Super Bowl 58 is finally here and that leaves the fantasy football community one final chance to win money playing DFS. Building winning DFS lineups can be tricky, especially with a single-game Showdown slate, but the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have such elite weapons, this is going to be a fantastic game. Patrick Mahomes is ready to lead his team to their third Super Bowl victory in five years and both Travis Kelce (with or without Taylor Swift in attendance) and Rashee Rice are ready to help him make it happen. But don’t forget, Kyle Shanahan has been chasing the Super Bowl win for the 49ers for five years now and with Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel helping out Brock Purdy, they are ready to go to war. Las Vegas is going to be a hot-zone of activity this weekend and we’re ready to win some DFS money. 

 

 

Chiefs vs. 49ers Prediction: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce Celebrate Third Super Bowl Win

By now you have probably read my Guide to Betting Super Bowl 58, but if you haven’t, go check it out. I detail my thoughts on how the Chiefs win this game in my pick against the spread. Obviously, the final score and outcome are very different from how you build a DFS Showdown lineup as there is no game theory involved, but it does tell the story with regard to game flow. I believe the 49ers will run hard with Christian McCaffrey early on while the Chiefs do the same with Isiah Pacheco, but with the edge to San Francisco on that front, I expect them to grab an early lead which, in turn, will likely have Patrick Mahomes throwing more in the second half. Yes, another come-from-behind win is what I’m looking at, so expect the Chiefs passing game to pull off the victory/upset and look for Kelce or Rashee Rice to do some end zone dancing to close out the game. 

Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers Odds

  • Spread: 49ers -2
  • Moneyline:
    • Chiefs (+110)
    • 49ers (-130)
  • Total: 47.5

Chiefs vs. 49ers Injury Report:

Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers

Best DFS Picks for Chiefs vs. 49ers:

Patrick Mahomes, QB Kansas City Chiefs

What I love most about having Mahomes locked into your lineup (top spot or not), it allows you to fade the big guns like Kelce and Rice and still get a piece of everything they do. It requires some serious maneuvering to put Mahomes in the top spot, so have a plan. If you just want him in your lineup but use someone cheaper in the Captain/MVP spot, it opens up some, but not a whole lot. Either way, I’ve got Mahomes locked in everywhere. Remember, the rushing yards add up and with the 49ers pass rush, Mahomes could post an addition 30-plus yards on the ground. Maybe he even runs one in on his own.  

Christian McCaffrey, RB San Francisco 49ers

He’s another guy obviously locked into most, if not all, lineups across the board. The only people who are fading McCaffrey against the Chiefs 27th-ranked run defense are the ones who submit multiple lineups and want to have a contrarian one that fades McCaffrey on the off chance he gets injured. Simple game theory. I am not a max-lineup player and have built eight so far. McCaffrey is in all of them.

Travis Kelce, TE Kansas City Chiefs

He makes for a great pick for the top spot, especially if you believe he continues his assault on opposing defenses here in the playoffs. I do, and have him in a number of lineups. He is going to be contending with Dre Greenlaw, Ji’Ayir Brown and Logan Ryan, but we’ve seen him thrive in all kinds of tough match-ups. I expect Mahomes to do a lot of leaning on his favorite target.

Rashee Rice, WR Kansas City Chiefs

I’m not worried about Rice landing on the injury report with the ankle issues and am locking him into a few lineups. I haven’t put him in the top spot yet, but the rookie has had a tremendous season and is clearly Mahomes’ favorite wide receiver. I’ve already bet the over on 6.5 receptions for him and I expect to him to shine bright, especially on DraftKings with its full-point PPR scoring. 

Deebo Samuel, WR San Francisco 49ers

While Deebo hasn’t been in the end zone since Week 17, we know how big a component he is in the 49ers offense. He had eight catches on nine targets in the Conference Championship and all the target-share numbers we’ve discussed in our Super Bowl coverage, point towards another active game. The Chiefs like to play two high safeties in the secondary which opens up the underneath routes for Deebo who is a YAC (yards after the catch) monster.

Other DFS Picks for Super Bowl 58:

Isiah Pacheco, RB Kansas City Chiefs

I already bet the over-66.5 rushing yards prop for Pacheco and am excited to watch him as a featured weapon for the Chiefs on Sunday. He’s a beast coming out of the backfield and his yards after contact are huge. The 49ers have a strong pass-rush, but you can always negate it with runs right up the middle. Expect Andy Reid to lean heavily on Pacheco early on and if the Chiefs do end up with a lead in the second half, Reid will use him even more.

