Sunday night sees San Francisco head to divisional rivals Los Angeles to decide the final spot in next month’s Super Bowl. The 49ers have won six straight against their NFC West foes, and will look to make that seven in tonight’s Conference Championship. The Rams will be hoping to become the second successive side to play a Super Bowl at their own stadium following the Bucs’ success last year in Super Bowl LV. Defense could play a big role in this one, with both having been pretty stout so far in the post-season. The Rams come into tonight’s game as 3.5-point favourites, with the O/U sitting at 46.
DraftKings Conference Showdown 2021- San Francisco @Los Angeles Captain Picks
Cooper Kupp ($18,300)
I could probably copy and paste this every single week – there’s no one on the slate with a ceiling as high as Kupp’s and no stage seems to be too big for him, as we saw in dying seconds of last week’s game versus Tampa Bay.
George Kittle ($11,100)
Kittle has been a minor disappointment from a fantasy stand-point down the stretch, but posted double-digit points last week for the first time since Week 15. LA have been solid versus TEs, but Kittle seems to love playing them. Prior to a disappointing 5 catches for just 10 yards in Week 18, his lines versus the Rams have been great, going 5/98/1, 9/149/1, 8/103/0, 5/79/1, 7/109/1 and 5/50/1 since 2018. He has a nice ceiling, and despite not finding the end zone since Week 14, this seems like the perfect bounce-back spot for him.
Tyler Higbee ($7,800)
Unlike Kittle, Higbee seems to have gotten into the grove over the last month of so, with 40+ receiving yards in consecutive games since Week 12. Despite only finding the end zone five times this year, three of those have come against tonight’s opposition. Two of those came in Week 18 when he managed a season-high 23.5 DKPTS in a 5/55/2 performance. His ceiling isn’t high as others on this slate, but in this price range Higbee presents a solid option.
DraftKings Conference Showdown 2021- San Francisco @Los Angeles Flex Picks
Matthew Stafford ($10,800)
Stafford showed up in a huge way last week, going for 366 yards through the air on 28-of-38 attempts, as well as two touchdowns. Tampa’s front seven only managed two sacks last week, and if the Rams O-line can keep Stafford protected again today, he should continue his solid start to the post-season. That being said, he did struggle slightly when facing the 49ers in the regular season, with 11.82 DKPTS in Week 10, and 19.52 in Week 18. We this San Francisco offense shut out Aaron Rodgers last week, but with Stafford’s performances versus Arizona and Tampa Bay so far in the post-season, I think they’ll find it tougher on Sunday.
Deebo Samuel ($10,000)
Deebo’s had back-to-back games in the playoffs now with double-digit carries on the ground. Last week he failed to find the end zone for the first time since Week 16, but the volume of work he gets through the air and on the ground as the WR1 makes him an obvious option regardless of the opponent.
Cam Akers ($7,000)
Akers is already looking like the lead back in this Rams offense, despite only just returning from an Achilles injury sustained in pre-season. Despite two fumbles last week that almost cost them the game, McVay looks like he’ll continue to treat Akers as the go-to back on Sunday. Whilst this 49ers run defense has been solid to opposing RBs, Akers’ volume is simply too significant to ignore, with 27 total touches last week. He also saw the majority of work within the 5-yard last week and is currently evens to hit pay dirt on Sunday.
Van Jefferson ($5,000)
The Rams wideout comes into this one with a questionable tag, but it looks like he’s trending towards suiting up on Sunday. LA media are suggesting that if he plays he won’t be limited in any capacity, but if he does end up missing, Ben Skowronek becomes a (likely very chalky) smash play at minimum price. Despite his box scores in recent weeks not being as impressive as OBJs, Van Jefferson is still running routes on almost 90% of dropbacks in recent weeks. He has a team-high aDOT of 13.47 yards as well, and on showdown slates, sometimes all it takes is one big play to break the slate.
DraftKings Conference Showdown 2021- San Francisco @Los Angeles Defense and Kickers
Both defenses are in play in this one, given how solid the pair have been. San Francisco have been great this year when Jimmy G hasn’t had to do much, but as soon as he starts having to throw a great deal, this Rams defense could have a field day. This 49ers side have also had success versus the Rams this year, with four picks across their two regular-season meetings. Their pass rush graded out as 4th-best in the league per PFF, and despite Andrew Whitworth being back for LA, are still dangerous. Robbie Gould is still yet to miss a FG in a playoff game, now sitting at 20/20 and provides a great value option on Sunday. On the other side, Matt Gay has missed just three FGs all year, and both kickers get a nice boost due to tonight’s game being inside.
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Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
