NFL Prime Time Games: Week 2

NFL Prime Time Games – Week 2

Greetings Gamers!  This article series was popular last season at FanVice and I am thrilled to be able to provide it once again for the members of Awesemo.com as we embark on another season of America’s favorite sport.

Each week this article will cover the “Prime Time” games which includes Thursday, Sunday and Monday Night Football along with the London games and anything else not on the “main slate” each week.

The format will be traditional “game capsules” and this is meant for the 2+ game slates – though the information will be pertinent for the “single game slates” that is not the main focus of the breakdown.

With most of the main sites offering “late swap” the release schedule will generally be:

Thursday Night Game: Wednesday night or Thursday morning

London game: Friday night or Saturday morning (kickoff is generally around 9am ET on Sunday for these games)

Sunday Night Game: Friday night or Saturday morning

Monday Night Game: Friday night or Saturday morning

Because these games are outside of the standard NFL Week cadence, information and injury reports may be a little behind, but all game write-ups will be posted by Saturday morning most weeks.

 

Week 1 Summary

Well, like most weeks, we won some and we lost some.

PHI 18 vs ATL 12 was not a high scoring game, but there was some intriguing drama with the Philly Philly (aka QB throw back) making an appearance and getting the team fired up for a comeback victory.  Ajayi got two scores, but was otherwise pedestrian and Julio rolled up 10 receptions for 169 yards and another 11 on a rushing play, but did not find the end zone.  Mike Wallace was the complete dud of all duds seeing three targets for no production.  Remember him in future weeks as he will get some looks as long as Alshon Jeffrey is sidelined.

GB 21 vs CHI 23 well damn, I missed a good one here, going to bed after Aaron Rodgers left the game with an injury, he made a triumphant return and led a fine Packers comeback and we could all see by the look on Trubisky’s face towards the end, he needs more seasoning.  Keep an eye out as there is a chance Rodgers could miss Week 2 as a precaution.  Cobb was the surprise fantasy darling catching 9 of his 10 targets for 142 yards and a score, of course if he hadn’t gotten that 75 yard touchdown with just 2:13 left to play, it would be a less thrilling story.

NYJ 48 at DET 17 we were all taking an early victory lap after 21 year old rookie quarterback Sam Darnold gave up a Pick-6 on his first ever passing attempt, but a fine performance from the Jets offensive line (just 2 sacks allowed and 36 rushing attempts for 169 yards and 2 TDs) and D/ST with both a punt and interception return, allowed the USC youngster to post a victory in his first start on the Monday Night Football stage.

LAR 33 at OAK 13 was not much of a surprise, well other than Marshawn Lynch carrying what seemed like all eleven Ram defenders into the end zone on the first scoring drive, then everything settled down and played out as expected for the NFC’s Los Angeles franchise.  Carr did not look good despite 300 yards passing with three interceptions and Amari Cooper saw just one catch on three targets.  The wild story was TE Jared Cook getting 12 targets and rolling his way to 9 receptions for 180 yards and all three figures being career highs.

 

 

Week 2

Thursday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals Pick’em / 45.0

This is one of those games that we are going to likely want to skip outside of finishing up any Prime Time slate contests, but not for the normal Thursday reasons.  Generally once we get to about Week 4-5 we will start to see participants in the Thursday games slowing down as their bodies start to get banged up with four straight weeks of “live” football with no byes and in most cases “short” weeks.  It is also unlikely that we see a lot of gamers rushing to roster players in this matchup because of the low total and solid defenses on both sides.

Quarterback – Joe Flacco (DraftKings – $5200, FanDuel – $6600, FDraft – $12300, Yahoo – $28) left Sunday’s game with a 40-0 lead against the abysmal Buffalo Bills and we really do not have a great idea what will be in store for Week 2 with nine different players sharing 37 targets for 26/260/3 in the rout.  Flacco generally does not lock onto any one target and if we think back over the last few seasons, has he really had any true standout options?  Most projection systems have him as a bottom five option this week at the QB position, so we can move along.

For those of you who are playing the single game contests – just know that through 19 career regular season starts against the Bengals, Flacco is averaging 203 passing yards and his TD totals have been six games with 2, seven games with 1 and six games with zero.

