By: LineStarTyler

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Hello LineStar family! This is LineStarTyler, Ryan had a bit of an emergency so I am stepping in to help him out. Don't worry, He will be back for the Superbowl newsletter next week.

NFL Playoffs are coming down to the wire! The Championship round is on Sunday and we have two exciting games CIN @ KC and SF @ LAR. CIN vs KC is the game that should garner the most attention with a total of 54.5.

During my research one thing that I found interesting is that:

Both KC and CIN have been passing more over the last 3 games than they did all season. Whereas SF and LAR have run the ball MORE over the last few games than they did during the rest of the season.

Teams rush rates over the last 3 games vs on the season.

KC 36.79% vs 37.7% on the season

CIN 34.66% vs 40.9% on the season

SF 53.85% vs 48.75% on the season

LAR 49.74% vs 41.18% on the season

Quarterbacks to Consider

Patrick Mahomes, KC | DK: $7.4k, FD: $8.8k | vs. CIN

After a midseason drought, Patrick has been on fire. He has posted back-to-back 40 point games and has pushed his team to be 7 point favorites to make his third straight super bowl appearance. On the season CIN has been middle of the pack vs the pass and I would not expect them to be able to shut down Mahomes. He has the highest floor and ceiling on the slate, due to that ownership will be there but for good reason. Play Mahomes with confidence.

Matt Stafford, LAR | DK: $6.3k, FD: $7.5k | vs. SF

This one will be a bit contrarian as everyone will likely use Burrow or Mahomes, however, if Mahomes or Burrow don't break 30 fantasy points then Stafford becomes a great play at a cheaper price. This is a game theory play, but the SF D line is very good and their secondary is suspect. To go along with that Stafford has arguably the best WRs in the playoffs, and Stafford is getting back Andrew Whitworth on his O-line. If the Rams decide to pass Stafford could light this secondary up.

Running Backs to Consider

Cam Akers, LAR | DK: $5k, FD: $6.2k | vs. SF

After a remarkable recovery from a pre-season Achilles injury, Akers has taken over the starting RB job with 81% of the snaps last week. At his price, no one on this slate has anywhere near the volume of touches he will have. This price is simply too cheap for the volume. He also has 9 redzone attempts over the last 2 games which leads all RBs left in the playoffs.

Joe Mixon, CIN | DK: $6.8k, FD: $8.2k | @ KC

Joe Mixon has been getting a ton of passing work lately giving him a great floor. Over his last 4 games, he has averaged 6.5 targets per game, and he has averaged 20.3 DK fantasy points over that span. I will be here due to the solidified workload vs KC who rates 18th vs the RB on the season.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC | DK: $5.3k, FD: $5.7k | vs. CIN

CEH came back from injury last week and only played 30% of the snaps. while McKinnon went on to play the other 70%. While only playing 30% of the snaps he still carried the ball 7 times and had two targets. McKinnon meanwhile had 10 carries plus 7 targets. CIN is giving up 131.5 rushing yards per game over the last 4 games, and I expect CEH to have the bulk of those as he is their best pure runner. However, he will cede work to McKinnon, especially on passing downs. So I would not go all-in on him, but I like him as a lower-owned pivot.

Wide Receivers to Consider

Cooper Kupp, LAR | DK: $8.8k, FD: $9.7k | vs. SF

The highest-priced player on the slate is Cooper Kupp, and I for one will not be telling anyone to fade him. He was the best WR in the league this season and is the safest bet for a TD. He is averaging 28 fantasy points against SF this season.

As I said earlier in this article, SF's secondary is suspect they rank 25th allowing 1.2 Rec TDs to WR, and 29th allowing 158.7 Rec Yards to WR over the last 9 games.

Tee Higgins, CIN | DK: $5.7k, FD: $6.4k | @ KC

Tee has quieted down a bit after his huge Week 16 game with 194 yards and 2 TDs. However, he is still an extremely good WR. I expect the Chiefs to make sure they don't get beat deep by Ja'Marr Chase, and if they do that they likely have Chase doubled leaving Higgins with one on one coverage vs a secondary that is allowing 232.8 yards and 2.5TDs per week to WRs over the last 4 games.

Byron Pringle, KC | DK: $4.3k, FD: $5.7k | vs. CIN

Byron Pringle comes at a huge discount to Tyreek Hill, and over the last 3 weeks, he has 21 targets to Tyreek's 22. He has solidified his role in the offense as the number 2 WR, and while he has not been getting a ton of yards for KC he is racking up receptions and TDs. Over the last 3 games, he has 3 TD, and over the last 5 games, he has 5 TDs. He is playing an Adam Theilin "like" role for the Chiefs, and at these prices, I will be taking some shots here.

Deebo Samuel, SF | DK: $7.2k, FD: $8.4k | @ LAR

Deebo eats the Rams for breakfast. He is averaging 136.5 yards 4.5 receptions and 1.5 TDs per game vs the Rams this season. Deebo will be used all over the field and likely have 10-15 touched between receptions and carries, I like the workload and history.

Tight Ends to Consider

Travis Kelce, KC | DK: $6.5k, FD: $7.7k | vs. CIN

Kelce has back-to-back perfect lineups and is poised to do it again vs a CIN D who is 25th on the season vs TE. Over the last 9 games, CIN is allowing 70.6 yards to the TE and .4 TDs. You have to like Travis's chance at getting into the box and the chance for 100 yards. Kittle is the only other TE that is capable of a Kelce like ceiling, but over the last 5 games, Kittle only has 1 game with over 5 targets. I will take the target safety and go Kelce over Kittle.

CJ Uzomah, CIN | DK: $3.4k, FD: $5.6k | @ KC

The only other pass-catching TE in Uzomah's price range is Tyler Higbee, however, over the last 2 weeks, Higbee doesn't have a single redzone target. While Uzomah has 2 RZ targets. Uzomah also has a big-play ability that Higbee is lacking. For those two reasons, plus he is in a higher-paced game I am going Uzomah over Hibee as my pay down TE option.

Defenses to Consider

Safe: LA Rams | DK: $3.2k, FD: $4.5k | vs. SF

Pivot: KC Chiefs | DK: $3k, FD: $3.7k | vs. CIN

Touchdown Call 🏈

Cam Akers, LAR | DK: $6.5k, FD: $7.8k | vs. SF

Once again, if you have any questions DM me on Twitter or hit me up in LineStar chat @Ryan_Humphries. Good luck this week!

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