Welcome to our Week 1 Pace to the Race article where we highlight the top games that are projecting to play at a high pace this week. Pace is very important for daily fantasy spots as targeting high pace games is the recipe for fantasy production especially if the game does turn into a shootout. Lets dive in!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings Game Total 46
This will be one of the sneakier games this week as the field is projecting to overlook this game. The Bucs were a much slower team with Tom Brady as their signal caller over the past two years but now with new OC Dave Canale calling plays, we are projecting for more of a pass-heavy attack. They flashed some of this in the preseason when Baker Mayfield got going. Look for them to have success against the Viking’s very poor pass defense as well.
The Vikings played at a high pace last season and were very pass heavy. Now with workhorse Dalvin Cook being away we could see even more of a pass-heavy attack. The Bucs have a strong run defense so we could see the Vikings pass on early downs and look to get the no huddle offense going as well. We have this game projecting to go for over 130 combined plays.
Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers Game Total 51.5
From a DFS perspective this game will be the chalkiest this week as LAC stacks are projecting to be the highest owned on both sites. OC Kellen Moore walks into OC heaven as he gets a top 5 RB and a QB who is on the rise as one of the best QBs in the league. Also he is blessed with a great WR core as well. The Chargers played a top 5 pace rate last year and the exception is for them to play at an even faster rate this year.
The Dolphins played a slow rate last year but in games where they fell behind early, Mike McDaniel had no issue relying on Tua and the passing game. What makes this game even more interesting is that the Dolphins can pick up yards in bunches which could force the Chargers to play even faster. I love both sides of this game. We have this game projected for a total of 127 plays.
More High Pace Games
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts Game Total 46.5
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots Game Total 44.5