Minnesota Vikings - Fantasy News

Vikings at Eagles Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

1/17/18

NFL

Minnesota Vikings

Adam Thielen

After pulling off one of the great finishes in NFL playoff history, the Minnesota Vikings will travel to Philadelphia to take on the top-seeded Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

Minnesota has been incredible all season on both sides of the ball. The Vikes have won 12 of their last 13 games, though two of their three losses in 2017 came on the road. To earn a trip to the Super Bowl, they’ll need to deal with a stout Philadelphia defensive line that wreaked havoc against Atlanta. On the other side of the ball, it’s hard to imagine Nick Foles and company moving the pigskin in a significant way against the Vikings defense.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia won a close game against Atlanta last week after a first-round bye even though it fumbled the ball four times and missed an extra point. The Eagles defense was on their game for all 60 minutes, with Atlanta only scoring on drives directly following Philadelphia turnovers. The Eagles will need a similar effort as well as some big plays on offense to beat a Vikings team that has a claim as the best team in the NFL.

Minnesota Vikings NFC Championship Game Projected Fantasy Points
Case Keenum: 17.5 PFP
Adam Thielen: 12.5 PFP
Stefon Diggs: 12.0 PFP
Latavius Murray: 11.5 PFP
Jerick McKinnon: 10.5 PFP
Kyle Rudolph: 8.5 PFP
Kai Forbath: 8.0 PFP

Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship Game Projected Fantasy Points
Zach Ertz: 11.5 PFP
Alshon Jeffery: 9.5 PFP
Jay Ajayi: 9.5 PFP
Nick Foles: 9.5 PFP
Nelson Agholor: 8.5 PFP
Jake Elliott: 8.0 PFP
LeGarrette Blount: 5.5 PFP
Corey Clement: 5.0 PFP
Torrey Smith: 5.0 PFP

Start 'Em: Adam Thielen (12.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 13.67

Though he was overshadowed by the phenomenal play from Stefon Diggs last week, Thielen will be the best wide receiver on the field on Sunday night. Thielen caught six of nine targets for 74 yards against New Orleans, and that was in a game in which he had to deal with Marshon Lattimore on nearly every snap. Thielen is nearly always open, has great hands and is deceptively fast in the open field. Philadelphia is weak at corner, where we expect Case Keenum to attack a defense that is rock solid in the middle of the field. Look for a big game out of Thielen as the Vikings try to get to the Big Game.

Sit 'Em: Latavius Murray (11.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 9.69

To see what Murray is up against this week, all we need to do is look at what happened to Devonta Freeman against this defense last Saturday. Behind a superior offensive line, Freeman ran for 17 yards on 10 carries up the middle when Fletcher Cox was in the game. Cox is a top-five player at his position, and he and the rest of the Philadelphia defensive line disrupted everything Atlanta wanted to do offensively. The one area in which the Falcons had success on the ground was on the edge with the speedy Tevin Coleman. Murray isn’t the kind of player who will get to the edge often, and this isn’t a defensive line Minnesota is going to run over. We recommend fading Murray on Dober Play Cards at 11.5 PFP.

Start 'Em: Corey Clement (5.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 5.46

It’s very difficult to find any Eagles that we feel good about starting with Foles at quarterback against one of the three-best defenses in football. By default we settled on Clement, an unheralded running back that plays mainly on passing downs and in the two-minute drill. Against Atlanta, with a check-down artist at quarterback, Clement caught five passes for 31 yards and ran the ball once for five more yards. Minnesota has one of the best rush defenses in the league, a very solid pass rush and a top-tier secondary featuring multiple All-Pro players. If and when Philadelphia gets down in this game, we expect Foles to relentlessly target Clement on safe, short passes. He should easily get over a very manageable PFP.

Sit 'Em: Nick Foles (9.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 4.83

Last week we recommended fading Foles at 9.5 PFP. He barely got over that margin, throwing for 246 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, winding up with 9.64 DFP. The fact that he threw no interceptions had less to do with him playing well and more to do with Atlanta’s secondary inexplicably letting multiple risky passes go unpunished. Minnesota will not make the same mistake. The Vikes picked off Drew Brees twice and harassed him in the backfield throughout last week’s divisional playoff contest. This has been a good run for Foles, who won all the games he started and finished this season, but the run ends here. Fade him with confidence on Dober Play Cards.