NFL DFS Sunday night football: FanDuel single game contest preview

The NFL presents the FanDuel/DFS community with a NFC showdown this Sunday Night! Let’s break down the single game slate and identify the plays that will help us take down a FanDuel contest!

Before I dive into my FanDuel player selections, let’s look at the key DFS injuries for this contest, briefly review the rules for the FanDuel single game contest, and discuss my fantasy strategy for Sunday night’s game.

Key DFS Injuries: Chicago Bears: OUT: Trey Burton-TE, Adam Shaheen-TE: Questionable: David Montgomery-RB. L.A. Rams: OUT: Brandon Cooks-WR, Questionable: Gerald Everett-TE, Tyler Higbee-TE, Johnny Mundt-TE

In my opinion, the FanDuel rules for the single game NFL contest are rather simple. You have $60,000 to use on five players from the Sunday night game. However, one of those players will be designated as your MVP.

The FanDuel MVP accumulates 1.5 times the standard FanDuel points value than your other remaining players. Having said that, it is imperative that you select the correct player for your MVP position if you hope to take down a FanDuel single game contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for this contest, I recommend that you check out the FanDuel site for more details.

Let’s now shift our focus to my DFS strategy for this NFC contest. Well, it has to be said that this looks like a low scoring affair between two teams that have been struggling on offense for various reasons.

The Bears and quarterback Mitch Trubisky have just been an offensive disaster in 2019. The Bears have continued to struggle to find offensive consistency and quite frankly look like a team that is nowhere near close to finding the answer to fix the offense’s issues.

Los Angeles’s current offense is a shadow of last year’s offense that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. Why is that? Well, a combination of factors. The Rams have had significant injuries and changing personnel. In my opinion, these two issues have been the main problem for the Rams on offense in 2019.

From a DFS strategy perspective, these two teams struggling on offense, definitely presents us with a very difficult task with regard to composing a winning lineup for the FanDuel single game contest.

Having stated that, I will do my best to help us find the correct DFS strategy in my player picks!

Here are my FanDuel player picks for Sunday Night Football.

MVP-Robert Woods $12,000

After evaluating all of the data, I am rolling with Rams wide receiver Robert Woods as my MVP for the FanDuel single game contest.

Why am I going with Woods? Well, I don’t like either quarterback in this contest. Both quarterbacks have been very inconsistent and I am full fading both for my MVP slot. Additionally, both starting running backs for these football teams have had issues performing from a DFS perspective and are not MVP candidates for me either.

I also am fading Cooper Kupp in this game. Yes, I know that he has played well this season. However, he was held to zero targets in last week’s contest versus the Steelers. Frankly, I am concerned that NFL defenses are finding ways to shut him down. Additionally, fading Kupp gives me leverage on the field in this FanDuel contest.

I love Woods chances in this game for a few reasons. First of all, I think he will benefit greatly by the continued absence of Rams wide receiver Brandon Cooks. An illustration of Woods ability to perform better with Cooks out can be seen in the Rams last game.

In last week’s contest versus the Steelers, Rams quarterback Jared Goff targeted Woods 11 times. Woods compiled seven catches and 95 receiving in the loss to Pittsburgh. My gut tells me that although Goff has struggled in 2019, he finds a way to keep targeting Woods often in this contest.

Depending on the game script, I would not be at all surprised if Robert Woods finished Sunday night’s game with over ten catches and over 100 receiving yards. I also think Woods finds the end zone for the first time this year.

Contrarian MVP Candidate

Gerald Everett $10,000

I need to point out that Everett has an injury designation of questionable for this contest. However, he did practice on a limited basis Friday. If he is active, Everett is an interesting MVP candidate. He had eight catches on 12 targets in last week’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Flex Plays

Todd Gurley $13,000

Yes, I know that Gurley has not looked great this year. However, there is no denying the fact that Gurley is highly involved in this offense.

How involved has he been? In his last three games, Gurley has 40 rushing attempts. Additionally, he has been targeted by Goff six times as a receiver in that three game span.

It has to be said that the Chicago Bears defense currently allows the second most receptions to runnings backs. Clearly, Gurley has a chance to benefit from the Bears inability to defend running backs.

Tarik Cohen $8,500

I mentioned previously in this article that Bears starting running back David Montgomery is questionable for Sunday night’s game. If he is inactive, I absolutely love Tarik Cohen.

If you are questioning why I love Cohen if Montgomery let me explain why? Over his last three games, David Montgomery has had an unbelievable 67 touches. If Montgomery is indeed out, someone has to benefit from his absence. I think Cohen could be the main beneficiary of his absence.

Taylor Gabriel $10,500

For my last flex play, I am going with Gabriel. Here is why. I think Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson will be followed all over the football field by newly acquired Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey. In my opinion, Gabriel could benefit from Robinson being blanketed by Ramsay in a big way.

If you have any specific player questions feel free to contact me on Twitter at @geeversgolf.

Good luck! Enjoy Sunday night’s game!