The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Week 14 DFS plays, and picks against the spread

Episode Date: December 11, 2020

On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Michael Beller and Derek VanRiper break down the Week 14 DFS slate. They discuss an abundance of attractive players across the three major positions priced between two $7,000 and $7,700, Dalvin Cook vs. Derrick Henry vs. Davante Adams, the lack of cheap pivots at quarterback, and more.Later, Beller and Vic Tafur run through the slate from a gambling standpoint, highlighting their favorite picks against the spread. The guys are going head-to-head in three games, including marquee matchups between the Bills and Steelers, and Vikings and Buccaneers. They also dive into Packers-Lions, Saints-Eagles, Chiefs-Dolphins, and a whole lot more.Follow Beller on Twitter: @MBellerFollow Derek on Twitter: @DerekVanRiperFollow Vic on Twitter: @VicTafur Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Football Show. Hello, everybody, and welcome in to the Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast and the Athletic Football Show. It is Friday, December 11th. It is week 14, one week 14 game in the books. The rest of week 14 still ahead of us here. And what is the first week of the fantasy football playoffs? Obviously, we spend most of the week talking about season-long fantasy football, but we do things a little bit differently on Fridays.

I'm Michael Bellar. And first thing that's different on Fridays is this is the weekly appearance from Derek Van Riper. DvR, what's going on? Not too much. Excited for another week of DFS. I like the way this board comes together. I think there's a lot of fun ways to build lineups. How are things going for you? Things are going good for me.

I am looking forward to those fantasy football playoffs, but happy to pivot a little bit here to use a DFS term and talk DFS and some against the spread gambling with Vic Tafer. A little bit later. Let's jump right into the board here. Derek, let's jump in at the running back position. Here's where I want to start. Here's what I want to ask you to get things going, because I think it's really the first question you have to ask yourself as you're building your lineups this week.

There's a pretty decent amount of guys in the $6,900 to $7,600 range, a good amount of guys who you could really get behind, I think, as an R.B1, from most expensive to least expensive, got Aaron Jones at $7,600, James Robinson at $75, Alvin Camara, 71, Austin Eckler is an even $7,000, and Chris Carson is at $6,900. So with all those options available to you, is this a week where you could realistically, even in cash games, fade the Dalvin Cook and Derek Henry pairing? Christian McAfree's in there too, but things are trending poorly for him this weekend. Yeah, so I think in a cash game, I think you're still going to want to play probably Derek Henry. I think the price difference between Cook and Henry when you account for the extreme differences in matchups still makes Henry the smart play. I think that's reflected in what I'm seeing from the early projected usage over at rotel grinders. The field is all over Derek Henry, and the field is kind of scared of Dalvin Cook. Part of that's the price difference.

A lot of it, though, of course, is the matchup. I think if you're playing in tournaments, you could stay in that middle range, as I'll call it, the 6 to 7K range for the core pieces of your lineup, and you can build a lineup that can take down a tournament like that, typically a $6,000 to $7,000 player has enough ceiling. If everything breaks right, they can match the production of an $8,000 to $9,000 player. So I think you can build that way. I don't know if I would do it in cash.

But then where my mind goes is if I see that on Thursday afternoon, if I see the 6 to 7K combo as the smart play, then maybe the true smart tournament play is to take the risk. Riske and Delvin Cook lean into him in a week where no one really wants him and say, you know what? The Bucks haven't faced Dalvin Cook this year. They faced one running back like him. The only running back like him is Christian McCaffrey. And Christian McCaffrey got to 20 fantasy points because he scored twice.

You're not worried about usage. The offense as a whole for the Vikings should be able to still move the ball. So even though your per carry numbers are probably going to be a lot lighter than they typically are for Dalvin Cook, I think you can justify, especially in Bigfield tournaments, trying to build a lineup around him, even though he's not even close to a cash game necessity at this point based on the way everything else stacks up. Well, then who jumps out of you if you are looking in that 6 to 7K range?

And I think we agree that it's a range where you want to go shopping, even if you do end up paying up for Henry or Cook this week. So if there is one guy who jumps out of you, who is it? Aaron Jones just seems underutilized right now, and I'm curious to see where the numbers go as we get closer to Sunday. I don't know why people are staying away from him. The lions are a fantastic matchup. The usage is fine. I know there's a lot of interest in Devante Adams.

He's up in that 9K range this week. So if the field is using Devante Adams as the building block because it's not paying up for Delvin Cook, there's a lot of leverage to be had building your lineup around Aaron Jones. Jones because you're still getting exposure to a Packers offense that should put 30 points on the board against the Lions, and you're getting a crack at a running back who should have a path to 20 touches. So I think Aaron Jones is my favorite play of the bunch. Funny how that works.

He's the most expensive of the guys in that range. But I think compared to Elvin Camara for 7,100, I think what we've seen usage-wise for him in the passing game from the Saints the last couple of weeks, it's a high risk, high reward situation for him because he's not getting the targets we're accustomed to. The floor has changed, so he's GPP only and pretty risky. With Aaron Jones, I think you could actually play him in cash. I think if you really wanted to find a way to get an upgrade some more else,

if you're trying to build a lineup and you just couldn't quite get to Derek Henry, I think you could still build a cash lineup that gets over the line with Aaron Jones is your RB1. I really like Aaron Jones this week. I think he's probably my favorite play, and I'm going to throw Henry and Cook into there, too. I'd love the matchup, obviously, with Detroit. Love the price at 7600. Love the fact that we saw Jamal Williams a little bit more marginalized last week than where he was in previous games for the Packers. And I think that could come back.

I think we could see a little bit more Jamal Williams this week if the Packers are in control of this game against the Lions. But I just don't see any way, any world in which Aaron Jones is slowed down whatsoever by this Lions defense. so I do like him quite a bit as a guide to build lineups around. Someone else who I look at is Josh Jacobs at $6,300. Feels like a big-time bargain. You know, John Gruden already sounded confident that Jacobs is going to be able to return this week. Devante Booker did nothing to distinguish himself against the Jets last week. I think we're getting Jacobs at as low a price as you're ever going to see him.

I understand why the price is down. But assuming he's able to go, I really don't see any reason to be intimidated by him. I think, you know, obviously there are other ways to build the running back position, but I think he at least needs to be part of the discussion. Yeah, I think based on carries and price, everything kind of checks out for him. But I think Jacobs has fallen to the GPP only category for me for now. He hasn't had enough of a role in the passing game for most of the season for me to say that I'm locking him in in cash.

