As we tick down to the final days of 2023, it's always important to look back on what we accomplished during the past 12 months. We have 525,600 minutes in a given year to make an impact for better or worse, adding up to the 8,760 hours and 365 days that will write our stories. The Lions know a thing or two about this after winning their first division title in 30 years by defeating the Vikings last week. Their story is a happy one, a tale about perseverance, commitment, hard work, and loyalty. While a Super Bowl victory is their goal in 2024, the Lions can look back on their year with no regrets.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are sitting pretty at 10-5, but their story is one that's been written with plenty of regret thus far. A team that can't buy a big win away from home, Dallas has watched their hopes of winning the NFC East slip by, leaving their fate in the hands of the Eagles' opponents down the stretch. There's still some time to finish that final chapter, however. How these finals days and hours play out can completely change how history looks back on 2023. That's why we're taking another run at glory, building a DraftKings single-game DFS lineup that can have us booking tickets to our favorite island by the time the clock strikes midnight.
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.
MORE LIONS-COWBOYS: ATS pick | Best props
Lions-Cowboys DraftKings Picks: DFS lineup for Week 17 Saturday game
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
Captain (1.5x points, 1.5x salary): TE Jake Ferguson, Cowboys ($9,300)
Ferguson has been a consistent performer for Dallas this season, and with the 'Boys returning to the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium, we should expect an explosion of sorts to take place. The Cowboys' home dominance is no secret at this stage, with Dallas dropping each of its past two away from the Lone Star State. With Detroit in town, fireworks are to be expected. The Lions have been victimized by TEs like Cole Kmet and T.J. Hockenson in recent weeks, with the latter being well on his way to a big game before leaving with a knee injury. Fergie profiles as a security blanket for Dak Prescott, and his reliability will once again be on display with their NFC East hopes hanging on by a thread.
FLEX WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys ($11,400)
The top option on this Dallas team is obviously Lamb, but his elevated Captain salary made "Captain Lamb" a luxury we weren't willing to invest in. Instead, we get Lamb at the cheaper rate, locking in some solid pieces around him for a star-studded group of six. The receiver who got off to a slow start this season has been on a heater since Week 8, failing to score a touchdown in only two of the past nine games. Lamb is one of the last remaining freight trains that fantasy football has to offer in the 2023 season. We'd be crazy to stand in the way of that.
FLEX QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys ($10,600)
Unless we're missing something, Lamb and Ferguson aren't playing QB anytime soon, meaning that someone will have to deliver them the ball to make plays. That someone is Rayne Dakota Prescott, who was in the thick of the MVP conversation before a two-game slide all but ended those hopes. Regardless, there's been no place like home for Prescott. He's a perfect 7-0 in front of the Dallas faithful, tossing 20 touchdowns to only two interceptions. Meanwhile, on the road, the QB owns a 3-5 record and a 10-to-five TD-to-INT ratio. Prescott is a different player under the roof at Jerry's World, and they'll need that guy to show up if Dallas has any hopes of hosting a playoff game this year.
FLEX RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions ($9,200)
Ever since David Montgomery was forced to miss time with an injury, Gibbs took over the Detroit backfield and hasn't looked back. The rookie has been running wild, scoring a touchdown in three straight while totaling at least 25 fantasy points in each of the past two. The Lions' passing attack with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta certainly gets a lot of love, but we can't forget that Detroit is a physical team that wants to run the ball more than anything. In a high-scoring game, expect Gibbs to be heavily involved in how this one plays out.
MORE DK SHOWDOWN: How to win a Showdown contest
FLEX WR Brandin Cooks, Cowboys ($5,400)
Dallas is running their offense mostly through Lamb and Ferguson, but Cooks is often forgotten despite being the WR2. The Cowboys have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, yet there's only one in the receiver's room. His production on Saturday will mostly be TD-dependent since the opportunities aren't otherwise available with so much of the work being funneled elsewhere. The positive is that Detroit's secondary can be quite leaky, and if they are keying in on Lamb, Cooks is more than capable of making a few big plays to swing this one.
FLEX WR Jameson Williams, Lions ($3,400)
Perhaps our favorite pick for this lineup, Williams has emerged as a true receiving option in recent weeks. The second-year player out of Alabama has battled injuries and dealt with a suspension in his young career, leaving him as mostly a gadget guy thus far. However, Williams has seen a big increase in targets with 13 over the past two games. For reference, that is the same number of targets that he was given in the six games prior to this most recent stretch. The young receiver has delivered, too, hauling in nine catches for 90 yards while notably missing the signature deep ball down the field. It's only a matter of time before that true breakout arrives. Don't be late to the party.