Monkey Knife Fight: Thursday Night Football Picks

Monkey Knife Fight: Thursday Night Football Picks

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

Week 13 in the NFL kicks off with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Patriots and the Bills. This game leaves us with some interesting options 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 begin with a 2/2 goal for 2X the prize. The options are Rhamondre Stevenson 63.5 rushing yards and Devin Singletary 55.5 rushing yards. For Stevenson, take the under. The Bills have been good against the run, allowing the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game in the league. Part of that is because opponents don't run much against them — they've faced the seventh-fewest attempts in the league, likely because opponents have to throw to keep up with the Bills' high-powered offense. The Patriots don't like to throw a lot, but they might have to.

For Singletary, I'll lean toward the over. The Patriots have also been stout against the run, allowing the ninth-fewest rushing yards per game. However, Singletary has become the clear top option out of the Bills' backfield, receiving at least 13 carries in each of the last five games. During that span, he had at least 67 rushing yards four times.

Rapid Fire Contest

One option is a battle between Josh Allen and Mac Jones for passing yards (with Jones receiving a +40.5 passing yards bonus) and Stevenson vs. Singletary rushing yards (with Singletary receiving a +8.5 rushing yards bonus). For the running backs, take the bonus and roll with Singletary. Stevenson has been racking up yards in the passing game of late, but he has 60 rushing yards or fewer in four of the last five games.

For the quarterbacks, I'll again take the bonus and go with Jones. If the Patriots do find themselves in an early hole, Jones could be busy. With the Patriots trying to keep up with the Vikings' offense last week, Jones completed 28 of 39 passes for 382 yards. As good as Allen has been, he has thrown for 253 yards or fewer in four of the last five games.

Stat Shootout Contest

For this contest, we'll focus on three players to combine for at least 19.5 receptions for 2X the prize. One player to include is Stevenson. He's been a favorite option for Jones, receiving at least six targets in each of the last five games. That helped him record at least six receptions four times, and he even had two games with at least eight catches.

Staying with the Patriots, the second choice is Jakobi Meyers. He is officially listed as questionable with a shoulder injury, but he is expected to play. With the Patriots potentially needing to throw a lot, Meyers could be in for a big night. He has six games with at least six targets this season and he has a total of 21 receptions in his last four games.

On the Bills side, take Stefon Diggs. He was targeted a whopping 15 times against the Lions last week, which helped him finish with eight receptions. With at least 10 targets in a game seven times this season, he has already racked up a 84 receptions.

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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