AFC Championship Rematch
Last year’s AFC Championship rematch takes center stage on Sunday Night Football with the Bills visiting in what should be an incredible football game. There’s obviously a ton of high-priced talent here so we’re going to have to differentiate with some value options in a potentially high-scoring game.
NOTE: All pricing references pertain to DraftKings
Showdown Strategy
When Showdown slates first became available I was not a big fan simply because I don’t often like change. When these slates were designed we hadn’t ever seen anything like them in the DFS world. Come to realize a few years later I really enjoy them. On a normal slate with multiple games, I would typically describe myself as a cash game player primarily. That’s where my focus typically lies; cash games/single entry tournaments and from there I’ll build lineups for multi-entry GPP contests. For me, the cash game/single entry strategy kind of goes out the window as I’ll hardly if ever play double-ups and single-entry contests in showdown. Instead, I’ll take a core of players, more than often three to four players in the game that I want in virtually every lineup, typically 20 or so, that I build. The core will usually include both quarterbacks and one to two skill players that I have to have. Like much of fantasy football volume is king but it comes with a price. The wrinkle is the captain’s spot in showdown lineups. The captain’s spot generates 1.5 times the amount of fantasy points scored however a player’s salary goes up in the captain’s spot obviously. Locking in a core and deciding on a captain is how I’ll start building lineups. From there I’ll fill in the rest of the spots with correlation and value plays. Don’t be afraid to get a little weird with these lineups because virtually anything goes!
Core Plays
Kansas City Chiefs: QB Patrick Mahomes
Buffalo Bills: QB Josh Allen, WR Stefon Diggs
Mahomes obviously has weapons galore so “coring” him up alone is the sound option. He’s coming off an efficient five-touchdown performance in which he attempted just 30 passes. Mahomes will likely need to throw more than he did a week ago. Stefon Diggs got back on track last week topping 100 receiving yards for the first time this season. Allen targeted Diggs 10 times last week, the second straight week with such volume going his way and he should reach that number once again.
*NOTE: All plays above are obviously “Captain” viable
Captain Plays
*Captain plays will always be options other than those mentioned in the “core plays” section.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC)
CEH has back-to-back games with over 100 yards rushing with a receiving touchdown in each contest. The obvious captain option(s) here for KC are either Mahomes or Kelce but don’t sleep on CEH who seems to be gaining some trust within this powerful offense.
QB Josh Allen (BUF)
Considering how often Allen calls his own number rushing the ball (35 or more yards in three games this season) and often in the red zone it would be impossible to look to anyone else on the Bills as a viable captain option outside of Stefon Diggs.
Flex Plays
TE Travis Kelce (KC)
Kelce had a monster effort in the AFC Championship game last year hauling in 13 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns as KC scored 38 points. The all-pro tight end is priced at $9,200 here and should feast once again in the middle of the field against Buffalo.
RB Zack Moss (BUF)
In back-to-back games, Moss has 60 or more rushing yards with 14 and 13 rushes respectively. The Chiefs can be run on and with Moss clearly taking over the duties in the backfield, at least outside of Josh Allen, he’s priced well for $6,600.
TE Dawson Knox (BUF)
In his last three games, Knox has four touchdowns with at least one score in each contest. Last week Knox saw eight targets and the week before he saw five. In a potentially high-scoring affair Know will be extremely viable.
Also consider:
WR Cole Beasley (BUF)
WR Mecole Hardman (KC)
K’s Harrison Butker (KC), Tyler Bass (BUF)
GOOD LUCK!!