The biggest game of the weekend is the historically unprecedented matchup between two 6-0 teams. The Green Bay Packers go to Denver to take on the Broncos. While it’s an exciting game between two powerful teams, it looks like the Packers have an advantage. The favorite, according to Vegas bookmakers, is the Packers by 3 points. This is probably because of the fact that although the Packers have been authoritative in their victories, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the strength of the Broncos. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the top QB in the NFL right now, but the Broncos’ Peyton Manning has had his share of struggles all year. While Rodgers has a QB Rating of 115.9, but Manning is only ranked at 72.5. When it comes to daily fantasy worth, Rodgers is clearly the better choice, but he might not be the best choice overall this weekend.
That’s because the Broncos have one of the best ranked defenses in the NFL. While the Packers are currently giving up the least amount of points per game at 16.3, the Broncos are tied for number two at just 17.0 points per game. The strength of the Packers over the Broncos is the fact that the Packers are the number five point scoring offense in the league. The Broncos only have the 13th best offense in the NFL.
Enjoy the Game Tonight
We’ve already talked about the daily fantasy football value of QBs Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning, but they are not the only two players out there. The defenses are both strong, but in this setting, the Packers are probably the better team once again. However, if you start breaking down positions, there may be other DFS opportunities. Let’s start with wide receiver.
For Denver, Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas are the two top choices. Sanders and Thomas both have 527 yards, but Sanders has 3 touchdowns, compared to Thomas’ 1. Green Bay’s top guy is James Jones with 424 yards. The big difference with Jones is that he has 6 touchdowns. Thanks to the big boost that most DFS sites give TDs—usually 6 points for receivers—this makes Jones the better choice when it comes to WR. He will likely have fewer yards per game, but the increased likelihood of a touchdown makes with a high worth player.
At running back, Denver’s top guy is Ronnie Hilman. He has 323 yards and 2 touchdowns. In all likelihood, you will be better off drafting either of Denver’s WRs than you would be placing Hilman at RB. However, this is tough to tell without looking at the rest of your roster. For Green Bay, the top RB is James Starks. He has 286 yards and 1 touchdown. Hilman is more likely to score more fantasy points this weekend than Starks, if you are inclined to draft a RB from either of these two teams.
Tight end is a much easier choice than any of the previously discussed positions. Denver does not have a top 30 ranked TE, while Green Bay’s TE—Richard Rodgers—is a top 20 TE. He has 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, making him a pretty decent choice. And because he’s pretty low on the top 20 list, he is going to have a lot of fantasy value. He’s a good choice for scoring points, and he’s going to be cheap. He might be one of the highest value players for this particular game, in fact.
This game should be very good, but the Packers are a clear favorite. Because of the strength of both defenses, the top offensive players will have their fantasy worth decreased, but that just means that the game will be much tenser than any other this weekend. It will definitely make for some exciting football.
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