Obviously, we had to keep it on him health-wise. But $6,300 is a nice price for him. The other guy that I like in that range at the running back position is, Chris Carson, because when I think about how this Seattle Jets matchup should play out, it should be a situation where the Seahawks not only put four T-Ds on the board, but they're protecting a lead throughout. So it should be a game script that leads Chris Carson to one of his heavier workloads of the season. We've seen 16 carries, we've seen 17 carries back in the early part of the first half. I think the workload we saw against the Giants last week, 13 carries, six targets. I think

that's a pretty good guide for what you can expect kind of at the minimum, and you might shift a few of those targets into carries just because of the way the game plays out. But the way he's used, the probability of a TD, the price being a tick under 7K, all those things really look good for Chris Carson for me this week. Let's get on the other side of that Raiders and Colts game. It's our weekly Jonathan Taylor mentioned. It seems like we have to get one of these in there every single week. $5,800 is the price tag on him. We've now seen two productive games. from him in a row and more importantly than that, two games where he has been the clear leader in the Colts backfield. This Raiders defense is coming off a game in which it gave up

104 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries to tie Johnson. So that tells you where this defense stands against good team or just against run games in period. I mean, I know that we're always concerned about Naim Hines usage. I know we're always concerned about Frank Reich riding a hot hand, but with the way this team has trended, with the way this backfield has trended, Derek, I am very comfortable trusting Jonathan Taylor at that $5,800 price. I think I mentioned this on an episode of Fantasy Football in 15 a few weeks ago. I think people are underestimating Taylor's workload week by week. Like there were two thin weeks against the Ravens and Titans where he was under 10 total

touches. But he's touched the ball at least 13 times in every other game this season. So usually you're getting the 15 to 18 range. We've seen the ceiling get higher. that matchup against the Packers, I think this one could kind of play out in a way where Taylor gets a shot at 20 plus touches. He doesn't have to get 20 at the price, at 5,800, right? Under 6K. My question for you is, do you trust the role enough in this matchup to play Jonathan Taylor in a cash game? Because I'm perfectly fine playing him in GPPs. No hesitation whatsoever

there. I like Taylor enough. I think he has enough ceiling. But are you comfortable using him as your RB2 or as a flex in a cash game build? I definitely am. I mean, we saw it again last week, and I just think that as he keeps stacking these games where he's clearly the best back in the Colts backfield, that they just can't ignore it, right? I mean, they're in a very tight race for the AFC South and for just an aFC playoff berth period, and you just can't ignore the fact that Jonathan Taylor is your best running back, hands down. It's nice to work Naim Hines in. It's nice to keep Jordan Wilkins fresh just in case, but Jonathan Taylor's your best running back.

The Colts are understanding that. I think they probably understood that all year. They wanted to bring him along slowly, as we see very often for rookie running backs, but this is not the time. You know, this is no longer the time to be bringing him along slowly. And I think the usage that he's had in his last two healthy games suggests that the Colts know that and that we're seeing that from him on the Wednesday, or on the Thursday, excuse me, edition of the Athletic Fantasy Football podcast.

Jake Seeley was in agreement with me on that point, said from a season-long context, he's got Jonathan Taylor as a fringe RB one this week. and I really don't see any reason to turn away from that. So yes, I am comfortable with Jonathan Taylor in any and all fantasy formats this weekend. One more really quick point on the running back position before we move on. Giovanni Bernard is getting a whole lot of love this week because of the matchup with the Cowboys. I want no part of it, Derek. Even at $5,000, a very affordable price.

I want no part of it in two games without Joe Burrow. We've seen it, Giovanni Bernard get 20 carries for 62 yards. We've seen him catch four passes for 16 yards. This offense just can't move the ball. It doesn't matter what defense is on the other side of the field. I just don't want any part of the Bengals, period. Yeah, I'm with you. I'd rather not do it.

I think the best case I could make for Geo Bernard would be if you're building a lineup and you only have about 5K left for that last running back spot, last flex spot, whichever it is, and you're playing a tournament. And you don't want to play J.D. McKissick because he's going to be even more popular than Bernard. Bernard is a similar player You could pivot to and end up with a less popular guy If he finds the end zone twice, then you get really lucky He finds it once, you're happy with that too.

I'm not expecting that. I think you are wise to point out This Bengals offense without Burrow Is nowhere close to where it was with him. It's really been unfortunate Because the past catchers that they were sustaining with Burrow They had three receivers that you could play a lot of weeks. We were excited about cheap AJ Green.

for a little while earlier this season. So I would absolutely try and stay away from Gio Bernard unless I'm trying to get something really different for a tournament. All right, let's move on over to the wide receiver position. You talk about Devante Adams. So let's say you do fade the top back. Are you almost like committed to Devante Adams if you don't go with one of Cooker Henry?

I don't think you have to be because, as I mentioned at the top, I think the 6 and 7K players this week bring enough ceiling where if you can hit with the core of your lineup, you can catch up to an Adams lineup. But if you are going to play Adams, you're probably not fitting him into the same lineup as any one of those top two running backs. I think that's almost impossible to do

barring unforeseen amounts of value opening up this weekend. We need some near-min players to become a lot more relevant if that's going to happen. So failing that, I think I'm more interested in Tyreek Hill as the top receiver, 8500 is the price. He'll be less popular than Adams. He's probably the only other receiver in the pool

who can give you as much of a ceiling as Devante Adams. I think the other thing that kind of makes the pieces fit here is if Tyreek Hill is your most expensive player and you're not playing Devante Adams, it walks perfectly with my desire to play Aaron Jones because I still have that exposure to the Packers offense and I still have a wide receiver one that can match Devante Adams.

ceiling, right? I mean, there's a scenario where both Aaron Jones and Devante Adams play really well. Packers score four or five times. They each score twice. They could have plenty of yards. Like, the tree behind Adams is skinny enough where it could be a running back plus Adams leading the way for the Packers offense. So I do think the way I want to build a lineup is probably Hill instead of Adams because of my interest in Aaron Jones. So there's a, there's some similarity between running back and receiver in the way that there's a group of guys between $7,000 and the high $7,000 range that are all attractive guys for their own reasons,

and you can make an argument really for any of them. At the wide receiver position for most expensive to least, you've got Keenan Allen 77, DeAndre Hopkins 76, Calvin Ridley 75, Justin Jefferson 74, A.J. Brown 73, Tyler Lockett, 72, Michael Thomas 71, Adam Thielen, even $7,000. You talk about what you want to do at the wide running, back, you talk about wanting to get tie where you kill, does that mean you're almost out on this

group of guys, even though you understand how good and how attractive they are? Yeah, because I don't think you can get two in the same lineup. It's kind of one and then get down into the 6K, low 6K range for your next wide receiver and then probably going bargain bin, high threes, low fours, maybe even for that last receiver spot. I keep wondering, why aren't people all over Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Is that going to change if we get good news on the Friday injury report? I know Godwin had the pin removed from his finger, so he's missing a few days. Full practice on Thursday for Chris Goddard. He should be fine, right? So I imagine that's going to drive up interest a little bit, but that game should shoot out. Like that game looks great to me. That's a terrific spot for Godwin.

