DFS Roundtable: Week 14 Vegas Totals

Chad Parsons's DFS Roundtable: Week 14 Vegas Totals Chad Parsons Published 12/05/2019

Only two games for Week 14 opened with Vegas totals of 50 or more. Since, those two games (Tampa Bay-Indianapolis, Kansas City-New England) have both sagged back into the 40s. Who is your favorite play in each of these games?

Phil Alexander

Indianapolis at Tampa Bay - Mike Evans
Prototype WR1s have been bullying the Colts perimeter cornerbacks all season and Evans is bigger, taller, and just as fast as anyone Indianapolis can throw at him in coverage. Look for Evans to join Keenan Allen (10-8-123-1), Julio Jones (9-8-121-1), DeAndre Hopkins (12-9-106-1), D.J. Chark (15-8-104-2), and Hopkins again (8-6-94-2) on the list of dominant outside receivers who have skewered the Colts in 2019.

Kansas City at New England - Sony Michel
Michel's workload varies wildly from week to week due to Bill Belichick's opponent-specific game plans. But assuming Belichick sees the wisdom in keeping Patrick Mahomes II, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce off the field by attacking Kansas City's 30th ranked rush defense (DVOA), Michel should be in for some heavy run. It was only two weeks ago we saw him run the ball 20 times against Dallas before getting game-scripted out of last week's loss to Houston. With the exception of Dalvin Cook in Week 9, the Chiefs have allowed every running back who carried the ball at least 15 times against them to rush for over 100 yards in 2019.

Dan Hindery

Indianapolis at Tampa Bay

In tournaments, it is always worth rostering one of Tampa Bay’s top two wide receivers. Both have proven capable of explosive performances that win GPPs. The struggle has been figuring out which of the two to play. While I like both this week, the best bang for the buck in this matchup may be Indianapolis tight end Jack Doyle. With Eric Ebron on injured reserve and the Colts wide receiving corps also beat up, Doyle was the go-to option for Jacoby Brissett last week with 11 targets. Tampa Bay has faced one of the easiest schedules in the league in terms of tight ends they have had to face and still given up the second-most fantasy points to the position. At just $4,600 on DraftKings, Doyle is one of strongest options at the position this week.

Kansas City at New England
The best matchup in this game is the Patriots running backs against the Chiefs defense. You can make a strong case for Sony Michel but I slightly prefer James White in this spot. The Chiefs are allowing the most receiving yards in the NFL to opposing running backs (763 yards), which is a weakness the Patriots should exploit. Tom Brady is clearly frustrated with his wide receivers, which could mean he leans more heavily on one of his few trusted option, White. With nothing working against the Texans last week, Brady locked in on White in the second half, targeting him 11 times overall. The Michel versus White decision also largely hinges upon how you see this game playing out. If you feel like the Chiefs will jump out to an early lead, then White is the play. If you feel like this is a game New England controls, then Michel is the play.

Jason Wood

The only Patriot I expect to have significant exposure to is Julian Edelman, who is as reliable as the atomic clock. Although Pat Mahomes is always in play, he's way down my main slate quarterback list and uninteresting unless you're doing a lot of diverse lineup builds. Travis Kelce will be among the highest-owned tight ends, with good reason. There aren't any Colts I'm particularly focused on this week, but I'm all aboard Jameis Winston stacks, mixing and matching Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Justin Howe

Of course, the Tampa Bay wideouts are always great GPP plays thanks to their dazzling week-to-week ceilings. But on most weeks, I also seek out receivers facing the Buccaneers’ terrible secondary and give them huge value boosts. Zach Pascal isn’t as flashy or as consistent as most, and he does indeed carry a low floor, as seen in Weeks 10-12 (43 yards, no touchdowns). But he’s nearly the last man standing, with TY Hilton, Eric Ebron, and Chester Rogers all out long-term. Amazingly, the Buccaneers have already allowed 21 different wideouts to top 55 yards, which speaks to Pascal’s floor as the Colts’ new No. 1. The fact that they’ve allowed 10 touchdowns to the position over the past 5 weeks speaks to his ceiling - and it comes cheaply.

Running backs facing Kansas City have been strong plays all year, regardless of their skillsets. They’ve let two of them top 100 receiving yards, in fact, thanks to a stiff and limited linebacking corps. If this game goes as Vegas expects (3-point spread, 49 total), James White will be a fixture on the field as Tom Brady’s de facto No. 2 receiver. He drew 25 looks (carries plus targets) over 68 snaps in last week’s loss; that’s nothing new when the Patriots find themselves in a competitive game. White is a bit more matchup-agnostic than Sony Michel, and with a higher overall ceiling.
Photos provided by Imagn Images

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