The marquee game of the second round of the playoffs is the Bills-Chiefs showdown on Sunday night. With so many stars and potential high-upside sleepers, you could go a variety of ways with your lineup strategy for FanDuel single-game contests. We're opting for a Chiefs-heavy build led by MVP pick Patrick Mahomes, but there's risk no matter who you opt to fade.
Here are the key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game contests: The point total for the "MVP" is multiplied by 1.5, but he doesn't cost any additional money like the "Captain" in DraftKings Showdown contests. FanDuel's default scoring is half-point PPR and four-point passing TDs, and there are no bonuses for 100/300-yard games like on DraftKings.
MORE FD SINGLE GAME: How to win a FanDuel single-game contest
FanDuel Single-Game DFS Picks: Bills vs. Chiefs
$50,000 budget, need at least one player from each team.
MVP: (1.5x points): QB Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs ($17,000)
Mahomes threw for at least 258 yards and two TDs in each of his final five regular-season games, then he blew up with 404 yards and five TDs in last week's playoff game. Josh Allen can match Mahomes' upside, but we'll side with the Super Bowl winner playing at home. Mahomes has plenty of rushing upside, too, so we're hoping more DFS players opt for Allen and his better matchup.
FLEX: WR Tyreek Hill, Chiefs ($14,000)
Hill is a pure upside play, as his ceiling is as high as any player in this matchup. He also tends to be called on more in the playoffs, averaging 6.2 catches and over 90 total yards in 10 postseason games with Patrick Mahomes. The Bills have impressive defensive numbers, but since we're playing Mahomes at MVP, we have to stack him with one of his stud pass-catchers. We could just as easily take Travis Kelce, but Hill's more explosive skillset wins us over this week.
FULL-SLATE LINEUPS: FanDuel | DraftKings
FLEX: TE Dawson Knox, Bills ($12,500)
The Chiefs have been below average against TEs most of the year, and Knox has shown the ability to have huge games. He's posted multiple TDs three times, gone over 100 yards once, and had at least five catches four times this season. Because we're not paying up for Josh Allen, we need one of his receivers who will likely score, and Knox is as likely as anyone.
DRAFTKINGS LINEUPS: CIN-TEN | SF-GB | LAR-TB | BUF-KC
FLEX: K Tyler Bass, Bills ($9,000)
Because we're betting against Josh Allen here, we have to count on some of Buffalo's "others." The most obvious candidate is Bass, who will hopefully get plenty of scoring chances if the Bills can't score TDs with their usual regularity. Weather could be a factor in Kansas City, but it likely won't be worse than what he's used to in Buffalo, so we'll trust him to score one way or another.
FANDUEL LINEUPS: CIN-TEN | SF-GB | LAR-TB
FLEX: WR Demarcus Robinson, Chiefs ($7,500)
Robinson caught four-of-five passes for 76 yards and a TD last week. It's always risky to count on lightning striking twice in a row with a secondary receiver, but Byron Pringle has been just as hot and neither him nor Mecole Hardman fit into this lineup build. We're fine with Robinson, who's the type of big-play receiver who only needs one catch to pay off.