This article is part of our DFS NFL series.
Thanksgiving provides us with a busy Thursday in the NFL with three games. Added games early in the week gives us a great opportunity to start things on the right foot 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
Let's focus on the Bills-Lions game and highlight a 2/2 goal for 3X the prize. We have to pick sides on Stefon Diggs 21.5 fantasy points and Amon-Ra St. Brown 14.5 fantasy points. For Diggs, take the over. Don't read too much into him only catching four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown last week against the Browns. He was targeted a season-low five times, part of which can be attributed to the Bills running the ball a lot late. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bills had already built a 28-10 lead. The Lions have allowed the fifth-most passing yards per game in the league, setting up Diggs for a nice bounce-back performance.
Also give me the over on St. Brown. Touchdowns have been a problem for him considering he hasn't reached the end zone since Week 2. However, he has been targeted at least eight times in each of the last four games. That left him with a total of 28 receptions for 319 yards. The Lions will likely have to throw a lot to keep up with the Bills' offense, so St. Brown should be busy.
Rapid Fire Contest
An option for the Giants and Cowboys game for this contest is a 2/3 goal for 1.7X the prize. The battles are passing yards Dak Prescott vs. Daniel Jones (with Jones receiving a +51.5 passing yards bonus), CeeDee Lamb vs. Darius Slayton receiving yards (with Slayton receiving a +25.5 receiving yards bonus) and Saquon Barkley vs. Tony Pollard rushing yards (with Pollard receiving a +16.5 rushing yards bonus).
For the quarterbacks, I'll lean toward Jones over Prescott. With the Giants playing catchup against the Lions last week, Jones threw for 341 yards. The Giants' defense will be compromised for this game, so the Cowboys could race out to an early lead. If that happens, Jones might be asked to throw a lot late. The huge passing yards bonus is also big for him.
For the two receivers, let's also go with the player receiving the significant bonus and take Slayton. Lamb only had 45 receiving yards last week and has 70 or fewer receiving yards in four of his last six games. With the Giants dealing with so many injuries at wide receiver, Slayton has recorded at least 66 receiving yards in four of his last six games. Even more targets could be coming his way with Wan'Dale Robinson (knee) now on IR.
Stat Shootout Contest
Wrapping things up with a contest from the Patriots-Vikings game, let's highlight three defensive players to record at least 3.5 sacks for 1.5X the prize. The Vikings will roll out a compromised offensive line with left tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion) out. With him going down early last week, the Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins seven times. This is a great spot for Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon, who has 13 sacks this season.
Two players on the Vikings to target for this contest are Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith. Smith has 9.5 sacks and should play in this matchup after battling through a knee injury last week. Hunter has also been excellent at getting to the cornerback, generating six sacks this season. Working in the duo's favor is that Mac Jones has been sacked 16 times the last three games.
