All of America’s eyes are on the AFC Championship game. All of the minds are on the DraftKings NFL DFS Showdown Slate. Who are the best NFL DFS picks for the Bills and Chiefs matchup? Check out the NFL AFC Championship fantasy football picks.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL Showdown $1M Conference Clash [$250K to 1st] (BUF @ KC)
Captain’s Pick
Josh Allen ($17,400): Is this the year? Does Allen break through? Do long-suffering Buffalo fans return to the promised land? Will the 90s Bills and Buffalo ‘66 be nixed? Narratives aside, Allen is a dual-threat machine and a core play on the Showdown slate. If he’s auto-core, then he is captain. He threw for 30 TDs this season and ran for another 14. Few Showdown selections have his upside. Against the Chiefs, he has averaged 56 rushing yards per game, over 2000 passing yards, and 17 TDs in eight career meetings. In a game against the Chiefs, he will likely be running the ball a lot. He had more rushing attempts in their first meeting this season than in any other game. The game is on his shoulders. It’s boom or bust. That’s an NFL DFS pick that finishes in first.
UTIL Plays
Dalton Kincaid ($3,600): It’s a DraftKings showdown slate. The player pool is limited. Tight ends are always a big part of the conversation. Kincaid has been a regular part of the passing game. He had multiple catches in four straight games before last week. The Chiefs have been one of the worst teams against tight ends all season. They have been very locked down on wide receivers. The Chiefs ranked last in the NFL in receiving yards allowed to the TE position during the regular season, giving up 1,191 yards. He is a good value option who is involved in the passing game. The Bills will want to score points in this game, and they will need to be aggressive.
Patrick Mahomes ($10,000): There is a stronger argument for Mahomes on the main slate because of the quarterback pricing. Mahomes is still the cheapest option in Sunday night’s DraftKings Showdown contest. It’s not by much but enough that it matters. Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl champ, three-time Super Bowl MVP, a six-time Pro Bowler and has led his team to seven straight AFC Championship games. Winners don’t matter in NFL DFS; It is about stats, but that’s wrong. Winning teams score points. Points are often in short supply in the playoffs. Mahomes’ numbers might not always jump off the page, but he’s averaging 241.5 passing yards per game with 27 passing TDs this year, plus a couple of rushing scores. In 17 games, he’s averaging 18.6 FPTS per week. He had three passing touchdowns and 17.8 FPTS against the Bills in their first matchup this season.
Kareem Hunt ($7,000): The veteran running back is not the flashy, explosive guy he was in his first run with the Chiefs, but he gets the job done. Andy Reid trusts the veteran. Andy Reid is always a problem on DraftKings Showdown slates. He is notorious for going galaxy brain on the goalline. That’s changed of late. In the big spots, Hunt is the goal-line go-to. Over the last four games, Hunt’s been getting all the carries inside the five-yard line. The Chiefs have been leaning on him more than Pacheco lately. Hunt had 47 opportunities to Pacheco’s 37 since Week 15. Last week against the Texans, Hunt logged 24 snaps while Pacheco had 16. He led the Chiefs with eight carries for 44 yards and a TD in that game. Hunt is getting more opportunities in the passing game too. Touchdowns are rare late in the year and Hunt has found the end zone in the last three games.
Travis Kelce ($9,000): Playoff Kelce is here. It’s time to get serious. No more partying. No more cereal sales. Taylor can go to the studio. Kelce has work to do. This is a completely different beast. Last week, he had 117 yards, a TD, and 27.7 FPTS against the Texans. That’s the Kelce we know. The celebrity that slumped through the season is gone. He had 8.7 targets per game in his last seven contests. Tabloid TMZ Travis may not be as good as middle America, Ohio-boy tight end Travis, but he had 97 receptions for 823 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games this season (12.5 FPTS per game). The Chiefs are on the doorstep. They’ve been here before—Kelce and Mahomes have been here before. If Mahomes works in a big game, then Kelce works in a big game.
Fades
DeAndre Hopkins ($6,200): There are two stories. The veteran steps up and shakes off the dust in the biggest game of his career. The more likely story is less of a fable. The old guy is the old guy. He’s out there and maybe makes a big play, but he doesn’t make all of the plays. DraftKings NFL DFS needs all of the plays. Receiver is a stat position. This is not the same DeAndre Hopkins of the past. The numbers don’t lie: he didn’t have a single catch last week against the Texans. In his last five starts, he has a measly 112 yards and one touchdown. He’s lost a lot of luster since Hollywood Brown showed up. The Chiefs have a lot of other weapons that they will want to use instead of Hopkins. If you want a Chief’s receiver, there are younger options that are more likely to return value.
THE OUTCOME
America agrees. We’re all on the same page. There is unity in this country. We want something different. The Chiefs have plenty of trophies. It’s time for the Bills and the beaten-down Buffalo fans to have their day. What we want is not always what we get. As Bill Shakespeare said, “Our wills and our fates, do so contrary run.” It’s the Chiefs. It’s always the Chiefs.
Final Score: Chiefs 23, Bills 21
