In the first round of the playoffs, we had to search for offense from teams that were generally stronger on the other side of the ball. The following week, we were treated to four matchups in which any could conceivably deliver a high point total. Now, the top four offenses in the league are in-play, and it will not take an exceptionally deep dive to find players worth targeting for our fantasy lineups.
Sporfolio’s NFL Daily Fantasy Sports game-by-game analysis columns are driven by expected game flow. Based on a combination of our Conference Championship NFL picks against the spread and our expectations for a given game, we project the actions necessary to make these picks come to fruition. We aim to pinpoint players integral to our predicted game flow for each game of the week.
Luke May is our resident NFL DFS expert, and Mario Mergola operates Sporfolio as our expert for NFL Picks Against the Spread.
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
Luke’s DFS Take: The NFL has to be thrilled with the matchups it has for Championship Weekend, as the games feature four teams who are arguably the best in the league, and both games are rematches of incredible games that took place earlier this season. This NFC matchup is a rematch from Week 9 that saw the Saints win a 45-35 thriller. In that game, Michael Thomas put up a ridiculous stat line of 12 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown. That game featured a lot of trash talking most notably between Marcus Peters and Sean Payton which left a somewhat embarrassed Peters all but begging to see the Saints again later this year. Peters has his wish, and it will be fascinating to see how he handles Thomas this week after Thomas’ dominant performance in their last matchup and in his last game. While it’s hard to ever not like Michael Thomas, Peters is a proud competitor, and Sean McVay is a smart coach. It is unlikely that the Rams let Thomas run free again this week and will force the Saints to best them another way. Look no further than Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Ted Ginn Jr. Despite how I may feel about Thomas, I actually really like a big game out of the Saints’ offense, who people have begun to question lately based on some of their performances. This is a veteran group with elite talent and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. I expect them to come out and remind everyone of that this week. Both running backs have enough skill and volume to be worth targeting, and an early lead would do well to earn each some extra carries. Despite a modest stat line last week, Ginn is easy to go back to, once again. Whether Thomas is slowed down or not, Ginn is going to see plenty of targets, and will most likely be targeted down field multiple times. Given his salary it will only take one big play to bring great value, and given the likelihood that the Rams focus on Thomas, Ginn has a good chance of breaking free this week. Last week I preached my love for the Rams’ running game, and while I may not have used C.J. Anderson in the end, I felt great about the Rams’ eventual gameplan and execution. After their showing last week, DFS players will surely jump back in on both Gurley and Anderson this week, but I’m not loving it this week. Between my expectation that the Saints jump out early, and the fact that the Saints’ run defense has been one of the best all season, I think the Rams will have to lean on the passing game this week much more than last week. Jared Goff has found his game again recently and will definitely be in-play this week, and he will most likely be the least-owned quarterback on the slate. With this thinking in mind, both Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, who is playing against his former team, are easy options as they always lead the way in the passing game. I also don’t mind taking a flier on Josh Reynolds or Gerald Everett, who has inexplicably fallen out of the game plan the past two games after three consecutive solid showings.
Mario’s DFS Take: At any given point over the last two years, one could confuse the New Orleans Saints for the Los Angeles Rams and vice versa. Both thrived on offense and put together gameplans that were nearly impossible for opposing defenses to stop. And, when the two met midway through this season, the results were anything but disappointing. We can expect a similar outcome in the NFC Championship Game, as there will be points scored by both squads. In terms of matchup, arguably the best in this game will be