There are four games on the main slate that offer Vegas over/under totals of over 45 points.
Minnesota/Atlanta 47.0
New England/Buffalo 49.0
Carolina/New Orleans 48.0
LA Rams/Arizona 45.5
Looking back on the Week 12 game with Green Bay/Pittsburgh, it had both quarterbacks, running backs and the wide receivers from both teams putting up big fantasy point games. Which one of the four games above is the most appealing for you in a GPP stack this week? Give me your favorite stack from that game with at least 3 players (2 from one team and 1 from the other) that has potential to score big fantasy points.
Phil Alexander: If I had to pick one of those games to shoot out it's Carolina at New Orleans. The Panthers offense is coming in hot, combining for 80 points in their previous two games. Meanwhile, it's unclear at this point in the week if the Saints will still be without both of their starting outside cornerbacks -- defensive rookie of the year front-runner Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley, whose coverage is rated inside the top-20 by Pro Football Focus.
The game stack I like best here starts with Mark Ingram II for the Saints. New Orleans is favored by more than a field goal at home, and in 4 games as a home favorite since the Adrian Peterson trade, Ingram has averaged 21.5 touches, 120 total yards and 1 touchdown per game (21.8 DraftKings points). Coming off a down week, still priced as the RB3, and matched up against the third-ranked rush defense, Ingram's ownership percentage should remain reasonable.
If we assume a big game from Ingram, Cam Newton will be forced to keep his foot on the gas. Newton is back to running the ball 8-10 times per game, giving him multiple paths to reach his fantasy ceiling. He also has three 30+ fantasy point performances as a visitor to the Superdome since 2014. Should Lattimore and/or Crawley scratch again, Devin Funchess (back-to-back 20+ point games) gets a bump as Carolina's most heavily targeted outside receiver. And of course, Christian McCaffrey, who is tied with Funchess for the team lead in targets, warrants consideration in any Newton stack.
If Ingram helps the Saints get out to an early lead, and Newton, Funchess, and McCaffrey fight back to keep the Panthers in it, we could finally see the Michael Thomas breakout game we've been waiting for all season. Josh McCown had no issues leading Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse to huge games against Carolina's secondary in a back-and-forth game last week, and Thomas is a cut above both in terms of talent level. If you feel the stack doesn't have enough cap space left over after adding Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr is $1,800 cheaper (DraftKings), is in a revenge game against his former team, and more closely fits the profile of Anderson, who just hung a 6-146-2 receiving line on the Panthers.
Since Phil and Justin thoroughly covered all aspects of this game, I will also mention my second favorite game stack from the list, New England/Buffalo. The Patriots defense has allowed a league-leading 4.9 rushing yards per attempt. That hasn't been noticeable because the Patriots usually play with a lead and their opponents are forced to abandon the run. Lesean McCoy is the focal point of the offense and the Bills would be wise to lean on him even if they fall behind. Last week versus the Chiefs, McCoy had 26 touches, even though he accounted for only 79 yards in a winning effort. On the other side of the game stack, Tom Brady is the obvious play. Brady continues to defy "father time" as he has thrown 10 touchdowns over the past three weeks. He now has multiple-touchdowns in five of his past six games and has thrown for over 300 yards six times this season. Brady has a history of thriving in division games against the Bills as he passed for four touchdowns against them last season in Week 8 and finished with three touchdowns in Week 2 of the 2015 season. Brandin Cooks has emerged as a top receiving option since Chris Hogan's injury back in Week 8. Cooks has 6 receptions in each of the past three games with two total touchdowns.