Running Back – Alex Collins (DraftKings – $5800, FanDuel – $6000, FDraft – $12600, Yahoo – $26) should actually see some work after giving way to his backups early in Week 1.  Kenneth Dixon is out for a couple weeks with a knee injury, so that leave basically Javorius Allen (DraftKings – $4300, FanDuel – $4900, FDraft – $7400, Yahoo – $13) as the only real threat to his playing time.

I think we will see closer to 20 total touches this week for Collins and I have no issues rolling with him in the full week format, plus I do not believe that enough gamers will be on him as to inflate his popularity to abnormal levels.  He projects as a RB18-22 this week in full-PPR and a reasonable line would be 60-70 yards rushing, 3-4 targets with 20-25 yards receiving and a 65% chance of scoring.  Allen is an option only in the single game Thursday contests.

Wide Receiver – Michael Crabtree (DraftKings – $5500, FanDuel – $6500, FDraft – $11800, Yahoo – $15) looks to be reasonably priced and is likely to be Flacco’s preferred target among all of his many new options.  There is no reason to look to him or any of the other wideouts on the full slate, but we can roll the dice on the single game contests, because heck, anything can happen.

John Brown (DraftKings – $4400, FanDuel – $5900, FDraft – $9700, Yahoo – $11) looked healthy, but he is likely the fourth option on a not-very-explosive offense and that does not bode well for Willie Snead IV (DraftKings – $3900, FanDuel – $5400, FDraft – $8200, Yahoo – $10) either.

Tight End – Nick Boyle (DraftKings – $2600, FanDuel – $4400, FDraft – $5000, Yahoo – $10) has made my DraftKings Thursday single game roster and that is likely the only place I will see him this week and potentially in the near future. Among the TEs Boyle saw 54 snaps / 68%, Maxx Williams 44 / 55% and Mark Andrews 22 / 28% – so even though the targets look close at first glance:

Nick Boyle 6 targets 3/40/0

Maxx Williams 3 targets 3/32/0

Mark Andrews 3 targets 3/21/0

it should be Boyle getting more of the opportunities – at this somewhat crowded position.

Defense/Special Teams – Meh, only if you are looking for a single game wildcard option or want a little Thursday Night action for the full-slate contests on DraftKings/FantasyDraft.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback – Andy Dalton (DraftKings – $5400, FanDuel – $6900, FDraft – $11800, Yahoo – $21) yeah, I rolled out waaaaaaaay too much Dalton, but to be fair – he was solid for his price, there were just sooooooo many high scoring plays in Week 1.  This week there is no need to go to Dalton in a tough matchup where he is projected to finish near the bottom of the heap with his counterpart Joe Flacco.

On the single game slates, he will probably be more popular than Flacco but only because, who wants to click on Joe Flacco.  In my likely chalky DraftKings showdown entry, I am going with a Bengals “onslaught” and I am sure I will not be alone.

Running Back – Joe Mixon (DraftKings – $6400, FanDuel – $7100, FDraft – $12400, Yahoo – $23) is definitely someone we can consider on the full-PPR sites in all formats as he had a commanding lead in snaps (42 / 76% vs 14 / 25%) for the veteran Giovani Bernard (DraftKings – $3800, FanDuel – $5200, FDraft – $7300, Yahoo – $10).  While the Ravens likely will have a solid run defense this season, Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills was not a true showing.  The key with Mixon is that he should see some work in the passing game as well as around the goal line.

Wide Receiver – A.J. Green (DraftKings – $6800, FanDuel – $8400, FDraft – $15300, Yahoo – $28) is a stellar receiver who does not get the love he should from the fantasy world.  However, he is now 30 years old and not quite the speedster he once was – don’t get me wrong, he is still a phenomenal talent and will be the focus of Andy Dalton for most of the season.  Over the last two seasons, Green has played three games against Baltimore averaging 8.3 targets for 3.8 receptions, 41.2 yards and one touchdown.  However, the game prior to that – back in September 2015, he had a career day with 13 targets for 10/227/2 – we know he will draw the attention of the Ravens.  While he does project as a WR10-15 on the full-slate, there are more favorable options.

John Ross (DraftKings – $3800, FanDuel – $5500, FDraft – $8800, Yahoo – $11) did find the end zone on his only reception, but he also only had two targets last week.  That will probably double in this matchup, but unless he reaches pay dirt again, we are likely to be disappointed by his results.

