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There are three quarterbacks in this Conference Championship round with three stacks you can feel confident in for DFS. If you want to get spicy, you could even include Jimmy Garoppolo in hopes the 49ers can’t run the ball, George Kittle gets involved, and Deebo Samuel takes a couple of dump-offs to the house. However, in the playoffs thus far, you haven’t won money unless your quarterback put up over 30 points.

The Sazerac has two possible bases to start with, pending on who you ask. Some believe the official cocktail of Louisiana and staple of New Orleans used a cognac due to the area’s connection to French spirits. Others believe it was made with rye whiskey and is currently is the more popular build. It’s the perfect cocktail to discuss the Conference Championship for DFS. Make the base with your liquor preference as long as it’s one of the two, just as this slate will likely have two options to stack.

Today, we’ll look at the AFC championship matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals, a rematch from Week 17 where Cincinnati scored in the last moments of the game and won 34-31. A key result of that victory, the Bengals won their first division title since 2009.

Once a young team with plenty of promise, the Bengals have given life to a franchise that had embodied mediocrity. Now they are four quarters away from the Super Bowl. I expect the Bengals to come out playing fast and pushing the tempo on offense; unfortunately for them, the offensive line may have trouble keeping the pace with its skill positions. Kansas City wins 35-27.

It pays to be provocative — I get it. Deadlines demand stories and content must be created. People love drama. I accept that, and I accept that Russell Wilson stirred the pot; but should we continue the pressure campaign? I say no, Russell remains a Seahawk and plays in Seattle beyond his contract. If Russell says he wants to be in Seattle, and team leadership want Russ in Seattle, media should kill the story.

Prior to the year, our excitement regarding Ryan Tannehill was based in his high-efficiency paired with elite weapons. For the first time since Week 7, all of Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones will on the field for the Titans. While I am loath to attack the first game of a playoff slate, my exception may be with Tannehill. Play the former Aggie stacked with A.J. Brown and a bring back of your choice and you ride with a unique construction generating leverage off Joe Burrow and Derrick Henry.

Packers-49ers is a high volatility game with two slow-paced teams. However, the high-level skill players in this game provides a ceiling which will not be efficiently rostered in DFS contests. In their earlier meeting, these teams lit up the scoreboard for 58 combined points. In a similar shootout,  it is plausible Davante Adams and Deebo Samuel are the two highest scoring receivers on the slate. I will also be over-weight vs. the field on Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle in this game which offers asymmetric upside for its projected ownership.

Joe Burrow creates an interactive situation being the first game on the slate. If he crushes and puts up over 30 points to start the week, you can optimize your lineups to make a run in the bigger tournaments. On the other hand, if he is mediocre, you could pivot to play it safe and end in the green, or ultimately sell out for a volatile option who may or may not hit. If you don’t start him and he puts up 40, you can adjust your other lineups knowing Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen are must-plays because none of the other quarterbacks have it in their range of outcomes.

Finding pieces to compliment the skinny stacks aren’t tricky; I expect all these games to put up at least 48 points. The key to this is maximizing the opportunities each player sees. Players like Tee Higgins and Julio Jones will be utilized in the lineups where I want stronger running backs. Meanwhile, I will maximize the exposure to primary pass catchers. 

The more I read and research between these two teams, it seems the more in common the are with one another. The gunslinger quarterback, the alpha wide receiver, the efficient tight end, and even the opportunistic defense the schemes many different ways to find advantages on the field.

Both teams are peaking, playing strong, and lest we forget, last year the Chiefs beat the Bills 38-24 in the AFC championship. Do yourself a favor; sit back and enjoy two superior teams scheme against each other in a Divisional tilt that has the potential to be a classic showdown.

Typically, prior to selecting their franchise quarterback, teams have some sort of foundation built – whether it be a loaded group of playmakers, a strong offensive line, or a strong defense. In this case, the Jaguars did not have a formidable foundation built prior to selecting Trevor Lawrence at pick one last year – bringing them right back to the top of the draft in 2022.

Building the Saturday slate was painful. It reminded me of a bar guest telling me, “I like everything” when asking what spirit they prefer. At first, you feel like you can do anything your heart desires, only to find out they only like vodka when you grab a bottle. Well, the cocktail I’m going to build for the Wild Card DFS Sunday slate will be a little more fun. 

The Wild Card games seem like a week where some of these players who have been on the cusp of breaking out could actually break the mold for DFS on Sunday. Of course, it doesn’t mean you should load up on these players, but if it improves the flavor, a rinse could be ideal. Tyler Johnson and Quez Watkins both have favorable matchups. Both are seeing the snaps but get used differently. Regardless, a touchdown for either one of these players could return on the investment. 

Reduced slates are my favorites to play. With fewer games to analyze, the threshold on playable options increases as you require less ceiling from each play to plausibly wind up in the optimal lineup. With fewer options to construct lineups, popular builds and players are further consolidated by the field. This leads to clear strategic inflection points.

In traditional slates, stacking hits a point of diminishing returns. Even in a shootout, the third or fourth highest scoring position player on a team is unlikely to produce enough raw points to ever hit an optimal lineup. The shorter the slate the more you pick ‘games’ over players.

It’s Wildcard Weekend in the NFL, and this matchup has my nostalgia cranked up all the way with these two storied franchises.  It hasn’t always been pretty for both of these teams since the mid-90’s, but thankfully we have two talent rich squads with incredible athletes performing at the absolute highest level.