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Fantasy Billboard: Giddy Up! and Whoa Down! for NFL’s divisional round

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in in Orchard Park, NY. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in in Orchard Park, NY. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
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The clock struck midnight on Joe Flacco, ending his Cinderella season, and turning him back into a pumpkin against the Texans on Wild Card weekend. I don’t think anyone in the Metropolitan area was surprised. Flacco was a pumpkin patch of futility with the Jets from 2020 to 22, managing to stay healthy for just nine starts in three years. Then something magical happened in Cleveland. Old Pumpkin Joe carved up secondaries in the last five weeks of the 2023 season, leading the Browns to the playoffs while averaging an astonishing 323 passing yards per game with 13 TD passes. But faster than you can say “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo,” Pumpkin Joe squashed the hopes of Cleveland fans when he threw two pick-six interceptions in a smashing 45-14 loss. The Browns should have known better. Their orange helmets already look like pumpkins.

On to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

GIDDY UP!

Josh Allen, QB — Buffalo is a team on a mission, and finally gets to roam at a home playoff game against Kansas City. In Allen’s last four games vs. the Chiefs, he averaged over 300 yards passing, 60 yards rushing and three TDs.

Lamar Jackson, QB — Jackson is no Joe Flacco. Lamar has 11 TD passes in his last four games, with 1,060 yards. The Texans have faced lesser QBs of late besides Flacco (Zach Wilson, Will Levis, Ryan Tannehill, Gardner Minshew) and will be shell-shocked by the multi-talented Jackson.

Christian McCaffrey, RB — This ranking comes with a caution. CMC missed his last game, albeit a meaningless one, with a calf strain. That can be a tricky injury. Keep an eye on the practice reports, but if healthy McCaffrey should be the best RB of the weekend.

Aaron Jones, RB — With four games of 111 or more yards, Jones looks like the perfect counterpunch to McCaffrey in the 49ers-Packers game. The 49ers can be run on, and if the Pack pulls off an upset, Jones will be a huge part of it.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR — There’s no better set-it-and-forget-it WR than the Sun God. The Deity of Sol gets 10 targets per game and has over 600 yards (and four TDs) in his last five outings.

Chris Godwin, WR — The Lions gave up copious yards to Puka Nacua (181), Justin Jefferson (192) and CeeDee Lamb (227) in their last three games. The wise guys prefer the Bucs’ Mike Evans to follow suit, but my money’s on Godwin. He has twelve more receptions and almost twice as many yards as Evans since Week 14.

Travis Kelce, TE — Taylor Swift is no Buffalo gal, but her beau Kelce is a Buffalo hunter. He’s always good for 90-plus yards and a TD against them, and the injuries to the Bills’ defense guarantees more Tay-Tay close-ups for Swifties to gush over on Sunday night.

WHOA DOWN!

Jared Goff, QB — The Lions have a penchant for running the ball into the end zone. Goff has seven one-TD pass games as evidence. The Bucs have held opposing QBs to one or no TDs 10 times on the season. Seems like a stalemate.

C.J. Stroud, QB — As phenomenal as Stroud has been, he’s padded his stats against some very inferior defenses (Broncos, Titans, Colts, Jaguars) leading up to his solid play in Cleveland last week. The Jets completely shut him down in Week 14 (91 passing yards, no TDs). I think the Ravens will do the same.

Rachaad White, RB — My season-long motto has been to avoid starting RBs against the Lions, who give up 3.5 yards per carry and just eight rushing TDs on the season. Detroit has yet to surrender a passing TD to an RB as well, limiting White’s upside.

Gus Edwards, RB — Gus is good for 60 yards and a TD regardless of who he’s facing. That won’t win you any games this weekend.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR — I’m tired of hearing how good the Ravens’ receiving corps is with OBJ. The man catches two balls per game and hasn’t been Fantasy-relevant since Eli Manning was throwing to him in Giants blue.

Romeo Doubs, WR — The Jekyll-Hyde season continues for Doubs. He was Dr. Jekyll when he had six catches for 151 yards and a TD in Dallas in the Wild Card round and Mr. Hyde with a 0/0/0 stat line the week prior against Chicago. He’ll play the Mr. Hyde side this time around because I think it’s teammate Jayden Reed’s turn to play the good Dr. Jekyll.

Dawson Knox, TE — Knox got his huge contract (four years, $52 million) before the season because the Bills never thought super-rookie TE Dalton Kincaid would fall into their laps in Round 1 of the 2023 draft. Knox has become an afterthought in Buffalo, and an expensive one at that.

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