The holiday season brings an extra dose of football cheer with a thrilling two-game Christmas Day slate. Whether you're looking to dominate your DFS contests or simply enjoy some competitive NFL action, this slate has plenty of star power and intriguing matchups to unwraps as the Baltimore Ravens take on the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

These short slates are tricky, and you need to get creative if you want to take down a tournament on your own. Let’s take a look at the options available to us for this NFL DFS Saturday Week 16 slate on DraftKings and FanDuel!

 

 

 

NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17 Picks & Preview For DraftKings & FanDuel: Wednesday, 12/25

We have four AFC teams in action on Christmas Day starting with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 14-1 Chiefs continue to win close games and will have their work cut out for them once again as they head on the road to face a tough Steelers defense.

The Steelers should be getting George Pickens back to help bolster their offense and they will need his big play ability in this matchup if they are to pull off the home upset win over the Chiefs here in Week 17.

This matchup has the Chiefs currently sitting as 2.5-point road favorites with a game total set at 43.5 points.

In the second matchup of the day we have the 10-5 Baltimore Ravens taking on the 9-6 Houston Texans.

The Ravens are led by MVP candidate Lamar Jackson and top running back Derrick Henry and the offense will need to lean heavily on the two of them with receiver Zay Flowers questionable for this matchup.

The Texans are without Tank Dell who suffered a serious knee injury in Week 16 but the Houston passing attack finds themselves in an elite matchup against a bad Ravens pass defense. We should look for C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins to connect for some big plays.

The Ravens are 5.5-point road favorites with the game total set at 46.5.

 

 

 

NFL Weather: NFL Christmas Day Week 17 DFS Impact

No weather concerns for the two games being played here on Christmas Day.

The Ravens and Texans are playing in a Dome while the Chiefs vs Steelers game will be played in temps near 40-degrees with no expected wind or precipitation.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17 Picks: Core Plays

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $8,000 | FanDuel: $8,600

When it comes to explosive plays and ceilings at the QB position for this two game slate we have to look at Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are 5.5-point road favorites in a game with a 46.5 total. Jackson threw three touchdown passes last week in a really tough matchup against the Steelers and now has 12 touchdown passes over the last four weeks.

Sure, the Texans defense has been decent this season but we did watch them struggle against Patrick Mahomes last week and now they have to deal with the potential league MVP.

Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans – DraftKings: $8,300 | FanDuel: $9,100

The Ravens pass defense has been the weak spot for this team all season long and Nico Collins just continues to produce. He's the most expensive player on the slate for DraftKings and is coming off of a game where he caught seven passes on 10 targets. The week prior he had two touchdown catches against the Dolphins.

If this game ends up being a back-and-forth shootout then Collins is going to make some plays.

Derrick Henry, RB Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $8,200 | FanDuel: $9,200

Yes the Texans run defense has been pretty good this season but so was the Steelers and Henry ran all over them last week, finishing with 162 yards on 24 rushing attempts.

With Henry, all it takes in one hole and he is off to the race for a big gain and his physical style of running can really wear down a defense.

 

 

NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17: Mid-Tier Plays

C.J. Stroud, QB Houston Texans – DraftKings: $6,000 | FanDuel: $7,300

Again, there's  nothing wrong with the QB's in the other game on the slate but it feels like Stroud is going to be the highest rostered QB given the matchup against the Ravens poor pass defense and the 46.5 game total.

This season really hasn't been anything special from Stroud which is disappointing given his impressive rookie season but he has dealt with a lot of injuries to his primary pass catchers and that's something he is once again having to deal with following the Tank Dell injury. 

That said, I'd still expect to see Stroud throw the ball a ton in this game and he does have Nico Collins as his top playmaker. 

George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $7,600

After missing the past few weeks we are expecting to see George Pickens on the field against the Chiefs this week. Pickens is an explosive downfield playmaker and his chemistry with Russell Wilson really adds a different dynamic to this Steelers offense.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $6,400

We've seen glimpses of greatness from Kelce this season but ultimately this is going to end up being a down year for the Chiefs tight end. He enters Week 17 with 89 receptions for 739 yards and just two touchdowns. Those numbers are still great for a tight end but just not what we are use to getting from a dominant Kelce over the last handful of years. For this main slate he's certainly playable given the target share but we shouldn't expect a slate winning performance.

Jaylen Warren, RB Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $5,700

We often go back and forth on whether to go with Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren. Last week was a Warren game and I'm expecting this week to follow that similar game flow where the Steelers are playing from behind and will need to utilize Warren's pass game abilities as they look to chase down the Chiefs.

Xavier Worthy, WR Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $6,600

It took a while but the Chiefs rookie is making some big plays and finally seeing a healthy target share, totaling 13 catches on 22 targets over the last two weeks.

He's an explosive player that is always capable of breaking off a long touchdown which makes him great for tournaments.

 

 

NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17: Value Plays

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $5,300

The Chiefs have been one of the worst teams in football this season when it comes to defending the tight end position so why not take a shot on Freiermuth here in this matchup for the Steelers.

Mark Andrews, TE Baltimore Ravens – DraftKings: $3,900 | FanDuel: $6,400

For all the disappointment from Andrews this season he does have touchdown receptions in four straight games and has nine total touchdowns on the year.

Sure, we haven't gotten TE1 production from Andrews for most of the year but down the stretch we've gotten double-digit fantasy points in four straight and we can't be complaining about that.

Hollywood Brown, WR, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $6,400

Brown returned and was immediately inserted into the Chiefs lineup, catching five passes on eight targets for 45 yards. I'd only expect his snap share and target share to increase this week as he gets more reps with the offense at practice.

Calvin Austin, WR Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $5,800

Austin has been great while George Pickens was out of the lineup an even though Pickens is back I'm still willing to give Austin a look with the assumption that the Steelers will be playing from behind and will be needing to throw the football.

 

 

NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17: D/ST

Pittsburgh Steelers & Kansas City Chiefs

No real shock that the two defenses in this game are the most popular for this slate.

The Chiefs offense really hasn't looked all that good but they continue to score just enough points to pull out a close win. 

I'm figuring a low scoring game here and the Steelers defense is really good, especially at home.

I'd rank the Steelers defense as my top priority but on the flip side we have a Chiefs defense that is also pretty good, can get after the QB and Russell Wilson is no stranger to turning the football over when under pressure.

 

 

NFL DFS Example Lineups: NFL DFS Christmas Day Week 17

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