NFL Pace of Play & DFS Stacks for Week 16 (Fantasy Football)
With only a couple of weeks left in the regular season, it is imperative that we take a top down approach with DFS.
Pace of play gives the prospective DFS player an opportunity to consider not just Vegas totals but how the game will be played out in a given week. Game flow is a tricky rabbit hole to jump down when you consider the endless scenarios that can play out in a game. Stacking up-tempo offenses who can keep the ball moving is crucial to gaining an edge in DFS. Even slight differentiations of team trends matter in a world where volume is king.
Each week I’ll highlight my favorite game environments factoring in their pace metrics, stacks to consider for tournaments, and five dart throws to shoot for the moon with.
Game Pace Score
A reminder of a simple metric I introduced a couple of years ago: Game Pace Score(GPS). I liked the acronym to also give you a “compass” of how the game total and neutral pace statistics come together. These scores are ranked 1-5 with five indicating the pace of the play is everything you want for a DFS bonanza.
- 5– A back-and-forth shootout is looming. Both teams are pace-up and both sport team implied totals of 25+.
- 4– An up-tempo spot worth game stacking in DFS in multiple ways. Consider multiple game scripts in play.
- 3– This game could go either way. Often, these are onslaught spots for teams with healthy implied totals or games that hit the under because two middling offenses collide.
- 2– Strong indications of a game you want to stay away from. Usually, the pace is dragged down by one team with an absurdly slow neutral pace or a team with a team implied total so low it drags the entire game environment through the mud.
- 1– This has all the makings of a plodder. These games have totals UNDER 40 which gives you zero confidence in DFS.
For Week 16, I’ve sorted by all 32 team implied totals while focusing on neutral pace, pass rate over expectation (PROE), no-huddle rate, and EPA metrics to factor that for a final GPS score.
For a downloadable CSV version of the Pace of Play worksheet, click here.
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
This matchup should seem familiar as these two NFC North foes played on each other on Thanksgiving. You know… that one where Caleb Williams and Matt Eberflus might’ve had a bit of miscommunication at the end of the game resulting in HR removing one of them from employment. We do need to give the Bears some credit because they are a spunky team… when it comes to the 2nd halves of games. Caleb Williams‘ splits are pronounced when it comes to passing production:
| Cmp% | Yds | TD | 1st Downs | |
| 1st Half | 61.6 | 1350 | 4 | 59 |
| 2nd Half | 62.1 | 1577 | 13 | 80 |
Want to read the rest of this article?
Get the 2026 Ultimate DFS Pass for instant access. The 2026 Ultimate DFS Pass is currently available as part of the Ultimate Draft Kit+.
Get the 2026 UDK+Already purchased the DFS Pass? Log in here
