can be a fickle beast. These contests do not rely on median projections so much as leverage and uniqueness. Fading the highest-rostered plays can be a risky proposition. Typically, your edge is going to come by identifying the best low-rostered plays and finding clever ways to pair them with the juggernauts of the slate.

This article will have a heavy DraftKings lean simply because the Showdown decision-making process is more interesting, given the salary premium attached to the Captain spot. FanDuel's pricing is the same for both MVP and Flex spots. You will usually need the slate's top scorer at MVP, so FanDuel's strategy revolves around unique Flex builds.

Advice in this article will pertain predominantly to tournament lineups and strategy. For cash lineups, build around median projections. For head-to-head contests, continue to lean into the median projections, but if two options project closely, give the nod to the lowest rostered player.

Game Theory

Vegas isn’t overly worried by the 49ers’ injury woes. They’re still a solid -4.5 home favorite over the down-bad Cowboys. That said, the 48.5 projected total reflects a serious lack of offensive firepower on the field. Cash games will favor the simple, stripped-down approach: chase the locked-in volume of CeeDee Lamb and Jordan Mason. Those looking to win deep Showdowns, though, will look at all the peripheral options.

Injury Report

Indianapolis will be starting Joe Flacco after Anthony Richardson was benched this past week. On the defensive side of the ball, Kwity Paye is questionable for a defensive end unit that is not deep, as they've already had three players be placed on IR. If he was unable to go, this would boost the Vikings deep threat ability. Viking's deep-threat 

Minnesota lost Christian Darrisaw for the season with a knee injury. This is a massive loss to lose their potential Pro Bowl left tackle. They traded for Cam Robinson this week, but Robinson himself is not 100% healthy as he has not played since Week 7. It’s unclear whether Robinson is able to play this week on just three days' notice since joining the team. It seems likely they give him the start with very little other options at left tackle. The Vikings did get some good news this week as guard Dalton Risner was activated off of IR. Risner will likely start at left guard this week which should improve their rushing upside this week.

Captain Consideration

1. Justin Jefferson
2. Josh Downs
3. Joe Flacco
4. Aaron Jones
5. Michael Pittman Jr.
6. Jordan Addison (longshot captain)

Indianapolis Colts

Quarterback

Joe Flacco (CPT or FLEX)

With the return of Joe Flacco comes upside within this Colts passing offense. While Flacco has not produced the level of success that he did in Cleveland last season, the signs are still there for a breakout performance this week. In his two games as a starter, Flacco has had one game under 200 passing yards and one game against Jacksonville, where he threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Flacco is mostly going to be matchup-dependent going forward as he has the arm talent to carve up a team like Jacksonville, but he will struggle against some of the better pass defenses like we saw against Tennessee. The good news for Flacco is that this matchup is much closer to the Jacksonville matchup, as Minnesota is struggling to stop the pass. Last week, they allowed Matthew Stafford to throw for 279 yards and four touchdowns. Minnesota has allowed 275 passing yards in three of their last four games while allowing multi-touchdowns in all four of those contests.

Running Back