Tight End – Tyler Eifert (DraftKings – $3500, FanDuel – $5500, FDraft – $6700, Yahoo – $14) did only see the field for 22 snaps, but we know that is going to go up each week as he regains his form and most of the time he will be on the field in passing situations.  As with most TEs, getting a touchdown will be the key to Eifert having a usable fantasy week.  He does have a reasonable tag on DK/FDraft if you want a little action on Thursday for the full-slate and there likely will not be a preponderance of the opposition rolling him out in tournaments.

Defense/Special Teams – This is another less than enthralling play for the full-slate contests, though the price is definitely right on DraftKings/FantasyDraft.

 

Sunday Night Football

New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys -3.0 / 42.5

Yikes are we really already down to the Prime Time dregs in Week 2 for SNF and MNF… hold me…

New York

Quarterback – Eli Manning (DraftKings – $5500, FanDuel – $6500, FDraft – $11100, Yahoo – $26) will be starting game #26 against the Cowboys and as much as we like to make fun of him that is actually pretty impressive.  What is not impressive is the fact that he has topped 207 passing yards just twice in the last seven starts and he has averaged a tick shy of 190 with four total touchdowns against two interceptions in the last four (dating back to the 2015 season).

Manning projects as a bottom five quarterback on the full-slate and he is really only a dart throw on the short-slates against a decent Cowboys defense.  Most of his yardage will need to come after the catch, but at least he has good options in Beckham, Shepard and Barkley who should be able to help him put up a semi-respectable yardage total – but we will need to see him top two scores to have full-slate fantasy relevance.

Running Back – Saquon Barkley (DraftKings – $7300, FanDuel – $7900, FDraft – $13900, Yahoo – $30) had a strong debut with 18/106/1 on the ground highlighted by a 68 yard touchdown run with six targets ending with 2/22/0 through the air.  The price is fair and the matchup is not an overly daunting one when we consider that he should see 5-6 targets, so this is all about opportunity and Barkley is projected to see enough to be a RB10-12 this week.

Wide Receiver – Odell Beckham Jr. (DraftKings – $8500, FanDuel – $8200, FDraft – $14700, Yahoo – $37) was outstanding in a tough Week 1 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the going is not going to be a lot easier against a decently stout Cowboys squad.  Most of his work is going to need to be done going across the field or ideally in the redzone, but ODB is definitely a WR7-10 this week with upside albeit in a matchup where he is going to have to work.

Sterling Shepard (DraftKings – $4700, FanDuel – $6000, FDraft – $8100, Yahoo – $18) is an intriguing option on the short-slates if you are looking to leverage directly against Beckham.

Tight End – Evan Engram (DraftKings – $4600, FanDuel – $5800, FDraft – $7500, Yahoo – $18) is at a middle-of-the-road price on most site and there are other options we can consider on the full-slate.  On the short slates, well that is a different story and we have to consider all options.  One strategy that does have merit is going with a double TE, though it is starting to catch on, particularly on DraftKings where gamers are starting to see that on the short slates you want as many PPR options as possible.  Engram projects out as a TE6-12 on full-PPR sites for the full-slate and he will need a TD to propel himself into the top five.

Defense/Special Teams – In Week 1, the Cowboys allowed Dak Prescott to be sacked SIX TIMES 37 total drop backs in Carolina.  For comparison, they only allowed eight total sacks across their last four games of 2017 and in two meetings against the Giants they allowed no turnovers and just one sack.  In general, Prescott does a pretty good job taking care of the ball, there are not a lot of pass attempts which limits interception opportunities and sacks.  Short slate, salary saving dart throw at best.

 

Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback – Dak Prescott (DraftKings – $5600, FanDuel – $6800, FDraft – $10800, Yahoo – $28) is hobbled by the lack of any above average receiving options and a coaching staff that lacks imagination.  In each of his first two seasons, starting every game, Prescott has totaled a dozen rushing scores and 45 passing touchdowns.  Looking backwards from Week 1 this season to Week 8 of last season, here are his passing touchdown totals 0, 1, 0, 0, 3 (vs NYG), 2, 0, 0, 0, 2 and 0.  The three rushing scores help a little, but even counting those – there are only 11 TDs over the last 11 games.  Do you really want to roll with Dak Attack this week (or any for that matter)?

