NFL Monkey Knife Fight Picks: Wild-Card Sunday

NFL Monkey Knife Fight Picks: Wild-Card Sunday

This article is part of our DFS NFL series.

Sunday's playoff action leaves 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 highlight one option to consider.

More Or Less Contest

Let's begin with the Giants-Vikings game and highlight a 2/2 goal for 3.5X the prize. We'll pick sides on Richie James 45.5 receiving yards and K.J. Osborn 39.5 receiving yards. For James, take the over. This is a favorable matchup for him, given that the Vikings allowed the second-most passing yards per game in the league during the regular season. He had eight receptions for 90 yards against them in Week 16 and he has at least 61 receiving yards in three of his last four games.

For Osborn, take the under. The Giants secondary will be the healthiest that it has been in awhile with safety Xavier McKinney back and cornerback Adoree' Jackson (knee) trending toward making his return. With Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson torching the Giants in their last meeting, Osborn only caught three of four targets for 17 yards.

Rapid Fire Contest

Staying with that game, another interesting option is a 2/2 goal for 3X the prize. The battles are Kirk Cousins vs. Daniel Jones passing yards (with Jones receiving a 34.5 passing yards bonus) and Jefferson vs. Darius Slayton receiving yards (with Slayton receiving a 49.5 receiving yards bonus). For the quarterbacks, take the bonus and go with Jones. He threw for 334 yards against the Vikings previously and should be asked to throw a lot in their rematch to keep up with the Vikings' offense. Cousins threw for 299 yards in that meeting and concluded the season with three consecutive games with fewer than 300 passing yards.

For the wide receivers, I'll forgo Slayton's hefty bonus Slayton and take Jefferson. Jefferson had 133 receiving yards against the Giants in Week 16 and 10 games this season with at least 107 receiving yards. He even had seven games with at least 133 receiving yards.

Stat Shootout Contest

Shifting to the Ravens-Bengals game, let's discuss the option in which three players must combine for at least 2.5 touchdowns for 2X the prize. With Lamar Jackson (knee) out for the Ravens, the Bengals should have the more productive offense. The first player in my trio will be Joe Mixon. Despite having a limited workload in a lopsided win against the Ravens in Week 18, Mixon scored a touchdown. He has shown crazy upside in the scoring department, including when he rushed for four touchdowns against the Panthers in Week 9.

Sticking with the Bengals, take Ja'Marr Chase. He also scored against the Ravens in Week 18, marking the third time over his last four games that he had a touchdown reception. The Bengals like to look his way when they get in close, giving him 18 red-zone targets over his last eight games.

For our choice on the Ravens, let's go with Mark Andrews. The absence of Jackson has dealt a blow to his production. He finished the season with fewer than 50 receiving yards in three of his final four games. He also hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 6. However, he did score a touchdown against the Bengals in Week 5, and is the clear top receiving option in the Ravens' offense. That at least gives him the potential to break his scoring drought.

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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