I like Evans a lot more than Antonio Brown. I think the price on Antonio Brown is starting to reflect that he's clearly the third option of those receivers, whereas Godwin, and Evans are still sort of jockeying for the top spot each and every week. But I think that gap, you know, it's too big. I think Chris Godwin should be about a seven, maybe even a $7,300 receiver based on the ceiling he brings. So he's probably my favorite next option on the board if I'm going to build one of those expensive wide receiver ones like a Tyreek Hill. I want to get invested in that game too.

I want to get invested in Tampa Bay and Minnesota. And I think Godwin's a great way to do it. I mean, if we just look back over the game logs here, the usage has been there for Chris Godwin. And, you know, it's a little maddening to watch if you are expecting what you took Chris Godwin at on draft day and thought he was going to be a wide receiver one because he can go for long stretches without getting a look his way because of Mike Evans and Antonio Brown and Rob Grunkowski. And let's acknowledge the fact that Ronald Jones is running the ball well.

But at the end of the game, it's there. Last week or two weeks ago, their last game, they had a buy in week 13, nine targets. eight of them for 97 yards the week before that, 10 targets caught seven of them for 53 yards and a touchdown the week before that, six targets caught them all for 92 yards. Like it's not the most comfortable watch because of all the other guys who are involved, but Chris Godwin pretty much is getting to where you need him to be by the end of every single Buccaneers game. And I am with you. I think he is a really good guy to go shopping for in that range of receivers and opens the door to a lot of these other guys that we want to get invested in.

And it's all, I mean, he's still Chris Godwin, right? I mean, it's always possible that he pops a 8 for 1.30 and 2 sort of game, especially in this game against Minnesota, a team that's been relatively friendly to wide receivers on the season. Who else are we looking for at this? I mean, you talk about having to dive even deeper than this. So when you're looking for the cheap plays to round out your lineup, who is it at this wide receiver spot?

I'm trying to figure out what to do with the Jets pass catchers. I mean, you got Jameson Crowder at 5,400. I know it was a TD-driven game, but the targets did tick back up last week against the Raiders, so I'm definitely intrigued in him again. But Bershad Paraman's only 3,900. So if I'm talking about building a tournament lineup, especially where volume is a little less important

and big playability can really enable a player to pop, I think Paramin at 3,900 makes a lot of sense for those sort of high-risk, high-reward lineups. You're trying to take down a tournament. You need someone who can make big plays. Perriman against that Seahawks secondary, even though that defense is getting better, we've talked about them as a unit that you could actually lean on a little bit

from a season-long perspective and even plug them in as your DST in some of your daily lineups, I still think you can throw on them. And I still think with the Jets, with Darnold healthy, with the full complement of pass catchers healthy, they can at least put up garbage yards and garbage points. I think that's the one thing that encourages me about the Jets right now. So, you know, maybe early in the game, especially Seattle's wreaking havoc with that pass rush. But eventually, some of these Jets pass catchers are going to get theirs in this matchup because most teams do.

Do you think I'm crazy for being this interested in at least one of these Jets receivers from my lineups? I'm interested in Perriman. I'm not super interested in Crowder. And it's just because there are other guys in that same dollar range that I like better. I like DJ Chark, $100 cheaper than Jameson Crow. I like CD Lamb, who I want to dive into for a second here. He's only at 4,800 this week. I think Paramun.

I think the points you make lead me more to Paramun because you're still getting the same ceiling effectively, and you're getting it at a $3,900 price tag that in DFS terms is essentially free. It's just like, here take this guy. If he pops, he doesn't, he didn't really cost you anything. So if I am going to go with the jet receiver, it's definitely going to be Paramun.

But when I am looking for a cheap receiver to round my lineups, I just can't get past CD Lamb at $4,800. The targets are there for him basically every single Andy Dalton start. And it's not translating into monster yardage production, but they are very catchable balls. He is getting very open, so he has a lot of PPR upside in terms of how many receptions he is going to get. And we know that they love him once they get in close,

and not just inside the red zone, but they love him inside the 10, inside the 5. He's a guy who always gets looks from Andy Dalton when they get close into scoring range. And, you know, as bad as these two teams are going up against one another, Dallas is going to get into scoring range against the Bengals. So that $4,800 price that just to me does not reflect at all what CD Lam's actual value is. And for me, it's a very easy guy to get, if not 100 percent exposure to this week, something very close to it. Because it's just, it feels like we should be paying 5,500 or 5,600 for him.

And I would still be fine with them at that price, $4,800. I just really want him in basically all my lineups. Yeah, he's the cowboy. that I want to play the most this week, even though we're still getting discounted Zeke, even though it's a spot where Zeke should be able to do pretty well with his volume. I think you're getting more bang for your buck from C.D. Lamb,

so I'm 100% with you on that call. The other wide receiver situation that I'm kind of intrigued by is actually T.Y. Hilton, because I think all the love we've been giving Michael Pittman on this show the last couple of weeks, it was justified because the situation was good, But it's been T.Y. Hilton that's been doing the damage after we kind of gave up on him. And the price is creeping up again. It's 5,100, but against the Raiders, I mean, it's not a bad spot.

I think there are still more skeptics than believers. What are you doing with T.Y. Hilton this weekend? Another guy who I would prefer to James and Crowder, another reason why, if I'm going with the Jets receiver, it's going to be Prashad Param. I'm probably staying away from T.I. I think the logic is sound that you put out there. But again, it's just like, it's crazy to say, right? But like whenever I get into that range, I just see C.D. Lamb's name and price tag. And he just becomes the most attractive guy to me in that range. And there's something to be said for diversification.

