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Week 7 of the NFL season is nearly in the books. After a record-breaking performance from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes Sunday night, it's time to see if the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons can give us a better (or possibly closer) primetime game.
While these are two teams who entered the year with high expectations, both have fallen flat to start the year. Although a 2-4 team hosting a 1-5 team doesn't seem appealing on paper, there's plenty of talent and intrigue in this matchup. And even if you aren't a fan of either team, DraftKings is offering a wide range of showdown games to add to the entertainment.
These games are a unique way to play daily fantasy football by focusing on just one single game. You'll fill out a smaller lineup (six players) which features each player with a much higher price tag than on a normal slate. When building lineups, you also have to choose one captain on your roster who costs 1.5-times more than the rest of the team but receives 1.5x the points as well.
Although in Week 7 of the 2018 NFL season, DraftKings is still offering monster showdown games on Monday night. This includes the always-popular $10 game with $1 million guaranteed. First place in this 150-max game will take home $250,000.
Along with the huge headliner game, DraftKings is offering a lower buy-in option with their 20-max game that has $250,000 guaranteed and a $3 entry fee. Other games worth noting include a $12 single entry with $40,000 guaranteed and a $1 option with $80,000 in total prizes.
Showdown Breakdown and Tips
Before we dive into the action for Week 7 and Giants vs. Falcons matchup, let's offer a quick breakdown of how showdown games work.
– Six total players (one captain, five flex players)
– Captain selection costs 1.5 times standard salary but scores 1.5 times the standard points
– Can choose from any position (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, DST)
– $50,000 salary cap
– You can use more than one quarterback
Building lineups in showdown games can be a tough task, as you want to differentiate as much as possible. Tying with 500 other people for one prize isn't ideal, but it's better than losing, of course. Therefore, using a nice mixture of chalk plays who most will target, along with one or two sleepers is a smart approach.
I'll break down a few different lineups which will include a variety of players in the captain spot. There will be one optimal lineup, a top option for 150-max games (more risk), and one for single entries/cash games (higher-floor players).
Before diving into the specific lineups, I'll evaluate my favorite captain plays.
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DraftKings Week 7 Showdown: Giants vs. Falcons Top Optimal Lineups