In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Xfinity, 5 rules for fun on Super Bowl Sunday, Super Bowl 60 Best Bets and potential NFL cap casualties.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Xfinity:
Super Bowl Sunday is a time for joy. One last 60-minute battle among modern-day gladiators before our brethren of football-obsessed lunatics must finally give in to real-life responsibilities for seven long, cold months until meaningful professional football is again back in our lives.
So why not make the absolute most out of this Sunday? Why can't Seahawks-Patriots be the single-best Super Bowl experience of your life? WHY NOT???
I have five tips and tricks to assist in this monumental challenge of not just having a good Super Bowl Sunday—but having a GREAT one!
Super Bowl Sunday Rule No. 1: Get everyone invested
This is easy if you're a Seahawks or Patriots fan, but otherwise? Not everyone is degenerate enough to have playoff fantasy squads—though you can still draft Guilloteenies— or parlays to sweat, so it's important to provide a meaningful sweat for the puritans of the party.
The easiest solution here: Super Bowl Squares! We have you covered with a Super Bowl 60 Squares Pool that will keep all participants invested for 60 full minutes. But if you're interested in, you know, winning squares–check out this cheat sheet from industry legend Adam Levitan that assigns an expected value to each Super Bowl Square. The top-5 most valuable spots:
0-0 ($6.83 expected value)
7-0 ($6.04)
0-7 ($6.04)
3-0 ($4.68)
0-3 ($4.68)
Super Bowl Sunday Rule No. 2: Design an effective game plan for food and drinks
I'm personally rolling with Kona Big Wave, pizza and chicken wings for Super Bowl Sunday. But hey, to each their own! Maybe you're trying to hang out with cooterdoodle down by the Bayou and enjoy some gumbo, or perhaps a meat-and-cheese charcuterie board (prosciutto and gouda for the win) with some wine is more up your alley.
Regardless: Create a game plan that satisfies everyone and execute well in advance of the game's 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff. As Abraham Lincoln once famously said, "Nothing is worse than suddenly being forced to miss the actual Super Bowl because you didn't figure out the food and drink situation beforehand."
Super Bowl Sunday Rule No. 3: Supply the SUPER casuals with a catch-phrase or two
Some suggestions on things to yell at the TV throughout the game:
"Big third down!" whenever there is a big third down. Spoiler: Every third down is a big third down.
"Are these refs blind?" whenever the ref makes a bad call. Or even a good call. Everyone hates the refs. Embrace it. Bonus points for slandering rules analyst Mike Pereira.
"Now here's a guy …" whenever Cris Collinsworth starts talking about pretty much anyone. It'll hit.
Super Bowl Sunday Rule No. 4: Ensure comfort
Especially for yourself. Failing to plan is planning to fail: Under no circumstances should you find yourself in an uncomfortable chair with a bad view of the television by the time kickoff comes around.
This is arguably the most important piece of the puzzle: I'm not against utilizing underhanded tactics such as telling your uncle they're needed in the kitchen before snagging their seat. It's the Super Bowl!
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Kenneth Walker Under 73.5 Rushing Yards (-110; FanDuel)
Cooper Kupp 50+ Receiving Yards (+225; FanDuel)
Rashid Shaheed To Have a Reception of 30+ yards (+430; FanDuel)
While the Patriots are my preferred side for the game, the Seahawks are the more appealing team in the player prop market. Their offense is a bit more condensed than the Patriots', making them the easier team to decipher.
At running back, Walker has taken over as the team’s clear No. 1 option following the injury to Zach Charbonnet. That said, he’s still not exactly a bell cow. He was on the field for just 62% of the team’s offensive snaps last week, and he handled 76% of their rushing attempts. George Holani worked in on passing downs, and he should continue to be a factor in the Super Bowl.
Walker has had 19 carries in back-to-back games. He torched a weak 49ers' run defense for 116 yards, but he managed just 62 against the Rams’ excellent defense.
This week’s opponent looks much closer to the Rams than the 49ers. When the Patriots’ defense has been at full strength this season, they’ve been extremely difficult to run against. They’ve surrendered 87 rushing yards or fewer in four straight games, and only four RBs have cleared 73.5 rushing yards vs. New England this season: Chase Brown, Derrick Henry, Breece Hall and Devin Singletary. All four of those games came with defensive lineman Milton Williams unavailable, so no one has gotten to this figure against the Pats at full strength.
This number is down to 70.5 at most locations, but it’s still hanging in the mid-70s at some locations. This might be my favorite offering on the entire slate.
Conversely, Kupp is a player I’m bullish on. His production has flown a bit under the radar after the team acquired Shaheed before the trade deadline. He’s been the team’s clear No. 2 option over that stretch, posting a 17% target share from Week 10 on. Kupp has had marks of 31% and 18% in their two playoff outings, so he’s their most reliable pass catcher not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Kupp hasn’t posted a ton of eye-popping production over that time frame, but he did have 60 yards against the 49ers in the Divisional Round. In a game where the Seahawks will likely have to throw the ball to move the sticks, I like him to have a solid performance. You could take the over on the traditional receiving prop (33.5 yards), but I’m going with the slightly larger payout for 50+.
While Kupp has been the Seahawks’ No. 2 receiver from a volume standpoint, Shaheed is the big-play threat. His biggest impact in Seattle has come on special teams, where he’s already scored three touchdowns, but he’s capable of getting behind defensive backs as well. We saw that last week vs. the Rams, with his only catch going for 51 yards.
Shaheed also had a 30-plus-yard reception with the Seahawks during the regular season, and he was just narrowly missed on a second. He did it multiple times during his tenure with the Saints, so big plays are what he brings to the table.
In his two playoff outings this season, his average depth of target (aDOT) has been 27.5 and 23.0 yards. I like the idea of playing him for a long reception compared to his traditional receiving prop, especially with the potential of a juicy +430 payout.
We know that big game on Sunday is as far ahead as many want to be looking on the NFL calendar, but we know there are 30 franchises and their respective fan bases that are already working on next season. Ian Hartitz is here for all of you, taking a hard look at which players could be cap casualties or trade candidates in the weeks ahead. One of the players who will be much-discussed is a quarterback out in the Arizona desert:
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray: Unceremoniously benched after putting up career-worst passing efficiency numbers during his first five starts of 2025. While Murray never managed to build off his early-career success, he's 28 years young and is probably still a top-25-ish QB on the planet.
Get a head start on the QB carousel that is going to start spinning not long after we finally learn Bad Bunny’s setlist and the Lombardi Trophy is hoisted. Ian breaks down all the fantasy-relevant players—RBs, WRs and TEs, too—who could become available in the near future.⤵️