But when I'm looking for that piece, I'm basically thinking, who completes my lineup and lets me get, you know, stud A and stud B into there. And C.D. Lamb is the guy who rounds it out best for me. But it brings us all back to the conversation that you do have a lot of options at this wide receiver position to give you room for Dalvin Cook, for Derek Henry, for Aaron Jones and Tyree killed together. There are a lot of guys in this range that you can go shopping for who are going to let you build your core around some of those stars. All right, quarterback position now up here. And I think the only argument against Aaron Rogers is the price tag.

$7,500. He's my favorite quarterback on the board regardless of price. But that price does become a little bit tricky. But, I mean, there's no way the lion slow him down. It's really all about the price. So are you interested in him or are you trying to go cheaper here? Definitely interested. Haven't been able to make the pieces fit yet.

but that's always something that changes over the weekend because you do find at least one or two more value plays that you kind of have to get in, especially in those cash game builds, that usually opens up the extra money you'd need to go to one of those higher ceiling quarterbacks. I mean, getting to Mahomes at 8100 will be tricky, but I think Rogers at 7,500, I mean, you're saving 600 on that price. That's high enough ceiling to go ahead and go that route. I think the main question, though, is if you go under 6K, if you do go cheat because you're, paying up for a few more players in that mid-tier that we talked about, do you like any of the sub-6K quarterbacks enough to use them as either part of a stack?

I don't know if any of them really fit the description of guys that you'd play without connecting them to at least one of their pass catchers, because I don't think any of them have the rushing ability to kind of put them over the top, except for maybe Jalen Hertz. Like, you could probably play Hertz without an Eagles pass catcher, but I don't feel great about it. So what do you do under 6K this week at quarterback? It's hard, man. And that's why I keep finding myself gravitating toward finding room for Aaron Rogers

or finding room for Tom Brady at 6,900. I mean, you've got right at the top of that group, you've got the two quarterbacks facing each other in Vegas, Derek Carr and Philip Rivers. And I don't necessarily love either of those guys. Teddy Bridgewater comes in next at 5,800 in, or at home against the Broncos. Another guy who he's going to be playing without DJ Moore. And that's a guy who, if the coverage,

is full I like, but you take any one of his weapons away from him, and I'm just not sure the ceiling's very good. Christopher also could be out in this game, so that's bad news for Teddy Bridgewater. Matt Ryan against the Chargers, no Julio Jones looks very realistic for him, and I just don't want ever a piece of him without Julio Jones. Mitch Trubisky just showed us last week that even in the best of matchups, things could get really ugly for him, putting up fewer than 14 points against a Lions team that the Bears still scored 30 points against, and Mitch still couldn't even give you 14.

fantasy points. Daniel Jones coming off the hamstring injury, how much is he really going to run? I mean, we could go on and on here, and it's just there's problem after problem after problem. And that is really what's pushing me into at least getting to a $6,200 Kirk Cousins or a $6,600 tasem Hill, because there's just, I just find too many problems, too many pockmarks with the quarterbacks who are sub-6,000. Are you thinking differently? I think you could build a lion stack. I think you can get down to Matthew Stap. at 5,700. If you put Stafford in there with some combination, maybe Marvin Jones and T.J. Hawkinson, you'll probably cover Hawkinson in a bit with the tight ends. I think you could do

that because you're probably playing a Packer also, whether it's Jones as your main running back or Adams as a high-price wide receiver. So you're correlating a lineup that way. I would assume the Lions are going to have to push volume through the air. Stafford played well last week, 27 to 42, 402 yards and 3 TDs against the Bears. That's not an easy matchup either. The Bears have generally been pretty good at slowing down opposing passers. So I actually like Stafford quite a bit. I think of the cheap quarterbacks on the board this week,

he's the guy I'm tracking toward having the most. I think he's the only guy he can make an argument for. You could make an argument for Jalen Hertz potentially in GPPs and hope that he runs the ball well, but not a very soft landing spot for his first career start against New Orleans defense that ranks first in the NFL by a whole lot of metrics. So I think that's where things really do get tricky.

Let's look in that group of guys really quick and just say that you are going above $6,000. You're not going to be paying up for Aaron Rogers or Deshawn Watson. And so you're looking into the next group of guys. Let's say Tom Brady, $6,900, Justin Herbert, $6,800, Ryan Tanhill, 67, Taysam Hill 66. Who's the one you're making an argument for out of those four? Brady is the safest, but if you told me three weeks ago

that Justin Herbert would be under 7K going up against the Atlanta defense, I would have laughed in your face. I mean, I think everybody's down on the Chargers right now because they laid maybe the worst egg of the entire season last week against the Patriots. Like, they kind of pulled the old Hold My Beer trick after the Raiders got embarrassed in Atlanta the week before.

I think the chargers can bounce back in the spot. And I think the thing that makes Herbert pretty interesting is you're getting a slight discount on Keenan Allen and he has other stack options that you could put with him that bring a lot of ceiling that are also very affordable. That'd be Mike Williams at 4,700. I think he makes some sense in GPPs as part of a stack with Justin Herbert. And I think the other tight end that I'm interested in,

sort of breaking down that barrier, since we're going to get there in a minute anyway, is Hunter Henry. So I think you could take some combination of two or three of Herbert's pass catchers, put them together with him as part of a stack, probably run it back with Calvin Ridley, especially if Julio Jones is unable to go. He hasn't practiced yet this week as of Thursday, so we'll see what Friday brings for him.

And that could be a pretty nice game stack that comes in with a lower ownership than expected. Compared to where it would have been a couple weeks ago, we've been picking on Atlanta all season. I'm not going to just completely walk away from that because of one really ugly performance from the Chargers last week. Let's get over to the tight end because I want to ask you about the guy right at the top of the position. and Travis Kelsey is in that range of guys. We've talked quite a bit about $7,400. And, yeah, I guess you think about them more against each other than more just against the players at their position.

I know we often find ourselves going for T.J. Hawkinson or Dallas God or Evan Ingram, guys who are anywhere between three and two and $3,000 and $3,000 cheaper than Travis Kelsey. Derek, Travis Kelsey has on the season, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven games with at least 20 points in draft kings. and he has done that in four of his last five. Last week against Denver, he went over 30 points. I mean, this is a guy who just is a singular force at this tight end position. Is there any way you're sacrificing, say, Aaron Jones and not playing that running back

or maybe not playing Tyreek Hill and going with Travis Kelsey instead? I would love to. I just can't find it in my build. I think we would need some unexpected value to open up somewhere else. The situation, I think we're going to keep a close eye on this weekend. is the Carolina receivers. You know, there's some injury concern with DJ Moore, there's some COVID issues there.

