This article is part of our Showdown/Single Game DFS Breakdown series.
The Packers season isn't exactly saved by it, but Green Bay's big win against Dallas in Week 10 has kept things on the rails just enough for Aaron Rodgers and company to stay in the playoff hunt for a while longer. They stay in Lambeau on the short week as the Titans travel for the third time in four weeks after beating Denver 17-0 at home in Week 10. It will be a cold game – temperatures just a bit above 20 degrees – and both teams walk into the game battered. The venue and cold historically trend toward the advantage of the Packers, so after opening with Green Bay favored by 1.5 points the line has jumped to three since. The over/under is 41.
QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Rodgers ($10400 DK, $15000 FD) finally got rolling in Week 10 and will hope to keep the big-play momentum on the short week, but it'll be a chilly game and his offensive line is suffering through injuries to its two best players. Rodgers will hope Jeffery Simmons sits another game, but if Simmons is active then the offensive line is something to watch. The Titans are already down their two top edge rushes and standout safety Amari Hooker, so Rodgers could exploit injuries on the other side if his blocking holds up alright. The Titans corners are feisty and will play tough especially underneath, which makes it helpful that Christian Watson finally emerged as a deep threat last week, scoring three touchdowns on
The Packers season isn't exactly saved by it, but Green Bay's big win against Dallas in Week 10 has kept things on the rails just enough for Aaron Rodgers and company to stay in the playoff hunt for a while longer. They stay in Lambeau on the short week as the Titans travel for the third time in four weeks after beating Denver 17-0 at home in Week 10. It will be a cold game – temperatures just a bit above 20 degrees – and both teams walk into the game battered. The venue and cold historically trend toward the advantage of the Packers, so after opening with Green Bay favored by 1.5 points the line has jumped to three since. The over/under is 41.
QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Rodgers ($10400 DK, $15000 FD) finally got rolling in Week 10 and will hope to keep the big-play momentum on the short week, but it'll be a chilly game and his offensive line is suffering through injuries to its two best players. Rodgers will hope Jeffery Simmons sits another game, but if Simmons is active then the offensive line is something to watch. The Titans are already down their two top edge rushes and standout safety Amari Hooker, so Rodgers could exploit injuries on the other side if his blocking holds up alright. The Titans corners are feisty and will play tough especially underneath, which makes it helpful that Christian Watson finally emerged as a deep threat last week, scoring three touchdowns on eight targets. It makes sense for Green Bay to go back to Watson to test Tennessee's lack of speed and length at corner.
Ryan Tannehill ($9600 DK, $14000 FD) has smaller hands for a quarterback and has struggled in the cold throughout his career, so this is a slightly concerning matchup at a glance with the temperatures around 20 degrees in a hostile road environment. If the Titans get the win here they might (surprise) need a big game from Derrick Henry, and when Henry really gets rolling it's sometimes at the expense of Tannehill's potential usage. If Tannehill throws a lot of passes it might coincide with a down game for Henry and/or a losing one for the Titans.
RUNNING BACKS
Derrick Henry ($11600 DK, $17000 FD) is a singular figure and a likely candidate to take over any given game, including this one potentially. The Green Bay run defense is allowing 5.05 yards per carry to opposing running backs so far, and the 20-degree temperatures could heighten the pain of tackling Henry, who throughout his career reliably produces better as the year goes on. Dontrell Hilliard ($3200 DK, $7000 FD) might be somewhat overqualified for his role as a passing down specialist, but with a player like Henry around there usually isn't much work to do. The more Hilliard plays, the more Tannehill is likely throwing the ball.
Aaron Jones ($11200 DK, $14500 FD) was one of the heroes for the Packers last week, running for 138 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, but Jones doesn't have back-to-back games of 20 carries since 2019. Jones' ability is beyond question, but it's less clear what kind of volume he can withstand on his frame, especially on a short week. It wouldn't be the strangest thing if the Packers prioritize AJ Dillon ($6600 DK, $12000 FD) slightly more than usual, though the matchup is tough for both backs against a Titans defense allowing only 3.9 yards per carry to opposing backs. It's not as pronounced of a distinction as in Henry's case, but Dillon's career numbers to this point have also been better in games 9-16 than 1-8.
