DFS Thursday Night Football: DraftKings Showdown for Week 8 (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: MIN – 2.5
Total: 48.0
Team Totals: Vikings (25.3), Rams (22.8)
Game Outlook
Week 8 kicks off with a fun Thursday night matchup between the Vikings and the Rams when Minnesota travels to SoFi to take on LA as 2.5-point favorites with the total sitting at a healthy 48 points. Only two other games on the Week 8 slate have a higher total than MIN/LAR, so hopefully we see some points in this one after we were forced to watch the Saints JV squad last week.
After seven weeks, Minnesota has been one of the more pass-first teams in the league, throwing at the 10th-highest rate when games are within one score while ranking fourth in PROE (+3.6%). They’ll get a matchup against a Rams defense that ranks 26th in EPA per pass attempt while ranking 24th in drop back success rate. It’s hard not to get excited about the Vikings pass game in this spot.
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