Everybody could be available, or that tree could get a lot smaller. And if you have one or two of those receivers down, whoever's left out of Moore and Samuel and Robbie Anderson, they become a lot more interesting. And then they bring high ceiling wide receiver one upside at wide receiver two or wide receiver three sorts of prices. If something like that plays out in a way where those guys become locks because there are more targets going their way,

that might be the sort of thing I need to have that extra couple hundred or even a couple thousand, really, to get to Travis Kelsey this weekend. I do think the other way you could look at it is if you're not going to pay up for Tyreek Hill and you're not going to pay up for one of Henry or Cook, you could make one of those 6 to 7K cores where Travis Kelsey is the most expensive player in your entire lineup. That's one other way that you could try and attack things in a tournament. I'd be okay with that, but I don't know how I'm going to get to Kelsey in the bulk of my builds. It's very hard to do. As tempting as it is and as worthy as he is of being that sort of guy, it is hard to do. You mentioned T.J. Hawkinson, there's really no wrong way to go with him.

$5,000 and a guy who has become a very reliable tight end and a reliable weapon in Detroit's offense, It's giving you at least 12 or at least 11.6 fantasy points over his last four. So a guy who is very productive in that way. Dallas Goddard, I think you could still trust him. Last week we were a little bit worried, not too concerned, but a little bit about Zachert's coming back. And you still got five grabs for 66 yards out of Dallas Goddard. Just $4,000. He's another guy who he's almost like, you know, he's like, I'll just take it, right?

I'll just take the $4,000. I'm looking for a cheap tight end. and he has that ceiling to play more like a $5,000 or $5,500 tight end. So those are two guys who I look at at this position with a lot of desire to get them into my lineups. And if you're looking to punt at tight end this week, Logan Thomas continues to get a lot of targets for the Washington footballs. I think he's fine if you want to just save money there and spend up elsewhere. 3,300, 9 catches, 9 targets, 98 yards, and a score against the Steelers last time out. but at least four targets, I think, in every single game this season.

You see a lot of sevens and eights and nines in that game log as well. The receiving core there is such a mess that, that to me makes Logan Thomas a bit more viable than Jordan Aiken, who was a little bit popular last week as a punt, and maybe in GPPs there's some appeal with Aiken's because everyone's going to move away from him, and as you know, the bears actually give up a decent amount of points to opposing tight-ins. So perhaps a tournament opportunity there, but the cheap tight end I like the most is Logan Thomas. I'll just give a closing word here since you mentioned those bears

I would not be afraid to play Texans this week it was an ugly performance from the Bears against the Lions a week ago and it feels like a team that is just out of gas after losing six straight games Derek we got to go we got to wrap things up here so have a good weekend man good luck in all of your fantasy endeavors yeah you too good luck

all right we turn now to the second part of this episode of the Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast and the athletic football show that means it is against the spread pick time for week 14. To do that, we bring on Vic Tafer in addition to Vic's picks, which you should be checking out every single week at The Athletic. Vic also covers the Las Vegas Raiders. Vic, how you doing today?

Go good, man. How you doing? I'm doing good, man. You know, it was a little bit of a ho-hum week for us as a duo, five and five, although one of those was head-to-head, so, you know, we couldn't do anything but go one-in-one in that game. We did also hit on a consensus pick last week. We both had Cleveland to cover the five and a half against the Titans.

You had them also as your upset pick pulling that win off in convincing fashion with a huge first half from the Brown's offense. We also lost a consensus game. Unfortunately, we both had the Raiders covering against the Jets and they had to pull one out just to get the victory. But two and three for you, three and two for me, anything you want to get off your chest after last week. And I will remind you, we were sort of joking around earlier this week. and I said, you know, you get it all off your chest, like I did a couple of weeks ago, complaining about losing some covers late in a week

where I went one in four and easily could have gone four and one. And then I had a pretty decent week overall last week. So anything you want to get into in week 13 before we turn ahead to week 14. Nah, not real. It was a crazy route. Like you mentioned, all the games turned on one play. So I just think, because good breaks and bad breaks,

the Eagles game was not quite the way I thought it was to go, but I still had the cover until late. but that one breakaway run. Aaron Jones. Aaron Jones kind of killed me, but that's how it goes. So this week is a lot of home dogs. I'm kind of barking with a lot of home dogs this week. So I'll see how it goes.

A ton of home dogs. I could not believe how many home dogs there were as I was first going through the slate. And I'm not saying that they shouldn't be dogs. It's just funny how it works that way sometimes where there are a bunch of, you know, teams playing at home. That frankly aren't very good or at the very least are worse than the teams that they are welcoming into their home stadium. And so we do have quite a few home dogs selected between the two of us this week. Guys, let's just set it up. You are 28, 36, and 1 on the season.

I am 33, 31 and 1. We go ahead to week 14. Again, these lines coming to us, courtesy of the Vegas Insider Consensus. And Vic and I are recording this on Thursday evening just before kickoff of Rams and Patriots. So, of course, as you sit down to listen, things could have changed, as you sit down to actually make some wagers. on Friday or Saturday or Sunday, things could change. We are taking the lines as they are on Thursday evening. I'm just going to read through a list of four games in the early window, Vic,

where neither of us has a pick. And just tell me if you have a feeling about any one of these four. We've got Titans minus seven and a half at Jacksonville. 53 is the over under in that game. Cowboys are minus three and a half in Cincinnati. Ugh, what a gross one that's going to be. 42 and a half is the over under there. The Texans are one and a half point favorites in Chicago,

taking on the Bears. 45 is the over under on that one. And then the Panthers, three and a half point favorites at home against the Broncos. 47 is the over under. Again, no pick from either of us on any of these four games.

Were you tempted by any of them or do any of them interest you, even though you don't have one of your top five plays on him? Not really. I mean, the Jags think they've covered what four of the last five and the one they lost

was the one ahead against the Steelers. But they've been pretty tough. I think Mike Lennon's been pretty respectable. So the Titans can't run, can't rush to passers. So that one, to me, caught my eye a little bit. I think the Bears, because they're defense, I think there's still some value there.

