Richard Masana 
Week 8 NFL DFS Introduction to Single-Game Showdowns
DraftKings calls them “Showdowns,” and FanDuel doesn’t really have a name for them other than “Single-Game Contests,” but whatever we call them they require an understanding of game narratives and game theory – which means we need to target low-ownership players that will give us the best opportunities within the narratives and game outcomes we’re expecting.
My picks will focus almost exclusively on finding GPP-winning combinations that have a chance at taking down the contests you’re entering, be they single-entry or MME. While we can’t cover all the possible combos or provide full lineups for you to deploy, the goal here is to give you the tools to win and highlight some names that will help make for profitable results.
If I enter five lineups in a large-field GPP, at least three of those lineups will focus on the most likely game outcome (based on Vegas odds, props and totals), with one or two contrarian builds. As we know, late-breaking news can have a significant effect on full slates, and that’s just amplified with single-game contests. If you have any questions leading up to lock, please consult our NFL DFS experts in Discord.
Let’s get to the game!
Some notes on the differences between MVP on FanDuel and DraftKings: The 1.5x point boost on FD comes with no salary penalty, while and DK also bumps the salary to 1.5x – a crucial factor in deciding who we can and cannot afford on both sites. We can use this to our advantage on FD by occasionally targeting non-QBs to establish more variance and more unique lineups, and on DK it allows us to build more hearty overall stacks when we punt the MVP position with a cheap but high-upside player.
Week 8 NFL DFS MVP candidates (1.5x points) Stoweby’s Showdown For 11.1 Cowboys at Eagles
Chalk: Boston Scott $13,200
Pivot: Carson Wentz $17,700
Contrarian #1: Dallas Goedert $11,700
Contrarian #2: Ezekiel Elliott $16,200
Contrarian #3: Ben DiNucci $12,900/Eagles Defense $9,300 *****High Risk*****
The theme of the day for the majority of our games this weekend is weather and this Cowboys/Eagles contests is no different. With sustained winds over 15 MPH and gusts into the mid/upper 20’s we’re need to temper our expectations for offensive production. It’s not really like we were expecting much from Dallas and the Eagles offensive weapons have largely been limited all season so the 42.5 point total feels like a decent number albeit I’m in the mood for unders today and to this point I’m being rewarded for it. Chalk tonight is far and away Boston Scott tipping our projections at 30% in the captain spot and for good reason. Dallas can’t stop anything, he’s cheap, and the weather favors the running game as I already mentioned. If you want to pivot and you feel that the weather will not inhibit the pass and somehow Dallas can stay close (I doubt it), a pivot to Carson Wentz and pairing him with Travis Fulgham or Dallas Goedert will be a fine contrarian option. There is one other EXTREMELY contrarian path and it ties into the Eagles passing narrative, you pair Ben DiNucci with someone like Amari Cooper and pray the lack of film on him allows a few big plays in the first half before the Eagles make an adjustment. I really can’t stress this enough, this last option is high risk but it leverages heavily against the game script that 99 percent of people will be on tonight. If you use this one don’t @ me in discord to tell me it was a bad play. It’s showdown. If you aren’t playing all or nothing you shouldn’t be playing. Ezekiel Elliott is in my captains list for the obvious reason that he is their only real chance to win tonight. He needs 30+ touches at minimum to have a shot but to be honest I don’t trust Mike McCarthy’s ability to do anything correctly so play any Dallas players at your own peril.
Stoweby’s Showdown For 11.1 Cowboys at Eagles Flex Plays: (All captains are viable flex’s)
You probably hate me right now if you’re a Cowboys fan but I’m gonna keep this fles section pretty straight forward. If you are expecting this game to be as bad as I am for Dallas tonight I would really only consider playing one Cowboy and only in a flex postion. My favorite two guys for that are Zeke or kicker Greg Zuerlein. Sorry Dallas.
Cowboys: (Do I have to?), Amari Cooper, Dalton Shultz, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Tony Pollard, Greg Zuerlein
Eagles: Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward, Richard Rodgers, Corey Clement, Jason Huntley, Jake Elliott
Thanks for taking the time to look through my Win Daily Stoweby’s Showdown For 11.1 Cowboys at Eagles . Looking forward to seeing some green screens this evening. Any questions about the breakdown, I will be available all day in the WinDaily Discord chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!
