We have been fortunate to have a few weeks with outstanding football matchups, to date, but this upcoming weekend might be the best, so far. What makes it even more exciting is that many of the games also carry fantasy appeal – highlighted by the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints – so we can have dual interests for some of the best action of the year.
Sporfolio’s NFL Daily Fantasy Sports game-by-game analysis columns are driven by expected game flow. Based on a combination of our Week 9 NFL picks against the spread and our expectations for a given game, we project the actions necessary to make these picks come to fruition. We aim to pinpoint players integral to our predicted game flow for each game of the week.
Luke May is our resident NFL DFS expert, and Mario Mergola operates Sporfolio as our expert for NFL Picks Against the Spread.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
Luke’s DFS Take: Welcome back to the world of Ryan Fitzpatrick! With the constant struggles of Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick entered the game last week, and once again looked like Superman playing quarterback. Of course, we’ve seen the full spectrum of his abilities on display throughout this season, so it’s really hard to know what to expect from him in terms of overall quality. What we do know is that he is playing absolutely fearless and essentially carefree which puts his receivers in a position to make some big plays. Fitzpatrick is going to take his shots downfield because ultimately, he has nothing to lose. With him under center, in a game where his defense will likely surrender plenty of points, Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson are absolutely playable options as both are capable of making plays down field and have done so with Fitzpatrick this year. The Panthers’ offense has had plenty of ups and downs this year, but a matchup with the Buccaneers’ defense is probably a good time to bet on a strong showing. The matchup alone makes all of Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, and Christian McCaffrey easily playable options. Devin Funchess, as the number one receiver on the team, should make sense too, but he never seems to deliver when the situation is in his favor, and I’ve found it harder and harder to get excited about the notion of rostering him. I’m more inclined to take a flier on D.J. Moore this week who shined in an increased role last week against a much tougher opponent. He tied for the team lead in targets, led the team in receiving yards, got a few rushing opportunities, and should an ability to make big plays down field which is something that Tampa Bay has struggled to stop. Moore is a prime candidate for a cheap roster option this week.
Mario’s DFS Take: Offense is always at the forefront when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing. It’s partly because the team can’t even dream of competing unless it is putting up points in bunches, and partly because it has absolutely no defense. We’ll start with the latter. Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey are top plays for the weekend, with McCaffrey gaining the edge. He has his pass-catching ability – about which we are always fond – but also the potential of late-game carries with a lead. For Tampa Bay, I would not exactly expect one of Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s clean games against a Panthers defense that ranks seventh in the league in takeaways. But, as we have come to learn about the Buccaneers as a franchise, they love to take chances and push the envelope. Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson are both in-play.