But besides those two, the other ones didn't really jump out of me. Yeah, I considered the Bears Texans, and I actually considered taking the Texans, laying the one and a half, just an extreme, extreme difference in quarterback between Deshawn Watson and Mitch Trubisky. It'll be the first time that those two guys who will be forever tied,

especially in the minds of Bears fans, meet as pros. And I just, you know, Vic, I'm a Bears fan. I grew up in Chicago. I still live in Chicago, and I still root for the Bears. And I wanted them to take Watson three years ago in the draft. And this should be his 30th or 32nd or 35th,

depending on how they might have done the playoffs, a game at Soldier Field. And instead, it's his first game at Soldier Field. And I just think that he is going to remind the front office that is still in place, the one that passed over him, just exactly what they passed over. But no pick for us in any of those first four games. The first pick, we are still in the early window on Sunday that we are going to get on the record here.

Cardinals go into New Jersey to take on the Giants. The Cardinals are one and a half point favorites, and this is one of those home dogs, excuse me, that you like here, Vic. Why do you like the Giants catching the one and a half at home against Arizona? Just kind of think you have two teams going in the opposite directions. The Cardinals are kind of struggling now with Collin Murray being banged up. The Giants have been hot. I think they obviously like Joe Judge to coach.

I think it might get down Jones back this week, though. That's not a huge reason for me. Their defense has been pretty good. And they're home. So I think there's some good value there. I think it's a toss-up game, but I think you have a hot team versus the cold team. Yeah, they definitely getting some love for Joe Judge for coach of the year.

And I think it's going to be hard to give that award to anyone who isn't Kevin Stefanski after what he has done in Cleveland this season. But Joe Judge definitely deserving of at least getting a handful of votes and being on the podium, perhaps. with Stefansky. An easy stay away from me. You know, it's just, we just haven't seen the same Kyla Murray ever since he suffered that shoulder issue.

That hasn't cost him any time, but he's clearly not the same. And we're talking about a guy who would run the ball on average 10, 12 times per game, and he's done it 15 times over the last three games combined. And you take that rushing element away from the Arizona offense, and it just looks a whole lot different. And you combine that with the fact that teams are approaching him differently.

They are treating him as though. he is much more of a threat when he is outside running than rather when they are forcing him to make place with his arm. And that makes even more sense with the sprained shoulders. So add that all up. And it's just for me, I lean toward the Giants, but I am going to be staying away from it as one of my five plays. We have two more games in the early window. And we are going head-to-head in both of these games, Vic. And those are two of just three head-to-head picks we have among our five picks.

So a lot of head-to-head action for us here. The first game that we've got is between the Buccaneers and the Vikings. This game is in Tampa. Bucks are six and a half point favorites against Minnesota. 52 is the over-under. You like the Buccaneers. I like the Vikings. You can take this away first.

Why should people be comfortable lay in the six and a half and back in Tampa? The Vikings have kind of been getting by the last few weeks. They've kind of beaten some bad teams barely. I think their past defense is pretty lacking. I think Tom Brady has some time to focus on some things. Plus, the one thing the Vikings have, do well as they run the ball well, but the Buccaneers are good against a run. So to me, this one looked too easy. I thought it was, uh, might be a trap. I don't know if I'm falling for the six

and a half point thing, but, uh, I like the Bucks to win pretty easily in this one. All true, all good points. And you also, uh, they got, you got them coming out of a buy. You've got Tampa Bay coming out of a buy after a very late week 13 buy for them and for the Panthers. So all those things are definitely in Tampa's favor. And the run defense, you mentioned. This goes back to last season. Even when they were a bad team overall, they were among the best run defenses in the league. It didn't get talked about much because they were bad overall, and it was easy to write it off last season as being, well,

you know, they're in these games where they're way down and blah, blah, blah. So, yeah, it didn't really get a ton of attention. It has gotten a ton of attention. And you look at games against the Saints with Almond Camara, games against the Panthers earlier this season when Christian McCaffrey is healthy. I mean, they've played some big time running backs, and they have slowed them down. Now they get Delvin Cook, and I agree that this is a reason to maybe have a little bit of pause.

But six and a half just felt like too big of a number for me. And, you know, the Vikings' offense has played pretty well. They have played some softer opponents than what they're going to get in Tampa this week. But this is still an offense that has been able to get up and down the field. The emergence of Justin Jefferson simply cannot be overstated for the Vikings. Coming into this year, you know, we know what Kirk Cousins is, not a superstar, probably a little bit undersold as to what he brings to a team as a quarterback. Adam Thiel and a great receiver, Dalvin Cook, a great.

running back, but they clearly needed one more piece in the offense. They used that high pick on Justin Jefferson. They let Stefan Diggs go. And, you know, really both Buffalo and Minnesota have benefited from this Justin Jefferson, a revelation for the Vikings. You have now three straight, 300-yard, three touchdown games from Kirk Cousins. And again, those games came against Dallas, Carolina, and Jacksonville. Nothing like the defense they're going to see in Tampa this week. But go back to the game before that. Through for 292 yards and two touchdowns. better than eight yards per attempt against the Bears defense in Chicago. This is, I think we need to start facing up to the fact that Kirk Cousins has been among the best quarterbacks in this middle chunk of the season.

And I think that they can at least keep it within six and a half. I'm not picking the Vikings to win this game. I think the Buccaneers get a much needed win, but I do think that the Vikings offense can keep pace with Tampa's and make this game something within a touchdown. So I will take the six and a half points and ride with the Minnesota Vikings. Last game in the early slate, we have Kansas City going to Miami to take on the Dolphins. Chiefs are seven-point favorites in this one. 49 and a half is the over-under, and here we switch, Vic.

I like the favorite. The Chiefs, you like another home dog here in Miami. Make the case for the Dolphins. Just because I've been going with the Dolphins a lot lately, the defense is pretty good. I think the Chiefs are not quite in sync in offense. I think the last week of my homes was over five on deep passes. So again, another home dog.

I think it's some good value. I think they match up pretty well in terms of their past defense against the Chiefs' past offense. So, yeah, I like the offense to keep it close. You know, I wish I had a better rationale for why I like the Chiefs than what I'm about to put out here. But we make five picks. We make five picks every week no matter what.

We might like two games. We might like eight games, but we make five picks, and we stick with them. And I was having trouble coming up with the fifth pick. I feel pretty good about my first four picks. And then the Chiefs ended up being the fifth pick, the last one I settled on. And I sort of have, I call it a loose rule. It's not something I follow always. But when in doubt I'm going to back the Chiefs, especially when it's a touchdown or less that they're giving.

