Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Cowboys are a part of this week’s primary game stack.

Their irresistible combination of a high-powered offense and nukeable defense coupled with a Broncos offense that found its groove just in the nick of time against the Giants in Week 7 will likely draw most of the field’s attention once again.

Dallas has inspired Vegas’ highest game total (50½) for the third straight week. The previous two matchups against the Panthers and Commanders both went over, but building around those games have been hit or miss.

In Week 6, a skinny stack of George Pickens and Rico Dowdle was utilized in the Milly Maker-winning lineup, but Drake Maye was the focal point of the build.

Last week, Javonte Williams was the only piece included, and he was actually a contrarian play. Jayden Daniels got hurt and the Cowboys cruised, so the game environment was a letdown. It makes sense a running back from a leading team would do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Using Williams was a correlated bet on the rest of the game not producing expected outcomes.

As Archimedes probably once said, in a way only an ancient Greek mathematician could, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

Or in less eloquent terms: This is another opportunity to gain leverage on the field.

The preamble

Devising the perfect Daily Fantasy Sports strategy for the NFL can be a challenge, which is why I’m here weekly to assist.

On DraftKings, it’s important to remember you’re playing full-point PPR with bonuses if a player surpasses 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards or 100 receiving yards.

Here is my optimal lineup for today’s NFL $2.75 million Fantasy Football Millionaire contest, but it can be utilized as a foundation in other games and platforms.

All prices listed are courtesy of DraftKings with a $50,000 budget.

The optimal lineup has netted $80 this season, so I’m in the red $45 with an average score of 134.38 points through seven weeks.

Year-To-Date Results

Week 1: 95.52

Week 2: 124.90

Week 3: 181.44

Week 4: 142.88

Week 5: 162.24

Week 6: 117.24

Week 7: 116.46

Week 8 lineup

QB: Jalen Hurts, Eagles ($6,600)

I was all set on building around the return of Lamar Jackson, but it was announced early Saturday that Jackson would miss his third straight game. The Bears-Ravens game total plummeted from 50½ to 44½. Philadelphia was embarrassed two weeks ago in New York on national TV, and I don’t put it past head coach Nick Sirianni to hold a grudge and/or be petty enough to run up a score in retaliation. Hurts’ completion percentage (69.7%), adjusted yards per attempt (8.58) and passer rating (108.9) would all be career highs.

RB: Jonathan Taylor, Colts ($9,500)

Indianapolis has essentially morphed into the Eagles from last year with Taylor occupying the Saquon Barkley role. He’s on pace to produce 2,142 total yards and 27 touchdowns. In his last two games against the Titans, Taylor has 320 yards on 46 carries and six TDs. The Colts have an implied team total of 31 points and are favored by 14½ at home. Don’t overthink this.

RB: Chase Brown, Bengals ($5,400)

Cincinnati is actually favored by 6½ and expected to play from ahead for the first time since Joe Burrow was hurt. Everything is setting up perfectly for Brown to have his biggest game of the season against a Jets defense allowing the 10th-most rushing yards per game, and the eighth-highest yards after contact per attempt, according to FantasyPros. They also rank 14th in yards per reception allowed to backs.

WR: DeVonta Smith, Eagles ($5,900)

The loss of A.J. Brown this week only makes Philadelphia’s passing attack more concentrated. Brown missed three games last year. Smith saw 20 targets for a 29.4% target rate in the two games he played, and finished as the overall WR12 in PPR formats with an average of 17.8 points. The Giants’ secondary will be depleted with cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland both out.

WR: Tee Higgins, Bengals ($5,600)

Higgins and Brown’s combined salary is only $11,000 (down from $13,000 to start the season). This skinny stack is a bet on Cincinnati scoring somewhere around its implied team total of 25½ while also providing leverage on those who are paying up for Ja’Marr Chase ($8,100) after his monster performance last week.

WR: Darnell Mooney, Falcons ($4,400)

Kirk Cousins is expected to start against the Dolphins with Michael Penix Jr. dealing with a knee injury. Mooney had a great rapport with veteran QB last season. The field-stretcher produced at least 86 receiving yards or a TD six times in Cousins’ 14 starts.

TE: Dallas Goedert, Eagles ($4,200)

Goedert had 20 receptions on 23 targets for 270 yards in the three games without Brown in 2024, finishing as the overall TE1 in PPR while averaging 15.7 points. Only Jake Ferguson, Trey McBride and Tyler Warren have outscored him in PPR this season. McBride is on a bye with Ferguson ($6,000) and Warren ($5,500) costing significantly more this week.

FLEX: George Kittle, 49ers ($4,500)

In honor of National Tight Ends Day, I’m rolling with two of the best, including the poster child for the holiday. Kittle looked healthy despite his goose egg in the box score last week. Unfortunately we don’t get points for pancake blocks in fantasy. The Texans are a good defense, but they are vulnerable against intermediate passes, which is where Kittle thrives. Few have his ceiling at the position, and you’re getting him at a discount (Kittle was $5,800 in Week 1).

DST: Indianapolis Colts ($3,800)

14, 8, 15, 14, 8, 16, 19. Those are the fantasy scores of defenses that have faced the Titans this season. The 15 belongs to Indy in Week 3 at Tennessee.

Originally Published: October 25, 2025 at 3:35 PM PDT