Week 8 FanDuel NFL Tournament Pivots

Quarterback

Chalk

With a matchup against the porous Indianapolis Colts pass defense on tap, Andy Dalton has shot up all of the expert charts and will likely be one of the top-owned quarterbacks on FanDuel. Kirk Cousins will also be a popular play at home against the Dallas Cowboys in a game with the highest total of the week. Cousins has scored at least 20 points in four straight weeks and is priced at a bargain price of $7,800.

For only $100 more, many players will be looking at Carson Wentz. He's coming off a massive 32.02 point outing and faces a San Francisco 49ers defense that has allowed an average of 30.07 to opposing quarterbacks in the past two weeks.

Pivots

Russell Wilson, $7,900 (vs. Houston Texans)

With so many players having such good matchups this week, it is inevitable that a few great plays are going to fall through the cracks and have lower ownership percentages. One such quarterback is the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson, who gets a home game against a Houston Texans defense that is more fearful based on reputation than on-field play. Had this game been held a month ago, I might be singing a different tune. However, the Texans are without two solid pass rushers in J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, meaning they will have a harder time getting to the mobile signal caller.

Wilson looked like a different quarterback in Week 7. Fresh off the bye, he marched the Seahawks down the field repeatedly against the New York Giants, finishing with a solid 334 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those numbers are not out of the realm of possibility again this week, as we've seen this Houston team lit up through the air by both Tom Brady and Alex Smith.

Philip Rivers, $7,500 (at New England Patriots)

The New England Patriots always seem to hit their stride, don't they? After being decimated by opposing offenses at the start of the season, they have allowed 14, 17, and 7 points in the last three weeks, respectively. They have seemingly turned it around. Unfortunately for them, they will now be down a starting linebacker as Dont'a Hightower is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Already poor against opposing tight ends and running backs, the middle of the field will now be much more accessible for Philip Rivers to find Hunter Henry, Melvin Gordon and co.

The game is expected to be the second-highest scoring matchup of the week, and the Patriots are favored by 7.5 points, which means Rivers could be facing a situation where he needs to throw the ball often to pull the Chargers back into the game. We project Rivers to return the sixth-most points (20.8) points this week, which would a a nearly three-times return on value.