When in doubt, trust Patrick Mahomes, trust Andy Reid, trust this juggernaut of an offense. Travis Kelsey playing some of the best football of his career. Tyree Kill, same goes for him. There's really no slowing this offense down. And we know that this defense can be a lot different when, the offense gives it the lead it needs to just play straight downhill. And I do think that that is something that is possible this week against Miami. Good game out of two, Atung of I-Loa a week ago, his most efficient game yet as a starter.

But this is going to be a much different test not only because of the defense that he faces, but because of the offense that is going to be on the other side of the field. I mean, you have to keep pace with the chiefs. That's just the bottom line. You're not slowing that offense down. You're not stopping that offense. You have to be able to keep pace. Slowing down the Chiefs looks like holding them to 27 or 28 points, right?

This is not going to be a 20 to 13 game. And I just don't know if this Dolphins offense has it in them to keep pace with the Chiefs. So I will take the Chiefs laying just a touchdown. I think that is a number that they can cover. Let's get to the late window here. Going to do the same thing we have. Let's see, one, two, three games. It's a seven early game, six late game window, which thank you, NFL.

Love seeing that sort of balance. Six games in this window, three of which that we have no pick on. So I'll just read those three, and I'll ask you about the first one. Actually, we got Colts minus two and a half in Vegas to take on the Raiders. 51 and a half is the over-under. Seahawks are minus 13 and a half at home against the Jets. 47 is the over-under. And then 49ers, Lan a field goal at home against the Washington football's got over-under a 43-5.

No picks for either of us on those three games. But give us a little scouting report of what you're expecting to see between the Colts and the Raiders in Vegas this weekend. Well, I think the Raiders are going to definitely get a lift. to probably get Josh Jacobs back and Trent Brown and Jonathan Abram on defense. I think that's three of their best players. So I think it's a good spot for them. I'm picking the Raiders to win that game. I think in perfect Raiders form,

I've seen them beating the Colts this weekend and lose them to the Chargers on Thursday night. That's a two-for-one prediction for you guys. But I think it's a good spot for them. We both have not been high on the Colts all year. I think the defense is probably better than we thought it was. But overall, I think still maybe a little overrated. Yeah, I think they are too And I like the Raiders in that one as well

Kind of like the over in that game too I think we maybe finally see the big breakout game from Jonathan Taylor, the Colts rookie running back that we've been waiting for. He's had a couple of nice games in his last two healthy games And this is a front that just gave up 104 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries

to tie Johnson a week ago And I do think that Jonathan Taylor can get going But feel like the Raiders at home Are the better play here But no pick on that, no pick on C, Jets, no pick on 49ers or Washington footballs. Up next is the Packers going into Detroit, another road favorite, another big road favorite, Vic. Seven and a half is the spread on this game and an over under also way up there of 55.

I am not afraid of that seven and a half point number whatsoever. Give me the Green Bay Packers and give me the Packers with a ton of confidence. This is just an offense that has been rolling really all season. started in week one against Minnesota. They put up 43. Week two against the Lions. They put up 42 in a 21 point victory. Week three against the Saints, 37, week four against Atlanta, 30. I mean, this offense has been rolling all season long, and we've seen them get healthy over the last couple of weeks, getting Alan Lazard back into the fold, getting an emergent Robert Tunyon in the offense. And what they do, 30 points against Philly a week ago, 41 against the Bears

in week 12. 31 in a loss to the Colts in week 11. And look at that, back-to-back games, 31 and 41 against the Colts and the Bears, two of the better defenses in the NFL. I just don't see the lion slowing them down. I think this is a high-scoring game, and I think the Lions can put up 21 or 24 or 28 points on the other side of it. I just don't see any way in which this Lions defense, which has just been atrocious and just gave up 30 points to the Mitch Trubisky-led Bears a week ago, have any hope of slowing down Aaron Rogers and Company. So I really, really like the Packers to be able to take this one with Relevant. relative ease. No pick for you, but do you have a lean in either direction?

I'd probably lean towards the lines because, no, they're going to know under their new coach. I think my staff would look like he's coming back and running back in the form. Look good last week. Yeah, it looked good last week. So I think the number is kind of a nice number. I think you want a backdoor cover or if they can keep it close. But I think they got a little purpose now, a little bouncing their step, after getting rid of the dead weight and the coaching staff. So I think it's a good spot. I think I've blown out the first time. So I think there probably be more fired up. But there's matches than the Packers probably are. All right, well, I hope you are wrong.

And let's move on to the next game here. Two more games in this late window. One where I have a pick, one where you have a pick. Let's go to your pick first. It is on Saints and Eagles. These Saints are in Philly this week. They are seven-point favorites against the Eagles. Jalen Hertz making his first start.

This is not a soft landing spot whatsoever. A brutal matchup for him. And really, this Philadelphia offense at large against the Saints defense. Again, touchdown favorites are the Saints in Philly. Forty-four is the over-under. This is one where you are not backing the home. Home dog, Vic, you are backing the road favor in New Orleans. I like to pick even though it's not in my five.

Let you make the argument for why the Saints are the right way to go here. Yeah, I think it's a bad spot for Jalen Hertz. I think my take on the whole thing is that Doug Peterson's trying to save his job, trying to show his bosses. Like, you know what? It's not my fault. It's not Carson Wentz's fault the rest of this team. It's got a lot of holes, and you'll see that this week.

So I think the Saints are, you know, they probably have good practice, would take some hill in practice. I used to guys like Jailen Hertz, you know, running around and making him. plays with his feet. So that's also a reason why I like the Saints, but I think it's a bad spot for a rookie quarterback who I'm not sure as seasons as other rookie quarterbacks are this year in the NFL. Last game in the early window is where we will find my fourth pick of the day. Falcons are in L.A. to take on the Chargers, the Falcons are two and a half point favorites.

49 is the over under on this game. Here's where I'm going with the Home Dog, Vic. I like the Chargers in this one. This is, I think, a really nice bounceback spot for this team after getting embarrassed by the Patriots one week ago losing 45 to nothing, just looking like a total mess on special teams, giving up a blocked field goal touchdown, giving up a punt return touchdown. It was just a complete mess, and a mess really from the jump for the Chargers. They really had no opportunity to get into that game, especially once it started getting even just a little bit out of hand. I think the Chargers bounced back in this one.

