Who Should I Start? Ka'imi Fairbairn or Jake Bates

Saturday, January 18, 7:32 PM

Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn had a rough day in the team's 23-14 defeat in the Divisional Round at Kansas City, making only two of his four field-goal attempts and missing his only extra point. The veteran converted from 30 and 48 yards, but badly missed on a 55-yarder in the first half, pushed an extra point wide on Houston's lone touchdown, and had a low kick blocked in the Texans' last-ditch attempt to get back into the game. It would have taken a special effort for Houston to unseat the defending champs, but between Fairbairn's bad day and the offensive line surrendering eight sacks, the Texans weren't able to do enough as their year ends in the Divisional Round for the second straight season.

Friday, January 17, 1:49 AM

Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has never appeared in an NFL playoff game before, but he already ranks as the No. 1 overall kicker in RotoBaller's Divisional Round fantasy rankings. His highly anticipated performance against the Washington Commanders on Saturday is the result of an impressive regular season in which he scored the seventh-most fantasy points among kickers. He missed just three field-goal attempts, and the Lions' incredibly potent offense put him in position to make a whopping 64 extra points. Also working in his favor is a somewhat favorable matchup against the Commanders, who surrendered two field goals to Chase McLaughlin last week, including one from 50 yards out. All in all, Bates is this week's top fantasy kicker thanks to his accuracy, power, and role on a dominant Lions team.