The second NFL playoff game on Saturday is an NFC West matchup between the 49ers and the Seahawks in Seattle, which kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET. It should be a great grudge match between division rivals, and presents an awesome NFL DFS showdown opportunity.
The Seahawks earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 14-3 record and had a bye last week as a result. The 49ers went an impressive 12-5 during the regular season, despite having to overcome multiple significant injuries to key contributors. That storyline continues this week with George Kittle (Achilles) out and Ricky Pearsall (knee) questionable.
The two teams faced off in Week 1 and Week 18 to bookend the season. The road team won each matchup, as the 49ers beat Seattle in Seattle in Week 1, and the Seahawks won in the final week of the season to secure the top seed and the bye.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Seattle is a seven-point home favorite, with the point total set at 44.5. The 49ers are +270 on the moneyline, while the Seahawks check in at -340.
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the strategies to consider as you set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $600K Saturday Night Showdown [$200K to 1st] (SF @ SEA)
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Picks
Christian McCaffrey ($17,700 CP): CMC is the most expensive play in the Captain’s Pick spot, but he just brings too much upside to not at least consider. He’ll also most likely be extremely popular, so fading him will make your lineup contrarian and high-risk. McCaffrey did only have 11.7 FPTS against the Seahawks in Week 18, when they held him to 23 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards without a touchdown. With Kittle out, though, CMC will likely get even more targets in the passing game.
McCaffrey caught six of his eight targets last week for 66 yards and two receiving scores against the Eagles, while adding 48 rushing yards. He finished that game with 29.4 FPTS and led the Niners to a 23-19 road victory. He had 17 touchdowns in 17 games during the regular season and finished with an average of 25.2 FPTS per contest. McCaffrey has exceeded 29 FPTS in three of his last four games, and that kind of ceiling makes him stand out with enough upside to be worth building around, even though he’ll stretch the rest of your salary cap space.
AJ Barner ($6,900 CP): One interesting alternative to a chalky build around CMC is to go with a bargain play like Barner as your Captain’s Pick and then use FLEX spots to carry high-priced plays like CMC, JSN and the quarterbacks. Barner has been a volatile play this season, but he has flashed enough upside to definitely be worth a look in this matchup, especially since the 49ers rank in the top 10 of fantasy points allowed per game to tight ends this season.
Barner had multiple catches in each of his last eight games, and he also became the Seahawks’ option of choice in their version of the tush push, which they call “The Barnyard.” Barner had a rushing touchdown in Week 9, and that usage gives him a unique wild card and a higher ceiling. As a receiver, Barner had six touchdowns this season, catching 52 of his 68 targets for a total of 519 yards. He had 10 catches in his busiest game and had a season-high of 71 receiving yards against the Jaguars. Barner is a red zone option who gets consistent work, and if he’s involved enough on Saturday, he could end up being the best bargain on the board.
FLEX Picks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($11,400): Besides McCaffrey, JSN is the other monster fantasy stud in this matchup. He averaged 22.8 FPTS per game this season and had 14.4 and 23.4 FPTS, respectively, in his two prior contests against the 49ers. He had at least had six catches in each of his last five games and scored a total of 10 touchdowns as part of his huge season of 118 receptions for 1,793 receiving yards. If you can make his salary work, he’s a great option to include.
Demarcus Robinson ($5,400): Robinson was already starting to be more involved in the 49ers’ passing game before he broke through with a big game against the Eagles last week. He hauled in six catches for 111 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles for a season-high 26.1 FPTS. He had multiple catches in each of the last four games of the regular season, and he should be involved enough to be a good value once again, even if he doesn’t match last week’s totals.
Seahawks D/ST ($4,200): While the “Dark Side” Seahawks defense hasn’t been as historic as the “Legion of Boom” quite yet, the defense has definitely been strong enough to be an excellent fantasy value at this salary. They had 12 FPTS against the 49ers in Week 18 while allowing just three points and picking up three sacks to go with an interception. On the season, they had 47 sacks, 25 takeaways and seven defensive touchdowns. The unit averaged 10.9 FPTS per game at home and showed the ability to dominate when at their best.
Fades
Sam Darnold ($10,400): Darnold’s playoff woes from last season will definitely be an overplayed storyline leading up to this game, but I’m avoiding him because he posted under 10 FPTS in his final two contests of the regular season, and the Seahawks would much rather run the ball with Kenneth Walker III ($8,400) and Zach Charbonnet ($8,200), especially in the red zone. The Seahawks have JSN and Barner, who I like, but since they don’t have a lot of other options in the passing game, if you already roster those two players, you can pass on Darnold at such a high salary in this matchup. He had 6.4 and 8.8 FPTS in his two games this season against San Francisco, which doesn’t make me want to spend over $10K to roster him on Saturday night.
THE OUTCOME
I expect another low-scoring, run-heavy game with plenty of long drives and short passes from both offenses. Ultimately, the Seahawks defense should be strong enough to get them a home win over the 49ers, who will definitely feel the absence of Kittle.