Running Back – Ezekiel Elliott (DraftKings – $7600, FanDuel – $8100, FDraft – $15300, Yahoo – $37) is clearly going to be the main (and potentially the only) cog in the Dallas offense this season who will present even a miniscule moment of consternation for opposing defenses.  They will be stacking fronts against the Cowboys all season, but the volume should be enough to counter that – at least while Elliott is somewhat fresh and healthy.  He is favorably priced, particularly on DraftKings and projects as an RB5-8 on the full-slate and probably the top option on the short slates.

Wide Receiver – Cole Beasley (DraftKings – $4200, FanDuel – $5100, FDraft – $7100, Yahoo – $14) has me kicking myself after Week 1 that I did not grab him at the end of more Best Ball format drafts. On the full-slates this week he is a fine Discount Dandy as a WR3 option and while he is not likely to find the end zone (just 20 TDs in his first six seasons), he does have five career 2-TD games.  Additionally, it is likely that Beasley will be covered by B.W. Webb in the slot, who is by far a better matchup than Janoris Jenkins or Eli Apple.

Allen Hurns (DraftKings – $3800, FanDuel – $5400, FDraft – $7300, Yahoo – $12) had just 3 targets for one catch and 20 yards. In his career over 58 games he is averaging 3.6 receptions and nearly 51 yards per game.  I do need to add that he has 21 touchdown receptions as well.  He is only in the mix on the short slates if you are touchdown hunting, but that may be a tall order given the matchup and other circumstances.

Michael Gallup (DraftKings – $3700, FanDuel – $5100, FDraft – $6500, Yahoo – $10) can be grouped in with Deonte Thompson and Terrance Williams as guys we don’t want to play and on a weekly basis there is a very real chance their combined output will be matched by Cole Beasley.

Tight End – Jason Witten seriously may be able to do more from the announcer’s booth than Geoff Swaim (DraftKings – $2500, FanDuel – $4000, FDraft – $5000, Yahoo – $13) can on the field.  Rico Gathers was not active for Week 1.

Defense/Special Teams – Hell yes, I am ready to look to any D/ST taking on Eli Manning once again, particularly on DraftKings and FantasyDraft where the ‘Boys are checking in as one of the cheaper defenses this weekend.  I think we can see a couple of sacks and turnovers and of course, maybe a gift Pick-6 is in play as well.  Roll with the Dallas D/ST on the full Sunday slates and the short slates with impunity!

 

Monday Night Football

Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears -3.5 / 43.0

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback – Russell Wilson (DraftKings – $6000, FanDuel – $7800, FDraft – $12100, Yahoo – $32) will be without Doug Baldwin (knee injury) and of course Paul Richardson and Jimmy Graham are with new teams.  Volume alone should have Wilson flirting with Top 10 status each week – well until the slightly improved, but still dismal offense line allows him to get creamed one too many times.  I just don’t see the upside on the full-slate contests, but anything goes on the short slates.

Running Back – Chris Carson (DraftKings – $4100, FanDuel – $5900, FDraft – $8600, Yahoo – $16) is the “clear lead” back according to Head Coach Pete Carroll, but in this tough matchup, that is not very comforting.

Rashaad Penny (DraftKings – $4200, FanDuel – $5800, FDraft – $8400, Yahoo – $11) is a rookie, splitting time in the backfield on the road on Monday Night Football.  No thanks.

C.J. Prosise (DraftKings – $3100, FanDuel – $4600, FDraft – $6300, Yahoo – $10) managed just seven snaps and may actually be moved to wide receiver this week as the Seattle cupboard is barren at that position.

Wide Receiver – with Doug Baldwin out Tyler Lockett (DraftKings – $4800, FanDuel – $5600, FDraft – $8600, Yahoo – $17) and Brandon Marshall (DraftKings – $4300, FanDuel – $5700, FDraft – $7000, Yahoo – $12) are the only real options and this is a difficult matchup, so we are hoping for touchdowns and lucky breaks.  Of course the sun is shining on Narrative Street as Brandon Marshall gets back-to-back games against former squads and he did find the end zone Week 1 in Denver.

