Wild Card weekend is about to kickoff. There are four games with eight teams, and that means that although regular season fantasy football is done, daily fantasy sports are gearing up for the busiest time of the season. We’ll take a quick look at some of the games, and point out key fantasy players that you may or may not want to consider for your roster.
Take Your Fantasy Playoffs to the Next Level
Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans
The Chiefs were a big surprise this year with their 11-5 record, especially with a younger quarterback in Alex Smith. He finished the regular season as a top 10 performer in the NFL, and could have some huge fantasy worth in this game against the Texans. The Chiefs are 3 point favorites, and have a far superior offense and defense. They did have the third best defense in the NFL this year, after all. If you are looking at this game, it’s a smart idea to avoid Texans players simply because the Chiefs are such a dominant team in this situation. Smith is a good choice, as is the Chiefs defense. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin leads the team in receiving yards, but he can be very hit or miss. He is only averaging 72.5 points per game, and this could create a situation where he is too expensive for his predicted worth in this game. If you are willing to take a gamble as he goes up against a weaker team, he could be a decent pick.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
The big news out of this game is that Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton will not be playing. Their backup, AJ McCarron will get the start, and that puts the edge back in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Steelers have a 3 point edge, according to Vegas, and a lot of this is because of the fact that QB Ben Roethlisberger is having a great year. He has 3,938 yards passing, has over 320 yards per game, and 21 touchdowns. He did miss some time this season because of injury, but appears to be better than ever now. The only thing that might hold him back this game is the fact that the Bengals have a strong defense. They have the second best defense in the league, and this could seriously harm Big Ben’s chances of having another monster game. However, the Steelers have a strong offense, and are averaging almost 10 points more per game than the Bengals defense has averaged giving up. This could be a close game and a low scoring one, and that means that you might want to avoid choosing any players from this game for your daily fantasy football roster.
Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings
The Seahawks had a rocky start to the season, but are now the best team defensively in the NFL once again. And although the Vikings have home field for this one, QB Teddy Bridgewater’s youth and relative inexperience could be detrimental. He is another QB that has been hot and cold this season, and this seems like a game where he could perform poorly. The Seattle defense is far too good. And because Seattle has the fourth best offense in the NFL, QB Russell Wilson has some momentum going into this game. The Seahawks are 5 point favorites for this one, and that seems very low when you take into account how well they have been playing lately and how dominant they can be over weaker offenses like Minnesota’s. This should be a higher than usual scoring game, too, which means that wide receiver Doug Baldwin could easily beat his 66.8 yards per game in receiving. Also look to running back Thomas Rawls to provide some higher than usual yard numbers. Both of these players will be undervalued for this game in most DFS leagues, and that means they should be top considerations for your roster, depending on your strategy, of course.
