Last week was pretty good for our MKF picks, but Phillip Lindsay let us down in both the RapidFire and Over/Under games by failing to top 70.5 rushing yards and failing to beat Royce Freeman by 17.5 rushing yards. It’s really disappointing to get the other five calls correct but lose both contests thanks to one player. Perhaps that’s an indication I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket, though it worked out okay betting against Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill in both contests.

It’s going to be awfully hard to diversify my picks this week, because so much of the offense for these two teams is concentrated with one running back and one wide receiver. One note before we get into the picks: Pretend last week’s Washington/San Francisco game never happened. We cannot draw any conclusions from a game in which neither team was able to throw the ball due to the rain. 

Touchdown Dance

Dalvin Cook , Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin over 1.5 total touchdowns

This is a bit tricky. On the one hand, I’m not expecting a lot of touchdowns, though Vegas has the over/under at 42.5, so perhaps I am wrong. Even if I am right, I feel pretty confident that these three players will get most of the offensive touchdowns, assuming Adam Thielen is out. Cook, Diggs and McLaurin have combined for 17 touchdowns this season. If Thielen cannot go, all the other active skill players in this game have eight touchdowns, and that’s if Steven Sims and Vernon Davis play. Diggs and Cook are obvious calls, and McLaurin gets the nod over Adrian Peterson in part because of the success Marvin Jones and Alshon Jeffery had against the Vikings the last two weeks. All it takes is one big play for McLaurin to get a touchdown. I could see Cook and Diggs combining for three or even four touchdowns just by themselves, so if I was feeling braver, I might take a shot at the 5x or even 20x prizes.

RapidFire

Kirk Cousins Under 285.5 passing yards

Case Keenum Over 200.5 passing yards

Cousins has at least 330 passing yards in three straight games, but he failed to top 233 passing yards in four games before that. Facing a weak team with Adam Thielen out, I expect Kirk to regress to who he was in the first four games, and not throw unless it is absolutely necessary.

Case Keenum ’s over/under is really low, even for him. He hasn’t reached 200 passing yards in three straight games, but there were extenuating circumstances. He was injured in Week 4, didn’t have to throw against the terrible Dolphins in Week 6 and played in a monsoon in Week 7. Keenum had thrown for at least 221 yards in three straight games to start the season, including 332 against a very good Bears defense. It may not be pretty, but I am confident Keenum throws for at least 201 yards. 

Over / Under

Dalvin Cook Over 22.5 fantasy points

Case Keenum Over 12.5 fantasy points

I’m even more confident in Keenum topping 12.5 fantasy points than 200.5 passing yards. Keenum has topped 12.5 fantasy points in three of six games this season. In the other three, he left a game early, played in pouring rain and committed five turnovers. Five turnovers are possible against Minnesota, but unlikely.

Cook has topped 22.5 fantasy points in five of seven games this season. Washington ranks 24th in fantasy points allowed to running backs, and we have him projected for 25.6 fantasy points in this game.