Fantasy Football Fanduel Playoff Lineups

Dec 28, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) passes the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the first week of the NFL Playoffs fantasy football version of FanDuel. This week we are going to hopefully put together a winning fantasy football lineup that can help you bring home a little bit of change for your pocket. There are some pretty good games with some pretty good match-ups for FanDuelers this week, so it should be a fun weekend of football. The games kick off Saturday at 4:35 p.m. EST so make sure you get your lineup set well before that.

Quarterback:

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers $8,500: Ben has been an extremely reliable option at the QB spot all year, and has delivered most weeks when called upon. All we really need to say is do you remember what Ben did to this Ravens defense the last time they played? I do. He went out and tossed six touchdowns. The Ravens defense has been awful against the pass pretty much all year, so that makes Ben a no brainer for me.

Next: Where is our running back value?

Dec 22, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) runs with the ball in the second half against the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 37-28. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs:

Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals, $7,400: Jeremy Hill has been an absolute monster since taking over the Bengals feature running back position. His skills are pretty much undeniable, and at this price tag, it is hard to argue against using Hill in this weeks FanDuel lineup. The Colts defense has not been stellar against the run and likes to give up TDs, so I am hoping for at least one if not two scores out of Hill this week. Saddle him up and ride him hard.

Joique Bell, Detroit Lions, $6,600: I really tried hard on a few different scenarios to get Justin Forsett worked into this position as I am a little bit scared of Reggie Bush eating into Bell’s workload. However, I have to trust that against the Cowboys defense that Bell should find the end zone and he is the goal-line back. Bell did close out the season finding pay-dirt four times in his last five games, and the Cowboys are just a middle of the road defense against the run. I will plug him in here with confidence.

Next: Time to go deep!

Dec 14, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Wide Receivers:

Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, $9,200: Well, sticking with the theme of the Ravens having a terrible pass defense and starting Big Ben, let’s double up here and roll with a couple of Steelers and hope that we can have another record setting week for Ben and Antonio here. Brown has been nothing short of spectacular this year, and is a good bet to light this Ravens defense up and lead your FanDuel team to the money.

Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers, $5,600: Did I say let us double down? I meant to say let’s triple down with Steelers. Martavis Bryant is an excellent option for this price tag, as the last time he faced the Ravens he hauled in 3 catches with 2 of them going for touchdowns. He is an incredible talent who worked his way up the depth chart and has become a nice go-to target for Ben, all the while helping to keep teams honest with Antonio Brown. With LeVeon Bell questionable and possibly out or limited, it gives Big Ben and company all the more reason to take to the air this weekend anyway.

Golden Tate, Detroit Lions, The temptation here was to go with Michael Floyd of the Arizona Cardinals after his week 17 outburst of 8-153 and two touchdowns. The problem is that I just don’t trust Ryan Lindley to keep this kind of performance up, even if it is against the Panthers lackluster defense. I can’t really argue with you if you choose to go with Floyd here, but for me I am rolling with Golden Tate. I believe that the Cowboys will likely over-compensate to stop Calvin Johnson, and Stafford will adjust and make them pay with Golden Tate.

Next: Who to play tight end?

Dec 21, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (88) reacts in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the Browns 17-13 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Tight End:

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers, $6,400: Greg Olsen has been one of the most reliable options at the tight end position all season. I do not expect anything less than a typical outing of Greg Olsen this weekend either. He has proven not only to be reliable, but he is beginning to prove he might be a bit match-up proof. I would expect that the Panthers will continue to go out and rely on Olsen this weekend as well. Add Olsen’s reliability to the fact that the Cardinals do not defend against the tight end very well, and we seem to have a match made in FanDuel heaven for this weekend.

Nov 23, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals kicker Mike Nugent (2) makes a field goal during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Kicker:

Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals, $4,600: Seriously, how could we not pick Ted Nugent’s son to be our FanDuel kicker this weekend? Okay I am of course just kidding about him being Ted’s son, but apart from my serious lament of picking kickers he does fit some nice criteria. First off, he is cheap. Second, he is kicking indoors. Lastly, this should be a pretty high scoring game. So rock on and roll with the guy that sounds like he could be a rock star.

Dec 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Alex Okafor (57) and cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) celebrate a play against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 35-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Defense:

Arizona Cardinals, $4,900: I am going to roll with the Cardinals defense based off of two facts. First of all, I think that Bruce Arians will have them fired up and ready to play since he knows that he will have to rely on them with the offense starting Ryan Lindley at QB. Secondly, the Cards have been a pretty good unit at producing turnovers and scoring off of them. My hope is that they will force Cam Newton into a couple of mistakes and turn them into points. This game also has the lowest over/under of the weekend, so there should not be too many points to be had.

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Fantasy Football Fanduel For Week 1 Playoffs

By Dave Fuqua | Jan 2, 2015