WIDE RECEIVERS + TIGHT ENDS
Christian Watson ($7400 DK, $10500 FD) is maybe the most interesting player on the slate after breaking out for 107 yards and three touchdowns on four catches and eight targets last week, and the Packers certainly need him to keep it up. The Titans cornerbacks might try to get in Watson's face a bit and try to stall his routes, but if they miss then last week showed what could happen. The Titans corners don't have much in the way of speed or reach, so they'll need to be careful with Watson. Randall Cobb ($200 DK, $7500 FD) could be a nice pick on DraftKings especially, where the price and the PPR scoring suit him, but with Watson's increased playing time and Allen Lazard ($8600 DK, $10500 FD) locked into a three-down role Cobb's playing time would have to be at the expense of Samori Toure ($1200 DK, $6500 FD) and to a lesser extent Sammy Watkins ($4800 DK, $7500 FD). Basically, Cobb should be the main slot receiver in three-wide while Watkins appears to be the primary boundary backup to Lazard and Watson. Robert Tonyan ($5800 DK, $7000 FD) disappeared from the game plan last week but shouldn't be forgotten – the problem last week, and most of his down weeks, was that he mostly ended up blocking. If Green Bay throws more Tonyan has the ability to make a real impact, especially if Rodgers struggles to get the receivers going. Marcedes Lewis ($600 DK, $6000 FD) doesn't run as many routes as last year, leaving Josiah Deguara ($1800 DK, $5500 FD) to take most of the non-Tonyan tight end routes.
Treylon Burks ($5200 DK, $8000 FD) is still trying to get going so the Titans can take some pressure off the overmatched Robert Woods ($6800 DK, $8500 FD), but it's not clear who might see the most of standout corner Jaire Alexander. Alexander hasn't had a great season, but he can shut down receivers like Burks, Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine ($6200 DK, $10000 FD) without much trouble. Austin Hooper ($4600 DK, $7500 FD) has had a disappointing season but quietly stepped up a bit in the past month, and he might be a way for the Titans to attack the Packers where De'Vondre Campbell would normally play. Geoff Swaim ($200 DK, $5500 FD) leads the Titans in tight end snaps but mostly blocks, making Hooper and Chigoziem Okonkwo ($2600 DK, $6500 DK) more interesting for the most part.
KICKERS
Mason Crosby ($4000 DK, $8500 FD) missed a 54-yard field goal earlier in the game but made the game-winning 28-yard field goal at the end to make everyone happy. Crosby's effectiveness at this point isn't what it used to be and his opportunity levels are unpredictable at best, resulting in just two games with double-digit fantasy points (both of them 10 exactly). Josh Lambo ($4200 DK, $9000 FD) used to be an excellent kicker but a 2020 hip injury might have deprived him of something – he will try to reestablish himself Thursday after going 0-3 on field goal attempts in 2021, though to be fair all three were beyond 40 yards and two were beyond 50. He's the one who provided For Cause material for the Urban Meyer firing, you might recall.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
The Packers ($3800 DK, $9000 FD) defense is in the slightly unusual position of being the home favorite but the cheaper fantasy defense between themselves and the Titans ($4400 DK, $9500 FD), perhaps due to the run-heavy Titans offense sometimes depriving defenses of pass rush and turnover opportunities. The Packers defense defense is beat up at the second level, where their best pass rush (Rashan Gary) and off-ball linebacker (De'Vondre Campbell) are out, as is CB2 Eric Stokes (knee/ankle) in the secondary. The Titans have about as much to complain about, especially if Jeffery Simmons (ankle) is out, but the difference is Aaron Rodgers reliably attempts at least 30 pass attempts per game whereas Ryan Tannehill has twice in seven games.
