It’s the last week of the regular NFL season, and pretty much every postseason team has been decided. That eases a lot of the pressure on teams, but that doesn’t mean that this will not be an interesting end to the season. Whether your season long fantasy league is done and over with, or you are gearing up for the postseason in your daily fantasy football leagues, it’s still important to take a look at the big games and evaluate your roster options.
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
This is one of the few games that still has some postseason significance. The Jets need to win this game to move on, and that gives this game a lot of extra draw to it. The Bills have been a big disappointment defensively this year. They went from one of the top three defenses in the NFL last year to one of the worst 10. That opens the door up for the Jets, who are already Vegas favorites by 2.5 points.
Brandon Marshall is the big fantasy name in this game. The wide receiver has 13 touchdowns on the season and is averaging over 91 yards per game receiving. For daily fantasy leagues that give bonus points to WRs that have over 100 yards here, Marshall has an added appeal because of the Bills’ inability to stop passers. This could even give him good value in his already high salary for most DFS sites. Granted, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is not the greatest when it comes to completions, this is a good team for him to perform at a better than normal level against. Marshall’s numbers are likely to be higher than normal, as are Fitzpatrick’s. But because of Fitzpatrick’s current standings in the NFL when it comes to QBs, he will go from an average QB to just a slightly above average one in this situation. He has 29 passing TDs right now, putting him at a tie for number 10 in the league. He’s likely to boost this number and secure number 10 for himself this game.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are the favorites in this game for a good reason. The 6.5 points that the Las Vegas bookmakers have given them in the spread is partly because of their home field edge, and partly because of their superior offense. Arizona QB Carson Palmer has 34 TDs on the season and 4542 yards passing. Compare that to Seattle’s Russell Wilson with his 31 touchdowns and 3827 yards. When it comes to QB Rating though, Wilson is number one in the NFL, and Palmer is number two. This could make for a very interesting showdown between the two offenses. So, it comes down to which defense will hold up better.
The Arizona defense has given up just 18.5 points per game, while Seattle is at an even more impressive 18.1. However, the Cardinals lead the NFL with points per game at 32.2. Seattle has been averaging only 25.8. This puts the edge back in Arizona’s favor, although perhaps not as much as the experts believe. The problem is that although these are two great teams with several great players, because they are both so strong, they will struggle more than expected because each team is so good.
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
This is a weird game because each team has had so many struggles this season. The spread is 0 points, and they each have similarly poor records. The Lions and the Bears are both 6-9. However, because of the fact that Detroit QB Matthew Stafford will be so cheap, yet has had a few signs that he’s capable of better this season, he could be a great value pick in your league if you are looking for a severely undervalued QB. He has 29 touchdowns on the season, and there’s a good chance that he could put up 3 or 4 this game, even if he is on the visiting team. That also implies that WR Calvin Johnson could play well this game, if he isn’t still suffering from his ankle injury. Keep an eye on this game.
Photo Credit Belongs to.
