Welcome to the NFL Showdown Matchups Showdown Highlights for Week 2 Sunday Night Football. Here we will provide a quick overview of the game’s key storylines and highlight some of the key insights from Awesemo’s world-class suite of tools to find the best NFL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel showdown lineups. Let’s dive into the NFL DFS picks today for the Week 2 Chiefs vs. Rams Sunday Night Football matchup.
Week 2 Sunday Night Football NFL DFS Showdown Picks
Kansas City Chiefs (29) at Baltimore Ravens (25.5)
The Ravens are still reeling from their surprise overtime loss to the Raiders last Monday night, where the defense gave up over 435 yards passing to Derek Carr and now have to head back home to face the most ferocious offense in the NFL in the Chiefs. Coming off a brutal Super Bowl loss, Kansas City pulled off one of their patented fourth quarter comebacks and shocked the Browns, who were more than competitive through three quarters of play and were able to run all over the mediocre Kansas City defensive line. Baltimore will need to replicate Cleveland’s success on the ground to keep the game close. Still, it will not be easy, especially since the Ravens offensive line is equally banged up after losing Tyre Philips for the season.
Lamar Jackson is a One-Man Offense
With Baltimore looking susceptible defensively, the most likely game flow involves the Chiefs posting a score of 30-plus points, meaning Jackson will need to be looking for chunk plays as a passer and taking off as a rusher early and often. He has a slightly lower salary than Patrick Mahomes on FanDuel and DraftKings but looks like the more substantial value on FanDuel.
Patrick Mahomes is a Cash Game Lock
Mahomes is as close to a must-play in this contest as any player, as his floor projection outpaces all other players by more than three fantasy points. Starting lineups with both quarterbacks is essentially a non-negotiable in cash game. Though Mahomes and Jackson’s ceilings are almost identical, Mahomes has averaged nearly 4 DraftKings points per game more than Jackson.
Tyreek Hill, Tournament Captain
Hill was everywhere last Sunday against the Chiefs, commanding 15 targets and 231 air yards, which was more air yards than seven entire teams last week. His ceiling projection rivals the quarterbacks, making him a phenomenal option in tournaments. However, Hill’s ownership projects to be near the highest on the slate.
Sammy Watkins Could Be the Top Receiver in Baltimore
Watkins did not lead the Ravens receiving corps in production, but he did lead them in opportunity, earning a 31% target share. His 100% route participation rate indicates he is a lock to be playing on passing downs. Despite the Ravens ranking among the lowest-volume passing offenses each season, Watkins looks like he could have a chance to produce consistently. His increased usage was the primary reason Mark Andrews did not get more than five targets against the Raiders last week.
Marquise Brown Could Torch the Chiefs Secondary
Brown had an ultra-efficient Week 1, catching all six of his targets and a touchdown, earning the most fantasy points of any Ravens receiver a week ago. It was highly encouraging to see him run a route on 97% of the Ravens passing downs as he continues to recover from a preseason hamstring strain. If this type of usage were to continue, Brown might be a volatile play week-to-week due to his low average depth of target and modest target rate. This is where Brown’s speed comes in handy. He can break the game open with just a handful of receptions against the Chiefs’ league-average secondary in Week 2.
Stay Away From the Ravens Backfield
Having lost all three of their expected primary contributors at running back in the preseason, Baltimore’s backfield remains in a state of flux. Undrafted rookie Ty’Son Williams has the highest probability of leading this backfield in touches. Still, it is equally likely that Latavius Murray, who saw more snaps in the second half of their Week 1 game, will take over a larger share of the offensive snaps now that he presumably has a firmer grasp of the playbook. Devonta Freeman is the wild card and could contribute (especially after the Ravens released Trenton Cannon) or play zero snaps. Freeman is only viable in the largest of large-field tournaments.
The Bottom Line
If the second half of their Week 1 contest is any indication, the trio of Mahomes, Hill and Travis Kelce have the highest combination of floor and ceiling of any three players in the NFL. The Ravens secondary is not suddenly subpar, but it is not an area of strength either. That increases the likelihood of this game becoming a shootout and subsequently smashing the over. Jackson’s 40-point ceiling makes creating showdown lineups a bit more interesting, and betting on a ceiling game from Jackson provides intriguing avenues to create contrarian lineups for competing in large-field tournaments in Week 2. But ultimately Jackson is the only sure-fire play on the Baltimore side of the ball. The surprisingly large opportunity for Watkins and the fluctuating situation of the backfield make all other Ravens skill players better tournament plays than cash locks.
Week 2 Sunday Night Football Prediction: Chiefs 33, Ravens 21
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