FanDuel NFL Picks: Divisional Playoff Cash Game Targets – Full Slate!

Playoff football is in full swing, with eight teams left all vying for a spot in the 2019 Super Bowl! Welcome to the Divisional Playoff edition of FanDuel NFL Picks from FantasyCPR. This article will focus on the top cash game plays for the four-game, full weekend slate on FanDuel. This will be the LAST cash game article for the NFL season! 

FanDuel NFL Picks is intended for cash games only. For those who are unaware, cash games are simply the games in the Fanduel lobby that are 50/50 or close to that to win. These are basically all of the games other than the tournaments, and guaranteed prize pool tournaments (GPP’s). Head-to-Head’s (H2H), 50/50, and double-ups would best summarize cash games.

The Divisional Playoffs are here, and FanDuel is offering two, 2-game slates, and a four gamer with both days combined. This article will cover the full slate, but should be able to easily apply to the shorter slates as well.

A four-game slate is about enough to play cash games, but they will likely end up pretty chalky. I wouldn’t recommend playing cash games on the shorter slates however, as there will likely be very little variance. The Saturday Only slate is technically the “main” slate and for a two game slate that makes no sense to me. With the big GPP’s on that slate, I did do an article for that as well, and that can be read here.

That article also has the game-by-game breakdowns along with final score predictions for the Saturday games, so don’t forget to go back and check those out, as I will only do the Sunday games in this one. With that being said, click the bar below to proceed to the breakdowns,

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divisional Playoff – Cash Games – Sat-Sun

Game by Game Breakdown: Sunday Games – 1/13/19:

Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots (-4) – (47.5)

I have a feeling at least one of these games is going to be an upset, and the Chargers will take an 8-1 road record into Gillette Stadium. If they can beat the Patriots at their house, it could very well signal the end of an era of dominance. A Chargers win will actually be incredible on so many levels when you consider all of the factors going into this one.

In their careers, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers have met seven times, and Brady and the Pats are 7-0, including 2-0 in the playoffs in those games. Something can be said about that kind of dominance. Something can also be said about the fact that the Chargers are travelling across the country for this one, going from sunny California to the cold and snowy Foxborough.

All signs point to the Patriots winning and easily covering the four-point spread, so that just seems fishy to me. I think the Chargers will control the clock, keep this a low-scoring game, and hope Melvin Gordon can lead them to the AFC Championship game. I smell an upset here, as this Chargers defense has been among the best in the league with Joey Bosa healthy. This certainly will not be the popular opinion, but I am taking the Chargers PICK: Chargers 22 – Patriots 19

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints (-8) – (51)

I was wrong about the Eagles last week, as the Foles magic continues for at least one more week. It has to end here in New Orleans right? I think so. While this Eagles front seven has been getting some accolades and recognition as of late, this is still the same secondary that Drew Brees absolutely lit up in week 11. For cash games on this slate, I actually like stacking up the big three for the Saints, as the prices are very fair, considering the fact that this should be a blowout.

I think the Eagles will score some points, but this feels like the Saints will score a ton of points. While most of the attention will be on the Chiefs / Colts game with the massive 57-point game total, I will be loading up on Saints. The stats for Brees in that 48-7 beating he put down on the Eagles week 11 are pretty impressive, and we will go over that on the next slide. PICK: Saints 38 – Eagles 23.

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divsional Playoff – Cash Games – Sat-Sun

QB – Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – $8,700

So many options here, and most will gravitate towards Mahomes or Luck, and everything in my head and gut is telling me to play Brees here. Something can be said about fading this guy at home, and that is a chance I am not willing to risk for my cash games this week. The Eagles will stop the run for the most part I am guessing, and I think Brees will throw quite a bit in this one.

So that week 11 game you ask? Brees only had to throw 30 times in that one, and he completed 22 of them for 363 yards and four touchdowns. That was the Tre’Quan Smith game, and despite his success that one game, he has done absolutely nothing since. Smith was targeted 13 times in that one, and caught 10 of them for 157 yards and a touchdown. Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara also added touchdowns. I think the Saints score more points than the Chiefs this weekend, and that is what it is all coming down to for me.

***Also Consider: Patrick Mahomes $9,000 – Andrew Luck $8,400***

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divsional Playoff – Cash Games – Sat-Sun

RB – Alvin Kamara – New Orleans Saints – $8,400

Much like the Saturday Only article was a Chiefs / Colts lovefest, this one will be similar in regards to the Saints. Kamara’s workload was decreased a little at the end of the season, but I don’t think this young electric back will show any rust. He only received one target in the first meeting between these teams, and he turned that into a 37-yard touchdown, so my thought is maybe they should look to throw to him a bit more this time?

Kamara hasn’t played since before Christmas week 16 against Pittsburgh, when he racked up 24.5 FDP on just seven carries. How does that happen should be your next question. Two of those carries went for touchdowns, and Kamara added 82 yards on four catches. While a lot of people will be jamming in Zeke and Todd Gurley in tough spots, I really like paying down a bit at running back this weekend.

RB – Marlon Mack – Indianapolis Colts – $7,300

I missed on Mack last weekend, as I thought the Texans would do a bit more to stop him, but that wasn’t the case. Now with Gurley and Zeke in the slate, and Melvin Gordon just $100 more, I will not hesitate to choose Mack over the bunch.

