Reigning MVP Josh Allen and the 2-0 Bills will take on Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football this weekend. Buffalo hopes to stay hot, Miami hopes to get going, and we're hoping to cash some DraftKings and FanDuel prizes!
Just like last year, Buffalo has been excellent out of the starting gates. Sean McDermott's squad ranks first in total yards and second in scoring, and running back James Cook has been even better than ever with three TDs and an average of 88 rushing yards per game.
For the Dolphins, things have been a bit bumpier. Miami's defense has struggled, Tagovailoa has thrown three interceptions and been sacked eight times, and Tyreek Hill might want out. Could this be a get-right game for the Fins? Or, will this mark the end of the McDaniel era in Miami?
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Enough chatter — let's get to our daily fantasy selections. Most of you already know the deal with this column: we highlight the players with the best chance of optimizing your DFS lineups for single-game contests. That means one fantasy football lineup for DraftKings Showdown contests, and one lineup for FanDuel single-game tournaments.
Here's the Sporting News' optimal lineups for Bills vs. Dolphins in Buffalo this evening. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy Thursday Night Football!
Bills vs. Dolphins NFL DFS picks: Optimal DraftKings Showdown lineup
Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests: They're full-point PPR, and they feature 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.
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM/OPP | DK SALARY |
| Captain | Josh Allen, QB | Bills vs. MIA | $18,600 |
| FLEX | De'Von Achane, RB | Dolphins at BUF | $10,800 |
| FLEX | James Cook, RB | Bills vs. MIA | $10,600 |
| FLEX | Keon Coleman, WR | Bills vs. MIA | $6,800 |
| FLEX | Ray Davis, RB | Bills vs. MIA | $2,600 |
| FLEX | Jackson Hawes, TE | Bills vs. MIA | $600 |
Captain: Josh Allen, QB, Bills ($18,600)
Screw the price — we want the MVP in the Captain's chair. Miami has surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position this season, and we have Buffalo winning this game easily. Enjoy the 1.5-times boost on one of the best players in the sport.
FLEX 1: De'Von Achane, RB, Dolphins ($10,800)
Achane has been the best playmaker on the Dolphins for a while now, and he's the one Miami player we'll be drafting. Buffalo has been somewhat middle-of-the-pack against running backs in terms of fantasy points, and Achane averages 21.4 DK points per game. It's a no-brainer.
FLEX 2: James Cook, RB, Bills ($10,600)
This feels like a bargain cost for Cook, who has averaged 25.4 PPR points per game through the first two weeks of the season. Miami has been a turnstile against running backs, allowing the sixth-most PPR points to the position so far. Let him Cook!
FLEX 3: Keon Coleman, WR, Bills ($6,800)
Coleman has enjoyed one boom week (a 28.2-point Week 1 masterpiece vs. the Ravens), and one bust week (5.6 at the Jets last weekend). We think he'll be closer to booming than busting tonight, as the Dolphins won't be able to keep up with the Bills' many points of attack. Fire up the second-year wideout for a bounce-back game.
FLEX 4: Ray Davis, RB, Bills ($2,600)
If Buffalo gets out to a big lead, look for Davis to inherit some garbage-time activity and greatly exceed his expectations at this price point. He hasn't done much yet this season, but Davis has plenty of skill to unleash when he gets a chance.
FLEX 5: Jackson Hawes, TE, Bills ($600)
Doesn't it always seem like some random guy scores in primetime each week? Here's hoping it's Hawes this time around, as we didn't have much money left for our final spot and we noticed Hawes has caught both his targets for 34 yards this season. We went a bit 'stars and scrubs' with our lineup construction, but you can do that when your top four players average nearly 91 points before boosts!
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Bills vs. Dolphins NFL DFS picks: Optimal FanDuel single-game lineup
Here are the key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game tournaments: They're half-point PPR with three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, or 100 receiving yards. The MVP pick multiplies that player's total by 1.5 and, for the first time, the MVP pick also costs 1.5 times that player's salary.
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM/OPP | FD SALARY |
| MVP | Josh Allen, QB | Bills vs. MIA | $21,300 |
| FLEX | De'Von Achane, RB | Dolphins at BUF | $12,200 |
| FLEX | James Cook, RB | Bills vs. MIA | $11,600 |
| FLEX | Keon Coleman, WR | Bills vs. MIA | $8,000 |
| FLEX | Joshua Palmer, WR | Bills vs. MIA | $5,400 |
| FLEX | Jackson Hawes, TE | Bills vs. MIA | $1,200 |
We took a similar approach with our FanDuel lineup, only we snagged Joshua Palmer as our fourth flex rather than Davis. Palmer caught 5-of-9 targets for 61 yards in Week 1 and 2-of-3 for 47 last week.
With Allen in our MVP spot, both top running backs flexed and four different Bills pass-catchers stacked with Allen, we feel pretty confident we'll be cashing in some prizes if Bills vs. Dolphins unfolds as we expect.
FANTASY WEEK 3 RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | PK | Half-PPR Cheat Sheet