This article is part of our DFS NFL series.
After a wild Week 1 full of upsets and injuries, our attention shifts to the Week 2 schedule. With the busy slate comes more contests 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
For this contest, let's focus on a 2/2 goal for 3X the prize with regard to fantasy points scored by Saquon Barkley and Tua Tagovailoa. Barkley's number is at 19.5 fantasy points, while Tagovailoa's is 18.5 fantasy points.
Right off the bat, give me the over on Barkley. He had 194 total yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Titans, which included six receptions. Daniel Jones struggled again, producing two turnovers. Barkley looked great, showing the same explosiveness that he had prior to a couple injury-plagued season. With the Giants looking to get the ball out of Jones' hands and into Barkley's, his heavy workload should help him hit the over against the Panthers.
Tagovailoa had a quiet performance in his season debut against the Patriots, completing 23 of 33 yards for 270 yards and a touchdown. He has more weapons this season after the addition of Tyreek Hill, but he has yet to prove that he can be a consistently productive starting quarterback. In a difficult matchup against the Ravens, I'm leaning toward the under for his fantasy points.
Rapid Fire Contest
There are plenty of appealing options, but let's target a 2/3 goal for 1.5X the prize. The options are passing yards for Tom Brady vs. Matt Ryan (with Ryan receiving a +25.5 yards bonus), rushing yards for Jonathan Taylor vs. Nick Chubb (with Chubb getting a +23.5 yards bonus) and receiving yards for Michael Pittman vs. Mike Evans (with Evans getting a +4.5 yards bonus).
Let's focus first on the rushing yards battle between Taylor and Chubb. Taylor won this battle in Week 1, producing 161 yards in a tie with the Texans. Chubb didn't exactly struggle, though, with 141 rushing yards against the Panthers. Both should receive heavy workloads in Week 2 and both have good matchups. Taylor takes on the Jaguars on the road, while Chubb faces the Jets at home. I think they will produce similar stat lines, so with Chubb receiving such a big bonus, I'll take him to finish with more.
For our second pick, let's go with the receiving yards for Pittman and Evans. Pittman was a monster in Week 1, catching nine of 13 targets for 121 yards and a touchdown. Evans would seem to be in line for a heavy workload with Chris Godwin (hamstring) not expected to play. However, Evans has struggled against the Saints historically. In two games against them last season, he produced 48 and 14 receiving yards, respectively. Go with Pittman.
Stat Shootout Contest
An option to pursue is a 2.5+ total touchdowns goal for 1.5X the prize. Among the available players, I'm selecting Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams and Ja'Marr Chase. Let's start with Kupp, who had a touchdown reception in Week 1 after catching 16 touchdowns last season. He received a total of 15 targets against the Bills, and should once again be busy in a matchup against the Falcons.
Adams also produced a touchdown in Week 1, which was his first game as a member of the Raiders. He was targeted 17 times, three of which game inside the red zone. In fact, all three of his red-zone targets came inside the 5-yard line. Look for him to reach the end zone again in a matchup against a Cardinals team that gave up five passing touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes last week.
As busy as Adams was inside the red zone last week, Chase was even busier. He finished with one touchdown, but was targeted a whopping six times inside the red zone. Of those six red-zone targets, four came inside 10 yards. He should remain a popular target for Joe Burrow when they get in close against the Cowboys.