First and foremost, you know, there was such a huge coaching difference a week ago with Bill Belichick and Anthony Lynn. I just don't think that's going to be the case this week, especially under an interim coach for the Falcons. And, you know, that's not really a knock on Anthony Lynn. I mean, there's going to be a big coaching difference between Bill Belichick and anyone. But you just think about the factors, right, that the Chargers have going into that game, a rookie quarterback who's starting to get on tape enough that teams are able to find some flaws in his game and in the way that the offense runs under him, a Chargers team that has had bad special teams all season long. I mean, that is just, if you're going to draw up a team that Bill Belichick is going to be able to take advantage of, you would include things like that. So really just, it was a bad, bad matchup, really right off the bat for the Chargers. This is, I think, an excellent bounceback spot for this team.

You've got Austin Echler, another week healthy for them. And you've got a Falcons team that's dealing with some injuries of its own. Julio Jones, not practicing sounds like he's going to be a no-go for them. Kelvin Ridley also hasn't been practicing, and that's been the case for him for a couple of weeks now. but, you know, maybe you're at a less than 100% Kelvin Ridley. There's some holes in this Atlanta team as well, and it just feels like the sort of spot where we're going to get a nice bounce back for the chargers, especially on offense.

I think that this Atlanta offensive line with the issues that it has had is going to have a lot of trouble containing Joey Bosa. Another thing that, you know, Bill Belichick was able to find a way to neutralize. I just don't think Atlanta has the ability to neutralize someone like Joey Bosa. So add it all up and give me the two and a half. Yes, I will take that. I will take the Los Angeles Chargers as my fourth pick. Let's move on now to the primetime games.

We don't have a pick on Monday night football, so I will throw that one out there. I am very, very excited for the game, though. Ravens in Cleveland, Ravens are one-point favorites against the Browns 46 and a half. My lean personally would be toward Cleveland, but a little bit too close between those two teams, especially with Lamar Jackson back and looking good

in his return to the field. last week against the Cowboys, just going to enjoy Monday night football. Sunday night football, however, we do have picks on it, and it is our third head-to-head matchup of the week. Another really fun game could be a preview of something we see on the AFC side of the bracket in the playoffs. Bills minus two and a half at home, taking on the Steelers, 46.5 is the over-under. I like the home favorite.

Buffalo, you like the road dog. Pittsburgh make the case for the Steelers here, Vic. To me, it's strictly a line movement. Everyone's betting on the bills after the last week's results. I think the Steelers obviously were kind of in a flat spot. I think they were getting tired of all the talk about being undefeated. They realized they weren't that great a team, so I think they weren't really trying to be undefeated.

So they had that game actually in hand. They had like seven drops, I think, in that game. So again, I look back on probably one, you know, be mad this week. I think they match up pretty well against the bills as far as their defensive pressure and ability to contain Josh Allen. So I think that's a good bounce-back spot. for the Steelers.

Plus, I like the line swing in my favor. You know, I got to admit that I'm a little scared off by the fact that it's only two and a half when, you know, we just saw these two teams both play island games, right? And the bills look awesome in their island game. Josh Allen played one of the best games, if not his best game of the season in their just dismantling of the 49ers. Then the Steelers get the national spotlight and they fall flat in their loss to Washington. And so it just feels like everyone watched both of those games.

And you saw this just flying offense on Buffalo. You saw this flat team in Pittsburgh go down to Washington. Just the games, this was disjointed from the start, even when the Steelers jumped out to a lead. Steelers are getting James Connor back in this game too. But I don't, I mean, that offense to me, Vic, is just, it's been so stagnant. And they've almost had, they just, they don't seem capable of really getting any sort of balance. And I know James Connor's back there, but I just don't think you want to be asking Ben Rafflesberger to drop back 50 times a game. And, you know, they've turned Juju Smith-Souster almost

into like a running back with the way that he's being deployed on like short routes only and just, you know, throwing him these, these balls at the line of scrimmage, these balls three yards beyond the line of scrimmage and asking him to basically replace the run game. Like, I need to see a little bit more balance out of this offense. And I don't think you need to be and establish the run team, I mean, that era of the NFL is gone and dead and behind us. But you want to see a little bit more balance if you have a quarterback who's not really going to create outside the pocket. And until I see that, I'm just not going to trust the Steelers against a really good team like the Bills are. I think the Bills are going into this as the better team, frankly, and on a little bit better of a role here.

So I will trust that Bill's offense. I will trust Josh Allen. It's a very tough spot for him against the Pittsburgh defense. But, you know, Bud Dupree, done for the season. that was a huge loss for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and now they get a real test. You know, they played their first game without Dupree against Washington. This is going to be a much different look that they get when they go to Buffalo to take on the bill.

So I am going to back the Buffalo Bills. Let's recap our picks here really quickly. You've got the Giants. They are at home taking on the Cardinals as one and a half point underdogs. Buccaneers, they are six and a half point favorites against the Vikings at home. The Miami Dolphins are also at home as seven. point underdogs against the chiefs. You've got the Saints. The Saints are seven point favorites in Philly, taken on the Eagles, and then as we just said, the Steelers, two and a half point dogs in

Buffalo, taking on the bills. I am on the opposite side of Vikings Bucks, Chiefs Dolphins, and Bill Steelers. As my standalone games, I have the Packers, seven and a half point favorites in Detroit taking on the Lions, and then the Chargers, two and a half point dogs against the Atlanta Falcons. Vic, upset pick time. Who you got as an upset team winning straight up. I was going back and forth between the Raiders and the Giants. I went with the Giants. I think they, like I said, I think they're on a role.

I have a lot of confidence. I think the Cardinals are kind of dotting themselves now all of a sudden. So I went with the Giants to win that came out right. You know, I like the Giants as a pick here. I was actually going back and forth between an NFC East team and the Raiders also for my selection. I ended up going also with the NFC East team. Give me Washington.

You know, not a pick that I'm totally in love with, obviously, given the fact that they're only three-point dogs against San Francisco, and I didn't actually pick it as one of my favorite picks. But give me Washington. I think that that defense, I think they have what it takes to slow down what San Francisco wants to do on the ground. And if you slow down what San Francisco wants to do on the ground, you can basically slow down their offense entirely.

So I'll take Washington, not necessarily my favorite upset pick of the season, but hey, it's an upset pick. Nonetheless, hopefully this has been one of your favorite editions of the Friday Athletic Fantasy Football Podcast and Athletic Football Show of the season. We are winding down here just two more weeks of this show left this season. So thanks so much for joining us once again here on this week 14 Friday. We will be back with you in week 15 to tackle the DFS and against the spread worlds for Vic Tafer and Derek Van Riper. I am Michael Beller. Thank you again for listening. Have a great weekend and enjoy all of the

week 14 action. This was the Athletic Football Show.