Tight End – Will Dissly (DraftKings – $3300, FanDuel – $4600, FDraft – $6300, Yahoo – $13) was someone I had never actually heard of – and I am a lifelong ‘Hawks fan from the Jim Zorn, Steve Largent, Efren Herrera days.

My guess was that Nick Vannett (DraftKings – $2500, FanDuel – $4300, FDraft – $5000, Yahoo – $10) would be filling the void left by the departures of Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson, but it was the rookie Dissly who caught everyone off guard – particularly when you consider he was converted from a defensive lineman to a tight end midway through his career at the University of Washington.

Either tight end is in play on the short slates as a value option and signs point to this being more of a split in the coming weeks with Vannett seeing 35 plays 61% to Dissly’s 33 / 58%.

Defense/Special Teams – Once again the mantra anything goes on the short slates rings true, but at best the ‘Hawks are a mid-pack option and a mere shadow of the Legion of Boom that lead the league in fewest points allowed in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

 

Chicago Bears

Quarterback – Mitchell Trubisky (DraftKings – $5200, FanDuel – $6500, FDraft – $10400, Yahoo – $20) looked like he was going to have a moment on Sunday Night Football sneaking away with a victory in Lambeau Field… but Aaron Rodgers still has the magic.  This Monday will be a little more friendly environment at home and against a Seattle defense that really does not even have a reputation to lean on anymore.

While Trubisky is not really worth considering on the full-slate of games checking in as a QB18-23 in most projection systems, he is most definitely in play on the short slates as he should see some decent volume and he lacks much, if any, name recognition among The Masses who will be filling out those gigantic tournaments with the thin, thin, thin player pools.

Running Back – Jordan Howard (DraftKings – $5900, FanDuel – $7400, FDraft – $13400, Yahoo – $26) saw five targets in Week 1 tying his career high in receptions by hauling them all in for catches.  He also out snapped Tarik Cohen (DraftKings – $4800, FanDuel – $5600, FDraft – $8200, Yahoo – $12) 50 / 71% to 28 / 40% and at least for one week, looked like a three-down threat.  He is reasonably priced if we pencil him in for 5-6 targets again and has a decent chance of flirting with a top ten RB performance if he can score.

Wide Receiver – Allen Robinson II (DraftKings – $5600, FanDuel – $6500, FDraft – $11900, Yahoo – $19) looked healthy and he lead the team in targets with 7, 61 yards and was behind only Howard and Taylor Gabriel (DraftKings – $3900, FanDuel – $5000, FDraft – $7700, Yahoo – $10) with four receptions. Robinson is a fine WR2 on all of the major sites this week for the full-slate and is a top three option on the short slates.  Gabriel is a lottery ticket on the short slates and single game contests in the hopes he breaks a long gain.  Rookie Anthony Miller (DraftKings – $3700, FanDuel – $5400, FDraft – $7400, Yahoo – $10) is looking like he will be the fifth or sixth option at best, until there is an injury or other change in variables.

Tight End – Trey Burton (DraftKings – $4100, FanDuel – $5700, FDraft – $6500, Yahoo – $16) did see six targets, though he only had one catch for 15 yards.  Do not be dissuaded from rolling with him on any of the slates in tournaments and he can still be targeted on the short slates in the hopes that The Masses are feeling burned after last weekend.

Defense/Special Teams – Well, Khalil Mack wasted no time in making an impression with the Bears and if he keeps this up, he too will become a legend of the Monsters of the Midway order.  The Seattle offensive line allowed six sacks in Denver last week and in their final three games of the 2017 regular season they ceded 13 to the opposition.  The Bears are a phenomenal play on the Thursday-Monday games in the hopes that they are overlooked by most gamers, even with their bargain basement pricing on DraftKings, FanDuel and FantasyDraft.

Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac

Eric "EMac" MacPherson won the 2007 Fantasy Baseball grand prize (trip for two to the MLB All-Star game) in the Roto format on ESPN. He won again in 2008, this time in the H2H format. As one of the early adopters of daily fantasy sports, EMac has been providing content for baseball and basketball as well as both professional and college football since 2012 for a variety of websites including DraftKings Playbook, FanVice, RotoWorld, Daily Fantasy Bootcamp, and RotoGrinders. He is well into his third decade of fantasy sports and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Follow him on Twitter @EMacDFS or contact EMac by emailing [email protected].

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