It's said that everything is bigger in Texas, which rings especially true as we kick off Week 13 in Dallas. The Cowboys are marching toward the postseason, hoping that the NFC's No. 1 seed may soon be attainable. If they want to be unwrapping that present this holiday season, the work starts now as they welcome the Seahawks for a Thursday Night Football showdown.
Seattle has lost three of its past four games, having been blown out in two of them. Nothing is working on offense, and the defense has sprung a leak that no shutoff valve is fixing. Their slim hopes of winning the NFC West have all but faded to black after letting a golden opportunity pass by on Thanksgiving, meaning a wild card is essentially their only hope now.
As for the Cowboys, they hope to have that golden opportunity to catch the Eagles, being in a spot to successfully hunt them down after being left for dead a few weeks ago. None of that matters with a loss on Thursday night. If the Cowboys want to make a run with home-field advantage and allow their defense to feast on familiar turf, this game means everything. They should play like it, too. The question is, will they? Our DraftKings lineup should give a pretty clear answer of which way we're leaning here.
MORE THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
FD lineup | ATS pick | Best props | Start-sit
Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR and there are three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
Seahawks-Cowboys DraftKings Picks: DFS lineup for Week 13 Thursday Night Football
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): RB Tony Pollard, Cowboys ($14,700)
Pollard is finding his groove once again, scoring touchdowns in two straight. The running back should be able to take advantage of a Seahawks run defense that ranks around the middle of the pack but has faltered in recent weeks. Seattle is also allowing the second-most rushing touchdowns to running backs per game (1.09) along with at least one in four of the past five. Pollard went through a rough stretch for a good portion of the season, but that has since ended as Dallas tries to get its running game to match its passing efficiency heading toward the postseason.
FLEX QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys ($11,000)
Prescott is marching toward MVP consideration, compiling stats at an incredible rate. The quarterback has at least 30 fantasy points in four of the past five, posting multiple passing touchdowns in all of them. Considering every winning lineup will likely feature Prescott, we have to take the low-hanging fruit in order for our deeper plays to hopefully put us over the top.
FLEX RB Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks ($6,800)
All signs point to Kenneth Walker III (oblique) being sidelined, leaving Charbonnet as the lead back on Thursday night. The rookie has been dealt a tough hand thus far, facing the 49ers and now potentially the Cowboys in his first two starts, but we have faith in the volume. It's going to be tough for Geno Smith and the Seahawks to find success on the ground or through the air, leaving our hands somewhat tied for Seattle players. We don't envision the Seahawks scoring too many touchdowns, but Charbonnet should have a good chance with goal-line carries. With around 14.5 carries over the past two weeks, the ceiling is high enough to warrant a lineup spot.
FLEX TE Jake Ferguson, Cowboys ($6,200)
Ferguson's taken a step back in recent weeks after that hot stretch that saw him score touchdowns in three straight. The tight end has just eight catches in the past three and has also seen a dip in yardage. Seattle is also allowing the 11th-fewest fantasy points to the position (5.6), making this a highly questionable pick, bBut when everyone zigs, we zag, and Ferguson is more than capable of making an impact. Because of that reality, we anticipate him being a low-owned player, helping differentiate our lineup on Thursday night. Prescott has shown to have a solid rapport with Ferguson, and we'll need that to continue against the Seahawks.
FLEX D/ST Cowboys ($5,600)
Fade this Cowboys' defense at your own risk. They are turnover-forcing machines, get to the quarterback at will, rarely allow many points, and even manage to score some themselves. The Seahawks offense has been searching for consistency, struggling to score 20 points most weeks. They won't be able to find success against Dallas either.
FLEX K Jason Myers, Seahawks ($4,400)
While we don't believe Seattle will have many points, the ones they do score should come via the field goal. Myers has two double-digit fantasy point performances in the past three games, called upon often to put points on the board for the Seahawks. He's nailed one from 50 yards or more in each of the past two games, and with this game being played in a dome, weather won't be a concern. Myers should be called upon more than a few times on Thursday.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
Best SuperDraft Seahawks-Cowboys DFS Picks
This year, we're also listing our favorite single-game DFS plays on SuperDraft.
For those unfamiliar, SuperDraft's DFS scoring involves point multipliers as opposed to traditional salary-capped or tiered contests. A winning lineup will likely feature a strong mix of stud fantasy contributors with 1x-1.6x boosts, as well as matchup-based sleepers with larger multipliers. Each player is assigned a scoring multiplier based on their value as determined by SuperDraft. Users can roster any player in their lineup with no restrictions.
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Here are the most notable scoring rules for SuperDraft NFL contests: Half-point PPR, four-point passing TDs, two-point bonuses for 100 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards, and 300 passing yards.
MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS: How to play SuperDraft
- Champion (+50% points): QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys (Multiplier 1.6x)
- Super FLEX: RB Tony Pollard, Cowboys (Multiplier 1.15x)
- Super FLEX: WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys (Multiplier 1x)
- Super FLEX: RB Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks (Multiplier 1.55x)
- Super FLEX: K Jason Myers, Seahawks (Multiplier 1.8x)
Our SuperDraft lineup follows the logic that we used in both the FanDuel and DraftKings versions. Prescott must be included in all lineups, and we like stacking him with Pollard and Lamb as the top two options in the Dallas offense. On the Seattle side, our preference remains one offensive player -- in this case, Charbonnet -- and Myers on special teams based on the game script that we feel especially confident is destined to unfold.
