Welcome to the DFS Playbook & Optimal Lineups for the NFL Conference Championships!

Be sure to give a read to Justin Mason's game previews and check out all the tools such as the WR/CB Match-Up and Weekly Match-Up Report as well. Then dive in here. We'll take a look at the primary players and their match-ups for each game, discuss potential game scripts and even throw a few darts as it is always necessary to differentiate yourself from the pack in these short-slate GPP tournaments.

Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

Rams: Run D -- 28th Pass D -- 9th 

Saints: Run D -- 3rd Pass D -- 22nd

Last Meeting: Week 9 -- Saints 45 Rams 35

Passing:

In their last meeting, Jared Goff and Drew Brees combined for 737 passing yards and seven touchdowns as both teams backed away from the ground game and turned it into a high-flying shootout. This week, we expect a bit more of a lean on the rushing to at least start things off as establishing dominance at the line of scrimmage is going to be of the utmost importance here. Following their Week 12 bye, the Rams appeared to be backing off the heavy pass attack as Goff struggled with interceptions and was clearly making mistakes. Backing off has enabled him to make fewer mistakes and increase his efficiency, as evidenced by the lack of interceptions, but it also meant much fewer passing yards and a reduced desire to use him in DFS contests. However, the need to keep pace with the Saints at home will likely help increase his pass attempts and, given some of the weak coverage in the Saints secondary, increase those passing totals. If he can avoid the mistakes in reading coverage, he should keep the turnovers to a minimum and provide you with strong numbers, especially for the price. 

Brees has been here before and fully understands what he is going to need to do this week in order to win. Again, we should see a heavy lean on the ground game early, but look for Brees to try and attack with short passes to Alvin Kamara . The Rams ranked fourth in the league against running back pass plays, but they'll try to re-establish Kamara's pass-catching prowess in an effort to zig when the Rams expect them to zag. Brees has a full arsenal of receiving weapons now that Ted Ginn is healthy again, but he's also in need of re-connecting with some of those fringe pass-catchers now that tight end Ben Watson is out and slot receiver Keith Kirkwood has missed practice all week with a calf injury. The beauty of Brees, though, is that he showed you all season long that he can connect with anyone he has on the field. 

Rushing:

While Todd Gurley rushed for over 100 yards against Dallas, there is still some concern over the condition of his knee. He was out-carried by C.J. Anderson 23-16 in the Division match-up against Dallas and you can expect the Rams to try and push ahead with a similar game plan should Gurley not be at 100-percent still. The offensive line is ridiculously dominant and will look to make a similar push against the Saints whose run defense ranks near the top, according to both DVOA and Pro Football Focus grades. McVay will lean heavily here to try and slow down the pace of the game and avoid a full-blown shootout if he can, but, obviously, Gurley's work in the passing game will allow them to transition quickly, if necessary. If it is, then expect to see much less of Anderson in the second half.

The tandem of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram has been one of the most prolific over the last two seasons and we should expect to see both used heavily in an effort to exploit some of the run-stopping deficiencies of the Rams. Kamara was just coming off basically a two-game bye when these two last met as Ingram served a four-game suspension and was leaned on heavily immediately upon his return, but now we're eight games past that and last week's 16 carries for Kamara were the most he had seen since that Week 9 game. With the speed of Aaron Donald and the Rams outside linebackers, we could see a little heavier dose of Ingram who will run it up the gut and try to soften up that D-line. 

Receiving:

According to reports, the Saints are expected to have Marshon Lattimore shadowing Brandin Cooks who burned them for 114 yards and a touchdown during their last meeting. The revenge-game narrative was fully in-playfor DFS players, but the Lattimore shadow may limit his work. He hasn't topped 65 receiving yards in his last six games and given the match-up, could struggle for that again. Meanwhile, the biggest difference in the rams receiving corps this time around is the loss of Cooper Kupp and subsequent move of Robert Woods to the slot. That brings about a fantastic match-up for the Woods as Saints slot-corner P.J. Williams is one of the worst in the league in coverage. We fully expect Woods to dominate this match-up and that could land him as the team's top performer this week. Josh Reynolds will continue to work the outside, but will only be a difference-maker should he garner red-zone targets. Unfortunately for him, he's seen just two in the last three games.

