Instant fantasy football takeaways from Commanders-Eagles Thursday Night Football

On By Littum

• Washington’s commanders rely on the backfield duo: Brian Robinson Jr. returned from injury to score the first touchdown of the game, while Austin Ekeler scored his first 80-yard receiving day since joining the team.

• Philadelphia Eagles offense is relatively healthy: Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert everyone played a normal snap share for the first time since week 1.

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Focusing on player usage and stats, PFF’s fantasy football recap breaks down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.

Washington’s commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles

  • Saquon Barkley: 26 carries, 146 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 52 receiving yards
  • Austin Ekeler: 2 carries, 7 yards, 8 receptions, 89 receiving yards

Brian Robinson Jr. returning to Commander’s lineup: Robinson Jr. has been limited or not played in the last six games.

Robinson started the season playing at least 56% of the Commanders’ offensive snaps through the first four weeks. He suffered a knee injury in Week 5, which caused him to miss Week 6. He played in Weeks 7 and 8, but was involved in less than 50% of the Commaders’ offensive snaps. He went on to miss the following two games due to a hamstring injury. He didn’t practice fully until Wednesday, which allowed him to not have an injury designation.

He was back to playing over 50% of the Commanders offensive snaps like he was early in the season. The Commanders have used two halfbacks on the field more than anyone else this season. They typically do it sometimes in the first half and rarely in the second half. They had used the pack on 13% of first half play, but it was up to 38% in this game. They also used it a few times in the second half. This allowed both Robinson to be the clear lead rusher and Ekeler the clear lead receiver.

This also prevented the other Commanders running backs further down the depth chart from being involved despite playing well in Robinson’s absence. Jeremy McNichols was active and played on special teams, but did not play offense until the final three minutes of the game. Chris Rodriguez Jr. was a healthy inactive.

The Commanders have 10 days until their next game, which should let Robinson get closer to 100%. Washington still has his Week 14 bye week, which should also help him stay rested for the final quarter of the regular season.

Dallas Goedert is back to normal: The Eagles tight end was back to his usual role after playing on a limited basis last week.

Goedert typically plays in at least 84% of Philadelphia’s offensive snaps, which has been true since the middle of the 2021 season. That means he’s rotated out less than the majority of tight ends in the NFL, and that’s how he started the season. He suffered a hamstring injury early in Week 6, which caused him to miss the following three games.

He returned to the lineup last week vs Dallas Cowboys. He played just under 80% of Philadelphia’s offensive snaps through the first three quarters, so he was rotated out a bit more often than usual. The team largely used backups in the fourth quarter, making his snap rate look especially low. He was also only targeted three times, leading to two catches and 25 yards. His fantasy value was saved with his first touchdown of the season.

In this game, his playing time was right back to what we would expect as he only left the game on particularly long drives or very obvious rushing formations where they had time to substitute instead of rushing to the line. He caught five passes for 61 yards. Although his goal rate is lower than earlier in the season, we should expect it. The last time he was fully healthy, AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith weren’t healthy, whereas all of the Eagles’ offensive weapons are now relatively healthy.

Various notes

  • Eagles released run-blocking tight end Jack Stoll earlier this week. He landed with Miami Dolphins off exemptions. Eagles exalted veteran CJ Uzomah from the practice squad for this play to be their run-blocking tight end.
  • The Commanders’ increased use of two running back sets meant fewer snaps from two tight end sets. That meant more opportunities for Zach Ertzwho usually play in single tight end sets, and less of John Bates and Ben Sinnott.
  • Commanders kicker Austin Seibert missed his second straight game with a hip injury. The commanders raised Zane Gonzalez off the practice squad for the second straight week to replace him.
Table notes
  • Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these games removed.
  • Goals may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from an obvious dropped pass, where the NFL may give the target to the closest receiver, while this data will not.
  • Carrier is only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.