Patriots vs. Rams Picks, Lineup Tips for Daily Fantasy FanDuel, DraftKings

Week 13 just ended on Tuesday night with the Baltimore Ravens' 34-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The start of Week 14 is already upon us, though, as the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams are set to kick things off on Thursday night.

For bettors and fantasy football managers alike, this means there is little time to reflect on what transpired and to prepare for what's about to go down in the coming days. The NFL playoff push is officially here, which means that many games are going to carry high stakes both on and off the field.

Every piece of information is going to be valuable.

Here, we'll dive into some of the latest buzz surrounding Week 14, examine some sleeper lineup options for daily fantasy sports (DFS) and make predictions for all 16 contests. We'll also examine the latest lines and over/unders from DraftKings Sportsbook and, of course, take a deep look into Thursday night's matchup.

All fantasy choices are based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

Week 14 Lines, Over/Unders and Predictions

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

New England Patriots (+5, 44.5) at Los Angeles Rams: 28-22 Los Angeles

Kansas City Chiefs (-7, 49.5) at Miami Dolphins: 30-20 Kansas City

Tennessee Titans (-7, 53) at Jacksonville Jaguars: 27-19 Tennessee

Minnesota Vikings (+6.5, 51.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30-22 Tampa Bay

Houston Texans (-1, 45) at Chicago Bears: 22-20 Chicago

Arizona Cardinals (-1.5, n/a) at New York Giants: 26-23 Arizona

Denver Broncos (+3.5, 46.5) at Carolina Panthers: 28-24 Carolina

Dallas Cowboys (-3.5, 42.5) at Cincinnati Bengals: 20-17 Dallas

New York Jets (+13.5, 47) at Seattle Seahawks: 31-20 Seattle

Indianapolis Colts (-3, 51.5) at Las Vegas Raiders: 28-27 Las Vegas

Green Bay Packers (-7.5, 55) at Detroit Lions: 30-28 Green Bay

New Orleans Saints (-7, 44) at Philadelphia Eagles: 26-17 New Orleans

Washington Football Team (+3, 43.5) at San Francisco 49ers: 23-20 San Francisco

Atlanta Falcons (-2.5, 49) at Los Angeles Chargers: 28-26 Atlanta

Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5, 46.5) at Buffalo Bills: 25-22 Buffalo

Baltimore Ravens (-1.5, 46.5) at Cleveland Browns: 27-26 Baltimore

Thursday Night Football

Peter Joneleit/Associated Press

On paper, Thursday night's game between the Patriots and the Rams is a bit of a mismatch in Los Angeles' favor. The Patriots are at their best offensively when they can control the game on the ground. However, the Rams have a run defense ranked third in yards allowed and tied-fifth in yards per attempt allowed.

At the same time, L.A.'s resurgent rushing attack—ranked eighth in yards—should be able to gain ground on a very average Patriots run defense. New England ranks 18th in rushing yards allowed and 15th in yards per carry surrendered.

Trying to switch things up and attack through the air probably won't work for New England either, as the Rams rank first in both passing yards and yards per attempt allowed.

Yet, it would be foolish to expect an on-paper mismatch to turn into a blowout when Bill Belichick is calling the shots for New England. The Patriots have remained competitive all season and have managed to beat quality opponents like the Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens.

Expect New England to keep this one within a score. As long as the line hovers around the 4-5-point range, L.A. should be the right pick. However, if it starts to approach six or seven points before kickoff, this may be a line better left alone entirely.

For DFS plays, the safest option is Rams wideout Robert Woods. He and Cooper Kupp should both perform well against a Patriots defense ranked 27th in yards per attempt allowed. However, Woods has really dominated the target share in recent weeks.

Over his last three games, Woods has been targeted a whopping 38 times. Kupp has been targeted a still-solid 27 times in that same span.

Woods should be the preferred play between the two wideouts, but staking both of them may be the best approach. One of them is likely to break out. Rostering both negates the risk of picking the wrong one.

