Thursday Night Football DFS Showdown Week 11

By Gladys Louise Tyler

Posted on November 15, 2023

Thursday Night Football: Bengals at Ravens

Now, this is a game. AFC North Divisional rivals Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) against the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens (7-3). Until the untimely news regarding Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Deshaun Watson, it was believed all four AFC North teams could make the playoffs. It appears to be a fight with the three where the Bengals are currently last in the division.

Both the Ravens and the Bengals lost last week. Burrow threw an untimely interception and opened the door to be out-Burrowed by Houston Texans’ rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Ravens blew a 31-17 lead against the Browns before losing on some Watson heroics 31-33.

This week looks to be a bit more challenging scoring-wise. Last week’s Showdown Slate winner recorded a 72.28 score that was shared among 314 entries. So, you get the flex for winning while getting $1.79 for your winning fees. But once again, there will be hurdles with injuries, and as we all know, divisional battles are untrustworthy.

LINES

The lines for Thursday night’s game between the Ravens and Bengals. The best online sports betting sites listed and compared here do have some different lines.

Cincinnati +4 (-112), Baltimore -4 (108)
Moneyline Cincinnati +160, Baltimore -192
Total o/u 46 (-110)

DFS: PLAYING THE GAME

Of course, you can play FanDuel or DraftKings or both. This article is specific to the scoring system of DraftKings and the strategy for a single entry. The DraftKings Single Entry Showdown Tournament requires six players to be rostered. The only limitation is that one player must be from an opposing team. So, you can go 5:1, 4:2, or 3:3 or any combination thereof.

In Showdown, there is also a Captain’s position that must be rostered. The player designated as Captain will have their point total multiplied 1.5 times. They will also have the salary multiplied by 1.5 times.

The DraftKings scoring system is PPR. Bonus points are awarded. The quarterback receives three bonus points for 300 passing yards. The running backs and receivers get three bonus points for over 100 yards rushing and/or receiving.

INJURIES

Cincinnati Bengals

WR, Tee Higgins, Hamstring, OUT
WR, Andrei Iosivos, Knee, OUT
DE, Sam Hubbard, Ankle, OUT
Baltimore Ravens
WR, Devin Duvernay, Hamstring, Questionable
T, Ronnie Staley, Knee, OUT
LB, Trenton Simpson, Concussion, OUT
CB, Marlon Humphrey, Calf, OUT

WEATHER REPORT

The Weather for Thursday Night will be 45F, with 0 chance of precipitation. The winds will be south at nine mph.

THE GAME

This game is a rematch of the Week 2 meeting. In Week 2, the game finished with a Baltimore win, 27-24. It is also a game where a calf injury slowed Joe Burrow.

In the Week 2 victory, Lamar Jackson was 24-for-33, for 237 yards, two passing touchdowns, and 54 rushing yards. Running back Gus Edwards had 62 rushing yards on 10 carries, while tight end Mark Andrews led all receivers with eight targets. Nelson Agholor led all receivers with 63 yards on five receptions, six targets, and one touchdown.

Burrow was 24-for-41 for 222 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Joe Mixon had 59 yards on 13 carries. Mixon was also targeted five times for four receptions and 36 yards. Higgins led all receivers with 12 targets, eight receptions, 89 yards, and two touchdowns.

This game will be without Higgins. But Burrow will come into the game healthy. The Ravens are without left tackle and cornerback.

The Bengals allow the third most rushing yards per game (136.2), while the Ravens give up 100.5 rushing yards per game. The Ravens are averaging 154.9 rushing yards per game (first in the league). The Bengals are averaging 74.8 rushing yards per game (32^nd in the league).

The Bengals offense is averaging 226.9 passing yards per game. The Ravens allow the fourth-fewest passing yards per game (173.1). The Bengals’ defense is 25^th in the league in passing yards allowed (247.8), while the Ravens offense averages 207.8 passing yards per game (20^th in the league).

Whatever the actual outcome, I’m sure you will need more than 72.28 points to win this Showdown.

PROP BETS

These props and odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. Find the props you are most comfortable with and shop around for the best odds.

First Cincinnati Bengals drive result = touchdown, +285

The Bengals have five straight games with the opening drive resulting in a touchdown.

Joe Burrow over 1.5 passing touchdowns -110

Burrow has thrown multiple touchdowns in his last five games, including two last week, one to Ja’Marr Chase and one to Trenton Irwin. And remember, the Ravens will be without Humphrey.

Parlay: Bengals +3.5, over 46, Ravens Moneyline -175 (+1200)

The game will be as close as most divisional rivalries. The Ravens will try to utilize the run more while the Bengals go for the passing game (look for Mixon to have double-digit targets).

CAPTAIN SPOT

This game has at least eight viable players available for the Captain spot. So, I am just going to give you my line-up and pray.

Captain: Lamar Jackson, $16,200
Flex: Mark Andrews, $8,800
Flex: Joe Burrow, $10,000
Flex: Gus Edwards, $7,000
Flex: Odell Beckham, Jr., $7,000
Flex: Tanner Hudson, $2,600

As you can tell, I have a 4:2. I think the Ravens will use multiple ways to get into the endzone. This line-up is also a single entry.

Good Luck!

Gladys Louise Tyler

Gladys is obsessive about fantasy football, Pittsburgh Steelers, dogs/cats, pop culture movies and television shows, and Ben & Jerry’s 7 Layer Vegan Ice Cream (although not necessarily in that order). A writer about NFL, college ball, and fantasy football for more than 10 years, she attempts to combine her degree in statistical variance (BS Policy Analysis) with player knowledge and game script. Though her concentration is on IDP, redraft, and PPR leagues, all fantasy formats are fair game. Reach out whenever you can find me on Twitter @gladysLtyler. And remember, don’t suck and tip your bartenders well.