NFL Monkey Knife Fight Picks: Week 18 Saturday

NFL Monkey Knife Fight Picks: Week 18 Saturday

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

The NFL starts Week 18 with two games Saturday that carry playoff implications. That should make for a fairly normal slate 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 highlight one option to consider.

More Or Less Contest

Let's start with a 2/2 goal for 3X the prize. The choices are Patrick Mahomes 320.5 passing yards and Trevor Lawrence 258.5 passing yards. For Mahomes, take the under. When these two teams played a one-point game in Week 5, Mahomes completed 29 of 43 passes for 292 yards. The Chiefs are still playing for playoff seeding, but the Raiders are out of it and have turned to Jarrett Stidham at quarterback. If the Chiefs race out to a big lead early, Mahomes might not be asked to throw much in the second half.

With Lawrence, take the over. This is a great matchup for him as the Titans allow the most passing yards per game in the league. When these teams met in Week 14, Lawrence torched them for 368 yards and three touchdowns.

Rapid Fire Contest

An interesting option is a 2/2 goal for 2.5X the prize. The battles are Mahomes vs. Derrick Henry fantasy points (with Henry receiving a 5.5 fantasy point bonus) and Lawrence vs. Travis Kelce fantasy points (with Kelce receiving a 1.5 fantasy point bonus). First, take advantage of the bonus and roll with Henry over Mahomes. With their playoff hopes on the line, expect Henry to be busy. The last time he faced the Jaguars, he rushed 17 times for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Finally, take Lawrence over Kelce. This is a great matchup for Lawrence against the Titans' struggling secondary. Like Mahomes, Kelce could find himself on the bench for part of the second half if the Raiders can't keep things close.

Stat Shootout Contest

Closing things out will be the contest in which three players need to combine for at least 2.5 touchdowns for 1.5X the prize. First up is Henry, who has 13 rushing touchdowns this season. That includes him reaching the end zone in three consecutive games.

Another player to select is Darren Waller, who has scored a touchdown in two of three games since returning from injury. The Chiefs haven't been great at slowing tight ends, allowing nine touchdowns to the position. As long as Stidham doesn't completely implode, Waller could find himself with additional opportunities to reach the end zone.

Finally, let's complete our trio with Isiah Pacheco. He scored against the Broncos last week, marking his third touchdown over the last six games. The Raiders have allowed 13 rushing touchdowns this season, which already works in Pacheco's favor. If the Chiefs build a big lead and decide to give veteran Jerick McKinnon some time off in the second half, Pacheco could receive even more carries.

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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