Sunday Night Football FanDuel Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for Week 1 Cowboys-Buccaneers single-game tournaments

Nick Musial

Sunday Night Football FanDuel Picks: NFL DFS lineup advice for Week 1 Cowboys-Buccaneers single-game tournaments image

The Cowboys host the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football to cap off what should be an action-packed day of NFL football. These two teams met last season in Week 1 in what ended up being one of the better games of the regular season, as Tampa Bay narrowly defeated Dallas 31-29, needing a game-winning field goal from Ryan Succop in the final seconds. This season's rematch has a ton of star power on both sides, which is great news for NFL DFS players putting together a FanDuel single-game lineup for SNF.

Here are the notable scoring settings for FanDuel single-game contests: The point total for the "MVP" is multiplied by 1.5, but he doesn't cost any additional money like the "Captain" in DraftKings Showdown contests. FanDuel's default scoring is half-point PPR and four-point passing TDs, and there are no bonuses for 300-yard/100-yard games like on DraftKings. 

MORE FD SINGLE GAME: How to win a FanDuel single-game contest

FanDuel Single Game DFS Picks: Cowboys vs. Buccaneers Week 1 Sunday Night Football

$60,000 budget, need at least one player from each team

MVP (1.5x points): WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys ($14,000)

With Dallas parting ways with WRs Amari Cooper (Browns) and Cedrick Wilson (Dolphins) in the offseason coupled with the absence of Michael Gallup (knee), it's not crazy to expect a 30-percent target share coming Lamb's way. He had an efficient game in last season's meeting as Dallas' 1A receiver (19.9 FP) and looks to surpass that total now that he's the team's go-to receiving threat. Lamb is the fourth-highest-priced player on FanDuel behind Tom Brady ($16,00), Dak Prescott ($15,500), and Mike Evans ($14,500), but he has a chance to accrue the most fantasy points in the MVP spot.

MORE SNF: DraftKings Lineup 

FLEX QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys ($15,500)

Prescott had his way against the Buccaneers in last season's Week 1 opener, throwing for 403 yards with a 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio (28.42 FP). His accuracy and ability to stress the Buccaneers' secondary can lead to another elite game for the seventh-year pro. Having a QB at the FLEX position can pay dividends, and since we expect a high-scoring game, there's a chance Prescott puts up a similar output to last season. Dak's ability to be accurate in the red zone could lead him to another three-plus passing TD effort, as he led all QBs in red-zone accuracy rating a season ago.

WEEK 1 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

FLEX WR Mike Evans, Buccaneers ($14,500)

Evans looks to be in line for a big performance on Sunday night matching up against a fairly leaky Dallas secondary. His ability to carve up his opposition in the red zone makes him a must-start in showdown lineups, as he ranked second among all WRs in TDs a season ago (14). A TD from Evans coupled with five-to-six receptions for around 75 yards would be a great Week 1 output for the nine-year vet. If Chris Godwin (knee) is out, the potential for more targets is there.

WEEK 1 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKingsFanDuel | Yahoo

FLEX TE Cameron Brate, Buccaneers ($8,000)

With Rob Gronkowski retiring, Brate has a path to a respectable 2022 fantasy season. A solid Week 1 showing could vault him into becoming a trendy streaming play at the TE position. He was a focal point of Brady's in the red zone last season, seeing a total of 19 targets (fourth among TEs). If Brate's able to make the most out of his red-zone targets by getting in the end zone on Sunday, he'll likely help DFS owners get in the money.

WEEK 1 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kicker

FLEX WR Noah Brown, Cowboys ($7,500)

If you read our DraftKings SNF Showdown lineup, you know we think Brown has a real opportunity to break out given the turnover Dallas has seen with its WR corps. We were able to get Prescott, Mike Evans, and CeeDee Lamb in our lineup as a result of locking in Brown, and we think he'll have a fairly low roster percentage that differs from the majority of lineups. With Dallas likely needing to make plays through the air matched up against a potent Tampa Bay offense, a four-catch, 50-yard day is not out of the question for Brown. That's enough to return value.

Nick Musial

Nick Musial Photo

Nick Musial is a Content Producer at The Sporting News. He recently joined the team after studying sport management and journalism at the University of Kansas. Nick’s an avid sports bettor who’s always looking for value.