Week 5 Sunday Night Football DFS Showdown Strategies: Focus on Bijan Robinson and Derrick Henry at Captain

Lamar Jackson is out of the battle of the birds, leaving a glaring hole in DFS showdown lineups in this Sunday Night Football slate.

With Jackson out, DFS players can use these strategies to get the most out of their lineup in this slate.

Fade Zay Flowers

Flowers (DK: $10,000 / FD: $11,000) is the player whose Fantasy stock takes a hit the most with Jackson out for this matchup. As the third-highest priced player in the slate, DFS players should avoid Flowers as he’ll slot in with backup QB Tyler Huntley starting under center (DK: $8,800 / FD: $9,800). In a game where both running backs will feature heavily, the game clock will be moving at an accelerated pace, limiting Flowers’ opportunities.

The Falcons do struggle against opposing wide receivers, which makes Flowers’s Fantasy outlook look enticing. It’s best for DFS players to avoid Flowers’ Fantasy outlook as the mix of Jackson’s absence and game flow makes Flowers a boom-or-bust prospect this week.

Prioritize Kickers in Favor of Kyle Pitts

Every season, game, etc, it’s the same old story with Pitts (DK: $4,800 / FD: $7,000), the Falcons tight end looks enticing in Fantasy, but ends up being a bust. This week is no different as Pitts is coming off his best Fantasy game of the season and looks to build momentum into this week’s contest. Pitts’ numbers come as fools gold as the Falcons tight end made the most of his three targets last week. It’ll be difficult for Pitts to replicate these Fantasy numbers at a low snap count, which makes it worthwhile for Fantasy managers to focus on kickers in this slate.

With the odds stacked against Pitts this week, DFS players are better served off playing either Tyler Loop (DK: $5,000 / FD: $6,600) or Nick Folk (DK: $5,400 / FD: $6,600) in their lineups. The kicking environment favors both kickers as they’ll be in a domed stadium in Atlanta. In addition to the domed stadium, both teams allow multiple field goal attempts per game, which boosts the Fantasy outlook for both kickers.

Following his third successive make from 50+, Tyler Loop is beginning to answer the questions many asked of him from his rookie season.

This year was always going to be crucial for our second-year kicker. While there are plenty more weeks to go, the early signs are promising! pic.twitter.com/36YpVCUC9N
— Nic Mason (@British_Raven19) October 9, 2026

Use Bijan Robinson or Derrick Henry at Captain

DFS players know who’ll be touching the ball, so it’s well worth it to pay up and eat the chalk with either Robinson (DK: $11,800 / FD: $12,800) or Henry (DK: $11,000 / FD: $12,600) as captain. Both running backs are workhorses as they rank in the top five in touches for the year as Robinson and Henry each have at least 96 touches.

It may be tough to place either running back at captain, given the lack of value options in this slate, but the ability of either Robinson and Henry to break the slate is too hard to pass up. Robinson and Henry will be the faces of their respective offenses this week and DFS players are better served off having one of the pair as the face of their lineup.

BIJAN GETS THINGS STARTED EARLY@ATLvsNO on ESPN⁰Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/2WkWScWreu
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2026

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