DFS Thursday Night Football: DraftKings Showdown for Week 1 (Fantasy Football)
Before we get into the specifics of this matchup and how to approach it for the DraftKings showdown slate, I want to point people back to a few pieces of evergreen content that I think are extremely valuable if you’re serious about winning showdown all season. I’d recommend reading/listening to this content before proceeding, especially if you’re new to showdown.
1. How to Win Showdown Contests: A detailed article looking at the data and strategy behind winning showdown lineups.
2. DFS Showdown Strategy Podcast: A thorough discussion on how to beat showdown, looking at the game theory and how to leverage the field.
DraftKings Sportsbook Lines
Spread: KC -4.5
Total: 52.0
Team Totals: Chiefs (28.5), Lions (23.5)
Game Outlook
The 2023 season kicks off with a banger between the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the betting favorites in the NFC North, the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, the headline in this game is Travis Kelce‘s hyper-extended knee, which happened in practice on Tuesday. Since that injury happened, this game total has been in free fall, going from 55 (!!) points early in the week to 52 points as of this writing. Similarly, money has been pouring in on the Lions, resulting in the line dropping from KC -6.5 to KC -4.5 as of Wednesday. Keep in mind, this game total is still the highest of any game in Week 1 despite the falling total in recent days.
We know the Chiefs are a threat to lead the NFL in scoring every year with Mahomes under center, but the Lions offense in 2022 was no slouch either. OC Ben Johnson had his guys rolling last season, scoring 26.6 points per game while ranking 4th in yards per play. It certainly makes sense why the total opened as high as it did.
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