This is the best match-up on the slate for a running back, and it will all depend if the Colts can stay in this game, which I think they will. Last time I wrote up Mack, I pointed out the fact that when Indy gives him the ball 20+ times, he has a big game. In last weeks wild card win, Mack finished with 24 carries for 148 yards and a touchdown. He has scored six rushing touchdowns over the last five weeks, and I don’t think you can fade him at this price.

***Also Consider: Ezekiel Elliott $8,800 – Damien Williams $6,100 (Lock)***

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divsional Playoff – Cash Games – Sat-Sun

WR – Michael Thomas – New Orleans Saints – $8,400

So we know that when these teams met in week 11 Brees had one of his best games of the year. You think it would have ended up a huge stat game for Thomas as well, but he was either contained really well, or Tre’Quan Smith was just covered horribly. Either way, Thomas caught all four of his targets for 92 yards and a touchdown in that one.

With the value at running back, paying up for Thomas in this spot seems like a no-brainer. Tyreek Hill might be the better play GPP play, but this should easily be a double-digit target spot for Thomas as Brees looks to shred this secondary once again. Thomas finished the season with 1405 yards and nine touchdowns, and led the league with 125 receptions.

WR – Julian Edelman – New England Patriots – $7,600

Another PPR machine, Edelman was able to grab 74 balls this season in just 12 games. With Rob Gronkowski looking like a shell of himself as of late, the Patriots will need to get the ball in Edelmans’ hands often in this one. He closed the season with just six touchdowns, but four of those have come in the last six games.

The price is kind of high in my opinion, and I really don’t know what the Patriots will do. Does anybody? I think James White is certainly in play at the running back position, but with so many mouths to feed in this offense, I can’t trust this play 100%. In all honesty if I was stuck in a spot where I had this much to flex, I would probably still look elsewhere, but Edelman will get his looks, and seems like a safe cash play.

WR – Tavon Austin – Dallas Cowboys – $4,500

Is this really going to be chalk? For a minute I was thinking sweet we get Tyrell the Gazelle for $4,900, and nobody will be on him because he was barely targeted last week. But then it dawns on me we get Tavon Austin in a revenge spot, at minimum price, with a very depleted Cowboys wide receiving corps.

Austin is more of a gimmick than a wide receiver, but the Cowboys would be foolish not to try to get him involved in this one. We all saw the gruesome injury to Allen Hurns, and Cole Beasley is nursing a high-ankle sprain, so it would behoove coach Jason Garrett to try to get Austin the ball on offense at least a few times. I am a sucker for narratives like most of us here at FantasyCPR, and there is nothing better than a viable minimum priced player.

***Also Consider: T.Y. Hilton $7,900 – Josh Reynolds $5,600 – Tyrell Williams $4,900***

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divsional Playoff – Cash Games – Sat-Sun

TE – Eric Ebron – Indianapolis Colts – $6,600

I was very, very close to imploring the old two tight-end set like I recommended for the GPP article for Saturday, but I just think you have to play three running backs for cash games. FanDuel is only .5 PPR, and rostering running backs that are guaranteed plenty of touches and goal line work should always be the focus. With that in mind, I do think Kelce is the better play, but I wouldn’t go any lower than Ebron this week at this position.

I am seeing a lot of punting here in the industry and some dart throwing at Hunter Henry and Gerald Everett, and there is just no way I can do that when Ebron has been elite status all season. He found the end zone is last weeks playoff win against the Texans, giving him 14 total touchdowns on the season. It is clear that this is basically Luck’s only red zone threat, and I think he gets in the end zone once again this week.

***Also Consider: Travis Kelce – $7,500***

DEF – Los Angeles Rams – $5,000

It has been a while since I have recommended doing this, but paying up for defense here isn’t too hard this week. For a while there, I was torn between the Chargers and the Patriots, as I think that will be the lowest scoring game of the weekend, but I just couldn’t decide which one to play. I picked the Chargers upset, and I think they will get to Tom Brady a bit, but I love the Rams in this spot.

The Rams defense was solid all season, posting double-digit FDP in seven of their 16 games. They ranked third in the league with 18 interceptions, and fourth in fumble recoveries with 12. The line is anchored by Aaron Donald who has 19.5 sacks, and I think he will cause fits for the Boys.

***Also Consider: San Diego Chargers – $4,300***

FanDuel NFL Picks: Divsional Playoff – Sample Cash Lineup – Sat-Sun

The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.” 

QB –  Drew Brees – $8,700
RB –  Marlon Mack – $7,300
RB –  Damian Williams – $6,100
WR – Michael Thomas – $8,400
WR – Tyrell Williams – $4,900
WR – Tavon Austin – $4,500
TE –   Eric Ebron – $6,600
FLEX – Alvin Kamara – $8,400
DEF – Los Angeles Rams – $5,000

I hope you enjoyed some bonus playoff coverage today. You can find me on Twitter with the link at the top of the page. That is all for the cash game plays for the season, as we will be down to two games next week. I will be back however, with GPP strategy for the conference championship round next week as well, right here at FantasyCPR! Good luck this weekend!