Brock Purdy, QB San Francisco 49ers

Despite the continued comparison to Mahomes, Purdy is still an intriguing play, especially if you believe the Chiefs will take the early lead and the 49ers are the ones to pass heavily in the second half. The Chiefs pass defense has been fantastic this year so it will be an uphill climb, but we’ve seen Purdy put up some really strong games throughout the season. With so much love going the Chiefs way, I do have a contrarian lineup that features Purdy.

Brandon Aiyuk, WR San Francisco 49ers

With so much attention on Deebo, it feels like people are forgetting about Aiyuk and what he’s done throughout the year. I don’t mind fading Deebo and using Aiyuk in a lineup or two, especially when you realize the Chiefs ranked 25th in DVOA against a team’s second wide receiver. If L’Jarius Sneed is preoccupied with Deebo, perhaps Aiyuk takes center stage.

George Kittle, TE San Francisco 49ers

I don’t see a ton of passes coming his way, but I’ve got him in a couple of FanDuel lineups because of the yardage he picks up on even just a couple of catches. The Chiefs have been great against tight end throughout the season, but you have to love Kittle’s big-play ability. He is more than capable of racking up 60-70 yards on just two catches. And if he gets into the end zone? Boom!

**Both kickers – Jake Moody and Harrison Butker – and both Team Defenses are very much in-play in order to save some salary. I expect both kickers to have at least two FG opportunities and any points you can accrue at a solid price here are likely better than taking a few dart-throws. It’s the same with potential turnovers. If you think this game goes over the 47.5 game total, then you may want to avoid the defenses, but as you read through, I do have an interesting narrative to play around with for using a defense.

DFS NFL Value Plays:

Jauan Jennings, WR San Francisco 49ers

I don’t see Jennings getting a ton of work with Deebo, Aiyuk and Kittle on the field, but with the Chiefs coverage schemes focusing on those three, perhaps, Shanahan finds a way to get Jennings more involved. The Chiefs use a lot of “two high safeties” looks in the secondary, so that opens up the short, underneath routes which Jennings does well with.

Justin Watson, WR Kansas City Chiefs

He remains the most-targeted receiver in this group, but he is still one of the dart-throws we have to look at and hope he hits value. Very tough to tell with Mahomes and whatever coverage schemes the 49ers bring to the table, but if the focus is on stopping Kelce and Rice, Watson could see a few extra looks come his way.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR Kansas City Chiefs

He’s the deep-threat for Mahomes and finally caught a few during the Divisional Round. Then he caught the game-winning pass to put away the Ravens in the Conference Championship. Will that turn into more targets from Mahomes in this match-up? Hard to tell. But he’s on the field for the majority of snaps and we’ve seen plenty of wideouts get behind the 49ers coverage in the secondary.

Noah Gray, TE Kansas City Chiefs

Wanna throw another dart? Why not Gray? With the 49ers likely focusing their coverage attention on Kelce, it could open things up for Gray. 

Richie James, WR Kansas City Chiefs

If you haven’t checked out my Guide to Betting Super Bowl 58, there’s a nice little James narrative to play around with. Revenge-game? Sure. There’s never been a punt return for a TD in Super Bowl history? Why not? If you’re building multiple lineups and looking for interesting ways to separate your lineup from the rest of the masses, maybe this one works.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB Kansas City Chiefs

We’ve seen CEH get involved throughout the playoffs, but not enough to be anything more than a random dart-throw. Maybe you want to fade Pacheco? Not my favorite, but if you are a max-lineup player, a little exposure couldn’t hurt, especially if you’re concerned that Pacheco loses his helmet again.

Elijah Mitchell, RB San Francisco 49ers

Simply a play if you think McCaffrey ever comes out of this game and it’s inside the red zone. Mitchell may get mixed in a bit, but for the big game, McCaffrey should see most, if not all, of the touches. If you are a max-lineup player, having a “fade McCaffrey lineup because of potential injury” lineup on-hand may not a bad idea.

Kyle Juszczyk, FB San Francisco 49ers

Another intriguing dart-throw as we’ve seen Kyle Shanahan do some fun things with Juszczyk. We’ve seen him run that wheel-route up the sidelines a bunch of times and he even got involved in the passing attack during the Conference Championship against the Lions. He doesn’t post big numbers ever, but if he gets into the end zone, for the price, it’s a winner. We also have the Kris Juszczyk clothing designer narrative here as well, so it adds a little bit of a fun element.

Kadarius Toney, WR Kansas City Chiefs

We’re not sure if he’s even playing and I’m hoping he’s not, but if he is, we’ve obviously seen him used in a variety of situations. Matt Nagy loves his pre-snap motion and he loves his gimmicks, especially near the end zone. If Toney is playing, I might even consider him if I max-enter any large-field GPP tournaments.