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DraftKings Fantasy Football Millionaire Winning Lineup Breakdown: Wild Card Sunday

DraftKings Fantasy Football Millionaire Winning Lineup Breakdown: Wild Card Sunday

DraftKings Fantasy Advice DFS NFL Rail

Published:

By: Zach Thompson

The NFL playoffs got off to a great start this weekend, and to celebrate the start of the postseason, DraftKings had huge DFS contests available every day. On Sunday, the three games were part of the NFL $2.25M FANTASY FOOTBALL MILLIONAIRE [$1M TO 1ST], which gave entries a chance to claim a million-dollar top prize. Of the 105,882 entries, there were two that shared the highest-scoring lineup. For the first time this season, we have a shared “Crowning Moment” as both ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza totaled 163.22 fantasy points. They finished two points ahead of birdganggirl, and 10 entries finished within six points of those two top entries.

Here’s what the highest-scoring entry looked like for Wild Card Sunday:

Curtis Samuel starts the party

In the early game, these entries from ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza only had two players in the matchup between the Broncos and the Bills. James Cook ($6,700; 21 FPTS) was a popular play, appearing in just under one-third of entries, but the Bills’ running back delivered a big game with 120 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown while powering Buffalo to a 31-7 victory over Denver.

The biggest differentiator in the winning entry, though, wasn’t Cook but Bills WR Curtis Samuel ($3,100; 15.8 FPTS). Samuel was owned in only 2.1% of entries but went off for 68 yards and a touchdown on his three catches.

Getting elite bargain production from a player with such low ownership started these entries on the path to their “Crowning Moment.” Samuel was one of only two players in the winning entry with under 10% ownership, but the veteran came through with his first postseason touchdown in his postseason debut. He only had two touchdowns during the regular season and never had more than 60 receiving yards in any game. Not only did he boost these entries to their crowning moment, he also was crowned King of the End Zone in DraftKings Sportsbook’s ongoing promotion.

Where Eagles Dare

The Eagles got a gritty, hard-fought win over the Packers, 22-10, and the entries from ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza selected three Eagles for their entries. They each picked the Eagles DST ($3,300; 14 FPTS) which was the best of the day, totaling three takeaways and four sacks while holding the Packers to a season-low 10 points. The Eagles’ defense kept Jordan Love ($5,800; 6.48 FPTS) in check and didn’t let any of the Packers’ players post big games. No Packers were in the winning entries.

The entries also included Saquon Barkley ($8,500; 17.3 FPTS), who had a quiet game by his lofty standards but was still the third-best running back on Sunday and was in 58.8% of entries, the second-highest mark of any player on the slate. Barkley’s slightly down production was mostly due to no touchdowns since he still ran for 119 yards on his 25 carries and added four receiving yards on two catches.

Dallas Goedert ($3,900; 14.7 FPTS) was the other member of the Eagles that ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza wisely included in their roster builds. Goedert forced his way to the highest production of any tight end this weekend, totaling 47 receiving yards on four catches and produced one of the most memorable “Crowning Moment” plays of the weekend with his multiple stiff-arms on his way to the end zone.

The Big Finish

Most entries in the main Millionaire contest leaned heavily into the last game of the day between the Bucs and Commanders, and the winning entries from ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza did as well. Bucky Irving ($7,000; 16.3 FPTS) was the most owned player in the contest, checking in with a 62.7% ownership and delivering a touchdown along with 77 rushing yards and six receiving yards.

Other than Irving, the winning entries opted to go with Commanders players from the nightcap, and their “Crowning Moment” included big performances from stars Jayden Daniels ($7,500; 22.32 FPTS) and Terry McLaurin ($6,500; 21.9 FPTS) along with a surprising and important touchdown from Dyami Brown ($3,400; 19.9 FPTS).

Brown had 89 receiving yards on his five catches and also caught the first touchdown of the game for Washington.

The final touchdown of the day set up the Commanders game-winning field goal, and it also was a huge one for ripsewell and NellyBellyPizza on their way to their “Crowning Moment.” With under 10 minutes left in the game, Daniels connected with McLaurin to hit on both sides of the stack.

The Bottom Line

This week’s winning entries got big games from two sleeper receivers in Samuel and Brown on their way to a postseason “Crowning Moment.” Be sure to take your shot for a “Crowning Moment” next weekend in the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], which will award another $1 million top prize for a $25 entry.

Be sure to stay tuned to DraftKings Network for all the coverage you need leading up to kickoff from both a betting and DFS perspective.

All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

Zach Thompson
Zach has been part of the DraftKings team since 2017 and covers baseball, basketball, golf, football and any other sport that offers DFS fun. He has been playing fantasy sports since box scores were only available in the newspaper the following day. Even though he grew up almost 8,000 miles away in Guam, he is a diehard Boston sports fan but will take a fantasy value play wherever he can get it, even if it’s from the Yankees.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.