Happy Thanksgiving, DFS degenerates! Week 13's Turkey Day slate is an absolute cheat code this year. The highest average over/under for Thanksgiving games in the last 40 seasons, and we've somehow been given three matchups loaded with top-shelf quarterback talent. Jared Goff and Jordan Love in a potential dome shootout, Patrick Mahomes walking into Dallas to duel Dak Prescott, and then the nightcap we've all been manifesting: Lamar Jackson vs. Joe Burrow in an AFC North showdown. This isn't just a three-game slate; it's the best quarterback environment you're going to see all season on a short card. Buckle up. QB Coach is about to serve the hottest takes and sharpest plays to help you feast while everyone else is arguing over dark meat.

Thanksgiving’s Top DFS QB: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

How could it be anyone else? Dallas’ pass defense has been a turnstile all year. They got torched early by the Eagles last week before tightening up late, and now they get Patrick Mahomes with a fully healthy arsenal. Rashee Rice is playing through a hamstring tweak, but that didn’t stop him from posting 8-141 last week against Indy. With Rice, Xavier Worthy, Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown, Tyquan Thornton, and JuJu Smith-Schuster all in play, Mahomes has endless options to carve up this vulnerable secondary. A three-TD day would shock exactly no one.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving’s DFS QB Coach - Best of the Rest

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Burrow is back after missing time since Week 2 and will be without Tee Higgins against an improving Ravens defense. That said, this game has a 52.5 total, and the Bengals are road underdogs. This is a classic script for high-volume passing. We saw Joe Flacco chuck it 40+ times per game while Burrow was out, so expect plenty of attempts here. The fantasy appeal is volume-driven, with Ja'Marr Chase and Mike Gesicki (who always steps up when Higgins is sidelined) likely to benefit most.

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Everyone fixates on Detroit’s running backs, and rightfully so, but Goff at home is a different animal. He has elite weapons in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs (a legitimate game-breaker as a receiver). Gibbs will be one of the chalkiest RBs on the slate, which makes stacking him with Goff a natural move in a dome against Green Bay.

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

High total and home underdog on Thanksgiving are perfect ingredients. Dallas looked lost for the first half against Philly last week but exploded in the second, with Prescott finishing 354 yards and 2 TDs. The week before, he shredded the Raiders for 268 yards and 4 scores. Facing Kansas City will be tough, but if this turns into a shootout, the Cowboys have the firepower to keep pace. I expect Prescott to be very low-owned and offer massive leverage.

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs is expected back, but Detroit has historically been stingy against the run, shifting the focus to Love and the passing game. Love has only two passing TDs in his last four games, which is not ideal, but this could be a get-right spot. He threw two scores against this same Lions defense in Week 1 when Green Bay won at home. With a 48.5 total and the Packers as three-point road dogs, Love should have plenty of chances to air it out.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving’s DFS QB Coach - Fades

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

On a three-game slate, it’s tough to fully fade anyone in a 52.5-total game, but Lamar just hasn’t looked right. Even against a Bengals defense that’s been one of the league’s worst, I’d rather play Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews than pay the slate’s highest for a guy who isn’t running the ball at the elite rate we need for him to smash. Until he shows it again, Jackson is my least favorite spend-up on Thanksgiving.