Daily Fantasy Football is a green light for a few more weekends, so our season isn’t over yet. If you haven’t tried Daily Fantasy out yet, but already miss fantasy football, you can sign up for free over at FanDuel and give it a try. Since we only have four games to choose players from, let’s chop these games up with my favorite options from each game.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts
|
IND |
$$ |
KC |
$$ |
|
Andrew Luck |
$8,500 |
Alex Smith |
$7,500 |
|
Donald Brown |
$5,800 |
Jamaal Charles |
$10,200 |
|
TY Hilton |
$5,600 |
Dwayne Bowe |
$5,000 |
|
Griff Whalen |
$4,900 |
||
|
Da’Rick Rogers |
$4,800 |
Kansas City at Indianapolis is easily the least appealing game of the weekend in terms of a fantasy angle. That’s a shame since it’s also the only game being played indoors. These teams just met two weeks ago and played a 23-7 game that failed to feature any real fantasy output outside from the starting running backs, with the Colts playing keep away in the second half.
Alex Smith is the cheapest play this weekend for quarterbacks, and was strong down the stretch. He topped 20 fantasy points in four of his final six games, throwing 14 touchdowns to only three interceptions. He also had his lowest scoring fantasy game (5.8 points) in that week 16 meeting, at home no less. The Colts defense isn’t great against the pass, but only Andy Dalton has thrown for multiple scores against them over the past five weeks. You know the pass volume will exist this week and that he also provides a sprinkling of rushing points, so he can fit in many lineups.
The big issue is that he doesn’t really come with much a stacking option. You can take a stab at Bowe if you need the money you’ll save and hate yourself, but his season high receiving was 70 yards and he’s topped five receptions in a game only once. By all means, reach into your wallet for Jamaal Charles money if you can.
The Chiefs defense has been plenty vulnerable lately and has regressed from the record-setting pace they were on before their week nine bye. They’ve faced a much a tougher slate of offensive opponents than earlier in the year, but the difference is night and day. Plus, this is the playoffs, everyone is good from here on out.
| KC Defense | ||
|
PRE BYE |
CAT. |
AFTER BYE |
|
12.3 |
PPG |
23.2 |
|
208.3 |
PASS YD |
311.3 |
|
118.5 |
RUSH YD |
111.7 |
|
37 |
SACKS |
8 |
*Excluding Week 17
The Chiefs have been getting very little pressure at all, having only one sack or fewer in five of their final six games (excluding week 17 when they rested half of their team). With the home field advantage, Indy should keep that trend going. Luck has also had a strong finish to his season, completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 257 yards per game to go with eight touchdowns and one interception over the final four games. He played well at Arrowhead (26-37/241/1) in a game where Indy needed to throw only 11 second half passes. At his price tag, he’ll be hard to use if you’re chasing his ceiling in a game with the lowest over/under of the weekend.
I also wouldn’t feel good about chasing those 24 points that Donald Brown put up in their last meeting. His season high is still just 80 rushing yards and he’s topped 50 rushing yards in a game only four times this season. At a price point where other running backs in his neighborhood have much higher ceilings paired with solid floors, expect Trent Richardson to do just enough falling over to take away from reaching for Brown.
Hilton is an interesting option though on the fast track. He hasn’t scored in any of his past eight games, but is still seeing the largest volume of any Colts receiver. Since Reggie Wayne was lost for the season, Hilton has seven or more targets in eight of nine games, and nine or more targets in five. He’s also the only Indy receiver seeing consistent deep targets over the past month. He has a 30-yard reception in three consecutive games and his five for 52 day in the first meeting could’ve been much more if the second half game script had allowed. He’s an upside play that does carry risk, as he’s doubled his current salary in only two of his past seven games.
The other Colts receivers provide cap relief and Whalen has met this cost the past three weeks. He’s actually played the most snaps of all the Indy wideouts the past two weeks, but comes with little upside if he fails to score a touchdown. Rogers is a nice home run swing for those willing, but the only real fantasy impact he’s made so far came attached to a thrown out game script. With the other games under the influence of weather, and the Chiefs back end becoming vulnerable, neither is a terrible option if you want to chase a floor or rooftop.