At DraftKings, Woods is priced at $6,700, while Kupp is priced at $6,500. At FanDuel, Woods and Kupp are valued at $7,000 and $6,700, respectively.

Latest Week 14 Buzz

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Sunday's game between the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles is going to feature two former backups at quarterback and possibly an exciting battle between two dual-threat signal-callers. The Eagles announced that rookie Jalen Hurts will get the start over Carson Wentz.

"We're not where we want to be as an offense. I looked at the whole thing and decided that for this week to look for that spark again to try to get the team over the hump, to try to get everybody playing better," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said, per Dave Spadaro of the team's official website. 

For the Saints, Taysom Hill will again get the start for the injured Drew Brees. While the switch to Hurts may not provide enough of a spark for the Eagles to upset the Saints, it could make things more interesting. Hurts also becomes a DFS option, albeit a low-end one against the vaunted New Orleans defense.

Hurts is currently priced at $5,100 at DraftKings and $6,600 at FanDuel.

In the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos game, it's looking like star running back Christian McCaffrey will make his return. However, the Panthers could be without some of their top receiving options, as wideouts DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel were among eight Panthers placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday.

This development could actually boost McCaffrey's value, as he'll become an even bigger piece of the offensive game plan if Moore and Samuel can't play. He's already a strong play against Denver's 26th-ranked run defense.

McCaffrey is priced at $9,200 at DraftKings and $10,000 at FanDuel.

Even if Moore and Samuel don't play, the return of McCaffrey should be enough to boost the Panthers over the inconsistent Broncos.

On the injury front, it looks like Detroit Lions wideout Kenny Golladay (hip) will miss yet another game. However, Lions running back D'Andre Swift could be back in the lineup.

"We'll see how that goes," Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell said of Swift, who returned to practice on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Chris Burke.

Swift will have an excellent matchup if he's able to go. The Green Bay Packers have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. A lot will hinge on his progression throughout the week and how large of a role Detroit is willing to give him.

Swift can be rostered for $6,500 at DraftKings and $6,900 at FanDuel.

Week 14 DFS Sleepers

Wade Payne/Associated Press

Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 334 yards and four scores against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13. While he's not likely to have that sort of stat line against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, he should still be a viable option.

The Ravens have allowed the 13th-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. However, they also allowed Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton to throw for 285 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on Tuesday.

If Mayfield can continue his trend of avoiding interceptions—he hasn't thrown one in his last five games—he could be a strong play for managers looking to splurge on skill-position players instead of quarterbacks.

Mayfield is priced at $5,700 at DraftKings and $7,100 at FanDuel. 

Ty Johnson, RB, New York Jets

New York Jets running back Frank Gore left Week 13 with a concussion, but he could return for Week 14. Per Andy Vasquez of NorthJersey.com, coach Adam Gase believes there's a "good chance" that Gore will play against the Seattle Seahawks.

It'll be wise to follow Gore's situation throughout the week, but if he can't play, fellow back Ty Johnson should become a fine DFS budget option. Johnson piled up 104 rushing yards, 13 receiving yards, two receptions and a touchdown with Gore out against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Seahawks don't represent an ideal matchup for Johnson, but they're not a horrendous one either. Seattle has allowed the 18th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs in 2020.

Johnson is priced at $4,700 at DraftKings and $5,500 at FanDuel.

Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans

While Houston Texans isn't a DFS bargain-basement option after the suspension of fellow wideout Will Fuller, he can still be a high-upside value play. He had a remarkable outing in his first game as the top option opposite Brandin Cooks.

Against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, Coutee caught eight passes on nine targets for 141 yards. 

This week, the Texans will face the Chicago Bears, who have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. It's obviously not an ideal matchup, but Coutee's target share could carry him. With Fuller gone, he's one of Deshaun Watson's top targets. There's some PPR upside here, even if Coutee is unlikely to rack up the yardage.

Coutee is priced at $5,000 at DraftKings and $5,600 at FanDuel.

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