NFL – Week 8 Showdown (Thursday) – ATL v CAR

NFL DFS Showdown – Week 8 (Thursday) – ATL v CAR

Be sure to keep an eye on the weather as we approach kickoff in Carolina on Thursday night for the matchup between the Falcons and Panthers as there could be strong winds and rain. Regardless of the weather, this matchup is still one to shy away from defenses and kickers in the DFS Showdown matchup and focus on the core offensive pieces for each team.

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Note: DVOA referenced in this article stands for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average which is a metric from FootballOutsiders.com.

Atlanta Falcons @ Carolina Panthers

Captain

• Mike Davis – Looks like one more week before Christian McCaffrey returns, so let’s fire up Mike Davis in the Captain spot with his high floor on a PPR site like DraftKings. The Falcons allow 7.3 receptions (31st) for 50 yards (27th), and 0.6 TDs (32nd) to pass-catching back this year and Davis put up nine receptions for 60 yards and a score when the two teams met three weeks ago.

Cash Core

• Calvin Ridley – Ridley has been steady as a rock for the Falcons passing game this season with at least six receptions and 60 yards in all but one game this year. He draws the most favorable individual matchup according to PFF and should rack up receptions against a Panthers secondary that has allowed 14.2 receptions (26th) per game to WRs over the last five weeks.
• DJ Moore – I’d give an edge to Robbie Anderson for raw points and consistency at WR for the Panthers, but the $1,000 in salary savings for Moore is too much to pass up on this single-game slate. You will definitely want one of the two in your Cash lineup against a Falcons secondary that has allowed 14.3 receptions (26th) for 223 yards (31st) per game to WRs this year.
• Todd Gurley – I’m not in love with using Gurley here on a short week, but he fits my Cash game build better considering what I want to do at the backend of it by avoiding kickers and defenses and instead getting up into the tertiary pass catchers. The Panthers are a favorable matchup for RBs ranking 28th DVOA against the rush and Gurley brush of the dust against them with 14 carries for 121 yards and a score in Week 5.

GPP

Look to make distinct pivots off your Cash game lineup in your single-entry GPP lineup such as using both QBs, Julio Jones instead of Ridley, and even Brian Hill instead of Todd Gurley. But the key to it all will be Curtis Samuel, who I have a feeling will have a breakout game. After missing a week, Samuel had six targets plus a rushing score while playing just 22 snaps last week. He should see the field even more often this week after the release of Seth Roberts who stole 19 snaps last week.

Best Bet

Under 51.5

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