This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
The NFL is known for its Thanksgiving slate, but the league has an even more spread out schedule across the Christmas weekend. Following Thursday's win for the Rams, there are two games Saturday. The Bengals visit the Steelers and the Chargers play host to the Bills. Both games had the potential to be a lot more intriguing just a few weeks ago, but the Bills and Bengals are currently in playoff position and will look to protect those spots in a crowded AFC postseason picture.
The Bengals open the day as 2.5-point road favorites in a game featuring a 38.5-point total. They have the second-highest implied team total at 20.5. The Steelers fit into the middle of the field with an 18-point implied total. The Bills are another road favorite, though by a much more sizable 12.5-point margin. They have an implied team total of 28 — the highest on slate — and the Chargers are 15.5.
Quarterback
As will be the case at most positions, the standout option at quarterback is in Buffalo. Josh Allen ($9,500) blows away every option at the position on paper and that's straightforward enough that we don't need to dig any further into it. The downside is what we need to be aware of, and it was on full display in Week 15. Buffalo isn't likely to have much resistance on the path to victory, which means the Bills can rely on the run game and Allen doesn't have to play hero. If one of the lower-priced options at the position comes close to matching him, lineups that pay up at quarterback will be at a significant disadvantage.
Jake Browning ($7,800) probably has the best chance to keep pace. The Steelers' secondary is decimated by injuries and a suspension, as is their linebacker corps. Even without Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder), Browning should have the chance to throw in the short areas of the field to Joe Mixon and Tanner Hudson before taking deep shots to Tee Higgins. Since getting shut down by the Steelers in his first start in relief of Joe Burrow (wrist), Browning has 19.96, 24.7 and 26.16 FD points in three other games.
Mason Rudolph ($6,600) is the potential darkhorse because of the matchup and his familiarity with the Pittsburgh offense.
Running Back
James Cook ($8,500) has had a meteoric rise in recent weeks, perhaps matched only by Kyren Williams. If the Bills jump out to the lead as we widely expect, he's likely to top 20 carries again. Meanwhile, the Chargers have given up the sixth-most fantasy points per game and have also allowed the most targets to running backs. That gives Cook multiple outs to be productive.
Joe Mixon ($8,300) is in a good matchup because of the injury issues to the Steelers that we've discussed. There are mixed signals as to his workload. He saw only 10 carries in Week 15 compared to seven for Chase Brown ($5,200). However, Mixon was on the field for 71 percent of the snaps, in line with his normal mark. That means both Mixon and Chase have the potential to be a good play. The case for Mixon is that he's retained the goal-line role. The case for Brown is his price. There aren't great places to pay up elsewhere, so Mixon is a viable play — though he's likely to be popular as a result. Fading him should provide leverage on the field, but there's a path to him being the highest-scoring player on the slate.
The same dynamic is in play in Los Angeles. Austin Ekeler ($6,800) is the incumbent, but with the Chargers out of the playoff mix, they could turn to younger options that could potentially be on the roster in the long term. Isaiah Spiller ($5,300) looked to be that option in Week 15 when he earned 16 carries, but game script also may have played a role as the Chargers were getting embarrassed by the Raiders. This is a more volatile situation with less upside than Cincinnati, but neither will be rostered much. On a tiny slate, that's worth something.
Wide Receiver
Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) and Keenan Allen (heel) are both out, thinning the top of the wide receiver pool. Stefon Diggs ($8,900) has been in a lengthy slump, but prior to Week 15, he was still getting the targets. If the Bills choose to win through the air, Diggs is a fine play thanks to a dream matchup against the Chargers.
Tee Higgins ($7,800) put on a clinic against the Vikings after Chase went down, now he draws a shorthanded Steelers secondary. He's the top point-per-dollar play on the slate. There's not much value in the Cincinnati wide receiver corps after him. Tyler Boyd ($5,900) hasn't seen any improvement in production in the absence of Chase, while Andrei Iosivas ($4,600) and Trenton Irwin ($5,100) split routes and snaps as the third receiver. Iosivas is intriguing, but he's a pure dart throw.
Los Angeles is another place to hunt for value due to the absence of Allen. Joshua Palmer ($6,000) is the big-play threat in the offense. The Chargers should give Quentin Johnston ($5,600) every chance to prove he's worth the first-round pick they used on him in April, though he hasn't had much production to this point.
Tight End
The entire player pool at the position has a positive matchup. Tanner Hudson ($5,300) offers floor and has the benefit of facing (one more time) a rundown Steelers' defense. Pat Freiermuth ($5,100) had his only productive game of the season against the Bengals, who have also allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends.
Defense/Special Teams
The Bills ($5,000) are the obvious top play and shouldn't be all that difficult to pay up for given the rest of the slate. They force the third-most turnovers in the league and tally the fifth-most sacks per game. It's a slam dunk on paper.
The Bengals ($4,200) are really the only viable alternative. The Steelers are on their third quarterback and Cincinnati has only forced one fewer turnover than Buffalo this year.
