Monkey Knife Fight: Monday Night Football Picks

Monkey Knife Fight: Monday Night Football Picks

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

The Monday Night Football matchup between the Packers and Rams brings our final opportunity of Week 15 to play on Monkey Knife Fight. Three Game Types are offered, including "More Or Less," "Rapid Fire" and "Stat Shootout." For a full breakdown of the rules for each game, see the House Rules page. Let's dive into some of the contests within each Game Type and discuss how things might play out

More Or Less Contest

Starting things is a 2/2 goal for 3X the prize. We will pick sides on Aaron Rodgers 230.5 passing yards and Baker Mayfield 199.5 passing yards. For Rodgers, take the under. He has thrown for 227 yards or fewer in each of the last four games. Part of the reason for his muted production is that he attempted 31 passes or fewer in three of those matchups. The Packers want to run the ball early and often, so Rodgers could again attempt a limited number of passes.

Let's also take the under for Mayfield. The Packers' strength on defense has been limiting quarterbacks, allowing the third-fewest passing yards per game in the league. Mayfield will have limited weapons at his disposal with Rams dealing with so many injuries, and he has thrown for at least 200 yards in a game only three times this season.

Rapid Fire Contest

Let's look at a 2/2 goal for 2.5X the prize. The battles are Rodgers vs. Mayfield fantasy points (with Mayfield receiving a +2.5 fantasy points bonus) and Aaron Jones vs. Christian Watson fantasy points (with Watson receiving a +4.5 fantasy points bonus). For the two quarterbacks, take Rodgers. Mayfield has played eight games this season — and has had multiple TD passes once. Meanwhile, Rodgers has at least two passing touchdowns in nine of 13 games.

For the other battle, I'm leaning Watson over Jones. The Rams still have a good run defense, allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game in the league. Jones also has to split the workload out of the backfield with AJ Dillon, which has contributed to Jones receiving 12 or fewer carries in four of the last five games. Watson has turned into a touchdown machine, scoring at least once in each of the last four games. He also had two games with at least 100 receiving yards during that span. Add the bonus that he is receiving and there are just too many aspects working in his favor.

Stat Shootout Contest

This has the potential to be a low-scoring game, which doesn't leave a ton of appealing choices here. Still, let's look at the option in which three players need to combine for 2.5-plus touchdowns for 2X the prize. The first choice is Watson. Not only does he have at least one touchdown in four consecutive games, but two of those were multi-touchdown performances. In Week 10, he torched the Cowboys for three scores.

Staying with the Packers, Dillon is another player to select. He has a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games, which broke a streak of 10 consecutive games without a score. He's the more physical back between he and Jones, so if the Packers find themselves in close, Dillon could receive the first opportunity to reach the end zone.

Finally, let's complete this trio with Cam Akers. He scored twice against the Seahawks in Week 13, then followed it with another touchdown versus the Raiders in Week 14. The Packers have allowed the third-most rushing yards per game in the league and 15 rushing touchdowns.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Mike Barner plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: mbarner, DraftKings: mbarner51.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Barner
Mike started covering fantasy sports in 2007, joining RotoWire in 2010. In 2018, he was a finalist for the FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year award. Mike also won the 2022-23 FSGA NBA Experts Champions league. In addition to RotoWire, Mike has written for Sportsline, Sports Illustrated, DK Live, RealTime Fantasy Sports, Lineup Lab and KFFL.com.
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