For the Saints, you're going to continue seeing a heavy lean on Michael Thomas . He crushed the Rams for 211 yards and a touchdown in their last meeting and Brees has leaned heavily on him throughout the entire season. With Marcus Peters on him, you're going to see a lot of safety over the top, so while he should be productive, it's certainly not going to be a walk in the park. The return of Ted Ginn is going to be importnat for Brees in this match-up as he can stretch the field and could spend a lot of time in the slot if Kirkwood is officially ruled out and Tre'Quan Smith lines up on the outside. The two of them should move back and forth as Sean Payton is going to want to keep Aqib Talib occupied downfield as much as possible. As for the tight end position, you'll see both Josh Hill and Dan Arnold as dart throws. Hill has seen the majority of snaps all season long, but it was Benjamin Watson as the pass-catcher. With Watson out (appendicitis), it's anyone's guess as to which guy may see the target advantage.

Dart Throws:

Rams: Gerald Everett , Tyler Higbee

Saints: Josh Hill , Dan Arnold , Tommylee Lewis

New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs

Patriots: Run D -- 19th Pass D -- 14th

Chiefs: Run D -- 32nd  Pass D -- 12th

Last Meeting: Week 6 -- Patriots 43 Chiefs 40

Passing:

The temperatures for this game are expected to be cold, but not as bad as what was first reported earlier in the week. We still expect the Patriots to come out with a run-heavy scheme in an effort to keep Patrick Mahomes off the field, but that doesn't mean Tom Brady won't be slinging the rock. The potential game plan could be very similar to what they used against the Chargers which means running it up the gut, but a heavy lean on the short-passing. Utilizing his weapons and the quick timing-routes, Brady managed to pass for 343 yards last week. As he looks to keep pace with the Chiefs aerial assault, he should be able to post similar totals this week regardless of Eric Berry 's presence in the secondary.

As for mahomes, what really needs to be said? He's a gunslinger and that won't change regardless of weather conditions. he's got outstanding weapons, he can easily extend plays with his legs and can even take off running on his own. The Patriots will try to contain him in the pocket, but that could leave the middle of the field open which is always a dangerous thing. He's not the highest-priced QB on the DFS slate for nothing and after watching him throw for 352 yards against the Pats back in Week 6, expectations are high once again. Just take note of the fact that he hasn't thrown for over 300 yards in his last four games.

Rushing:

The Patriots can throw a number of different looks at you when it comes to the ground game. Sony Michel is their primary guy for running it up the middle while James White is their primary pass-catcher. But don't forget about Rex Burkhead either, who found his way into the end zone last week as well. He's been used sparingly since his return, but that's just the type of thing Bill Belichick wants you to think. Given the scheme we saw last week, he could be in for an increase in work as the Pats dink-and-dunk their way downfield.

Damien Williams is the Chiefs No. 1 guy and should be used as such, but keep in mind that Spencer Ware has put in full practices over the last two days and could be mixed in. Andy Reid usually likes to stick with his primary guy, but he's also been known to mix it up a little to maintain fresh legs in his backfield. You can probably expect Williams to stay the dominant presence while Ware is more of a dart throw for those looking to differentiate themselves from the pack while also gaining some salary relief.

Receiving:

Julian Edelman will be front-and-center once again, so if you're looking to get a piece of New England's passing attack, he should be your guy. He's seen double-digit targets in four of the last five games and always seems to be Brady's first look. They'll mix in Chris Hogan and Phillip Dorsett where they can, but there's a sneaking suspicion that, if he's healthy, Rob Grionkowski could end up the No. 3 target in the passing game (White is always second behind Edelman). The Chiefs ranked 25th against the tight end position all year and allowed the most fantasy points per game to them. Gronk has been banged-up all year and provided his fantasy owners with a ton of disappointment, but this could be the time for him to re-emerge as the patriots look for another Super Bowl title.

Bottom line -- it's all about Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce . Sure, you've got Sammy Watkins in-play here as well, but with the way Stephon Gillmore has played over the latter half of the season, the lean is probably going Hill's way. After all, he did light the Patriots up for 142 yards and three touchdowns in their last meeting. Should the Pats try to take Hill out with extra coverage, then maybe Watkins gets a few extra looks, but again, Kelce is the No. 2 receiving target in this offense. The Patriots have been solid in coverage against the tight end throughout the year, but you can expect Reid to try and get a little creative with how he lines up Kelce in this one. 

Dart Throws:

Patriots: Phillip Dorsett , Cordarrelle Patterson , Chris Hogan

Chiefs: Chris Conley , Kelvin Benjamin , Demarcus Robinson , Demetrius Harris

EXAMPLE LINEUPS WILL BE POSTED APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR PRIOR TO THE FIRST KICKOFF SUNDAY.