The NFL's super wild-card weekend concludes Monday night, as the reigning NFC Champion Eagles head to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers in prime time (8:00 p.m. ET, ABC). Philadelphia looks to end their late-season cold spell by taking down Tampa Bay for a second time this season following its 25-11 road win back in Week 3. It won't come easy against the NFC South champs, though, as Baker Mayfield and company look to parlay their late-season surge into a home playoff victory to propel them to the divisional round.
For DFS users in need of lineup advice for DraftKings' Monday night Millionaire Showdown tournaments, we've crafted our favorite single-game lineup, highlighting value plays and must-starts to stand out from the pack. Let’s get to our picks and help you end the wild-card weekend with some extra cash in your accounts!
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.
Buccaneers-Eagles DraftKings Picks: DFS lineup for wild-card playoff matchup
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): Baker Mayfield, QB, Buccaneers ($14,700)
Although Mayfield has yet to practice this week after suffering rib and ankle injuries in Tampa Bay's NFC South-clinching win, you better believe he'll tough things out and be all systems go come Monday night. Despite not being at 100 percent health, a matchup against a putrid Eagles pass defense ranking 28th in dropback EPA (0.094) is a welcomed sign for Tampa's passing game.
Behind an offensive line sporting Pro Football Focus' 10th highest pass-blocking grade (70.7), should Mayfield receive clean pockets, he figures to put forth a strong passing performance. Save for his 6.2 DK point effort in last week's 9-0 win in Carolina, Mayfield is averaging 23.55 DK points per game over his past four games, a number he could eclipse even before factoring in his 1.5x boost.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
FLEX Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers ($10,600)
There's no way we're omitting Evans from our Showdown build in this favorable matchup, as the future Hall-of-Fame wideout is as consistent as it gets at his position. Evans reached the 1,000-yard mark for the 10th straight season, thanks to his league-leading 36 deep targets (20-plus yards), culminating in a WR-best 1906 air yards.
Evans was his typical self against the Eagles in Week 3, recording five catches for 60 yards and a TD on 10 targets (17.0 DK points). Look for another steady fantasy showing from Tampa's WR1.
FLEX DeVonta Smith, WR, Eagles ($8,600)
Instead of dishing out $10,800 on A.J. Brown, we'll save some salary by rolling with fellow WR DeVonta Smith. While we have some concerns around the Eagles' pass attack amid Jalen Hurts' finger injury, we think there's an outside chance Philly plays from behind in this one, needing to rely on its passing more than some might expect.
Smith ended the regular season totaling the 20th most receiving yards (1,066) on 81 receptions (16th among WRs) while averaging 14.7 DK points per game, as his stability figures to keep our lineup competitive.
FLEX D'Andre Swift, RB, Eagles ($7,200)
Swift gashed what's been a steady Buccaneers run defense to the tune of 130 yards on 16 carries back in Week 3 (17.8 DK points), so you better believe we're riding with their workhorse RB in Monday's rematch. Swift could easily be the Eagles' top fantasy point-getter this week, with Hurts' finger injury impacting his effectiveness, putting even more pressure on Swift to deliver in a win-or-go-home matchup.
FLEX Jake Elliott, K, Eagles ($5,000)
Elliott has been money all season, connecting on 93.8 percent of his field goal attempts while putting up 9.2 DK points per game. He's been especially elite from 40-plus, making 14-of-15 kicks to the benefit of DFS players. Although the Eagles rank in the bottom half of the league in field goal attempts per game (1.9; 18th), it's fair to expect around eight-plus points from Philly's accurate placekicker.
FLEX Trey Palmer, WR, Buccaneers ($2,800)
We're taking a flier on Palmer at $2,800 as we think the Buccaneers' passing attack should have little trouble against a struggling Eagles' coverage unit. As his cheap salary suggests, Palmer's upside is capped, averaging only 5.7 DK points per game, but his strong route participation numbers (78.2 percent) give him an opportunity to make an impact in his first career playoff game.
Best Buccaneeers-Eagles SuperDraft DFS Picks
As we have every week, 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.
MORE: Win BIG with SuperDraft! Join now and get a free deposit match of $20!
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): Baker Mayfield, QB, Buccaneers (1.8x)
- Super FLEX: Jake Elliott, K, Eagles (1.8x)
- Super FLEX: D'Andre Swift, RB, Eagles (1.5x)
- Super FLEX: DeVonta Smith, WR, Eagles (1.3x)
- Super FLEX: Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers (1x)
Although we think the Buccaneers have a real chance of ending the Eagles' season, our SuperDraft build is Eagles-heavy, as we're enticed by the point multipliers for Elliott, Swift, and Smith. We still have our two Tampa Bay anchors in Mayfield and Smith, but are staying away from Hurts and Brown, giving our SD lineup some differentiation there.