Lineup Breakdown: Analysis of Week 2 Winning Lineups

This article is a new feature where I'll be breaking down the winning lineups from each of the big NFL contests for Week 2! There were multiple millionaires crowned once again in Week 2, and even more to come this season. Week 2 was packed full of injuries to key players and team defenses throwing up duds for a majority of the field. Let's get things kicked off by looking at the big $1,000,000 winning lineup in the $25 Buy-In FanDuel Sunday Million:

The big winner on FanDuel Week 2 was “jeremiah1974db", who made ONE lineup, which was his first ever entry in ANY sport on FanDuel. That's one hell of a debut for a player who made their first appearance on the site. You can rest assured that we'll be seeing him around for quite some time now. It took nailing two players (and a D/ST) that were less than 1% owned to take home the million, and the final margin wasn't even that close as the Jets polished off Andrew Luck and the Colts on Monday Night Football. Let's break down the winning lineup:

QB - Ben Roethlisberger ($8,400) vs San Francisco (4.1% owned) – Big Ben and Antonio Brown are one of the most electric duos in the NFL, especially when Le'Veon Bell is out (he was serving the final game of his suspension). Roethlisberger wasted little time gashing the 49ers secondary, totaling 369 yards and 3 TD passes. He also added in a pair of 2-point conversions for good measure. The 49ers looked great in Week 1, allowing just 3 points to Minnesota, but the hype surrounding their defense has quickly faded away after this debacle..

RB - Adrian Peterson ($9,000) vs Detroit (6.6% owned) – After being one of the biggest disappointments in Week 1, Peterson established himself as the focal point of the Vikings offense once again in Week 2, amassing 192 total yards against the Lions. Minnesota leaned on him early and often, and despite not finding the end zone, he had one of the top RB performances of Week 2 against a defense that looked lost on Sunday.

RB - Dion Lewis ($5,200) at Buffalo (0.6% owned) – When you can find an RB who manages to post 138 total yards with 6 receptions and a score at under 1% ownership, your odds of finding the top of a leaderboard take an instant boost. Much to the surprise of DFS players, the Patriots dominated the Bills' vaunted defense in Week 2, and Lewis was a huge part of the Patriots attack. He followed up a solid Week 1 with another impressive performance.

WR - Antonio Brown ($9,200) vs San Francisco (26.5% owned) – While not being quite as popular as Julio Jones was on Week 1's Million Dollar roster, Brown was a very popular play once again. His late TD grab from Roethlisberger sealed a monster performance that saw him total 195 yards with a TD and a 2-point conversion grab. This QB/WR pairing netted our winner 62.66 FP, which went a long way in setting this roster apart from the field.

WR - Larry Fitzgerald ($5,900) at Chicago (6.1% owned) – Fitz was the key of the week for big-money DFS rosters, as his 8-112-3 line was a HUGE reason why "jeremiah1974db" took home a 7-figure payday. He looked sharp from the very first drive against a Bears defense that looked to be simply outmatched all afternoon. The Cardinals' 48 points were the highest total of any team, with Fitz being the major benefactor of Carson Palmer's aerial attack.

WR - Travis Benjamin ($5,000) vs Tennessee Titans (0.6% owned) – Benjamin was the ultimate sleeper this week, as he hauled in 2 long Johnny Manziel bombs for scores, while also returning a punt for a score. The Browns managed just 28 points, but it was Benjamin who found the end zone three times. He was the 3rd of 3 WR on the winning roster to top 30 FP, which in itself is an incredible feat.

TE - Rob Gronkowski ($8,300) at Buffalo (11.5% owned) – GRONK is a player who generally sees a high level of ownership, but with a tough matchup on tap in Week 2, his ownership dropped down to just 11.5% in the Sunday Million. He once again asserted himself as the most unstoppable force at the TE position, putting up a solid 7-113-1 line against the Bills. Don't expect to see his ownership this low very often.

K - Josh Brown ($4,500) vs Atlanta (20.3% owned) – Short and sweet analysis here: Brown knocked through a pair of FGs and both XP attempts. He was the popular value play at K, and he paid off his minimum salary with 9 FP.

D/ST – New York Jets ($4,300) vs Indianapolis (0.9% owned) – Perhaps the most impressive selection on the winning roster was the Jets, who absolutely manhandled the Colts, holding Andrew Luck's offense off the scoreboard until the 4th quarter and forcing FIVE turnovers for the second straight week. The late surge by this defense paved the way for this lineup to move into the top spot.

If any of you know where we can find "jeremiah1974db", shoot us a tweet @dfcafe! We would love to have him on for an interview and lineup breakdown!

The $20 Buy-In DraftKings Millionaire Maker produced TWO millionaires this weekend, “TheDuganBrothers" and “mdigiaco". The major difference between first and second and an additional million dollars was the Rams D/ST (4 points) against the Ravens D/ST (-1). Let's break down the TWO MILLION DOLLAR winning lineup:

QB – Marcus Mariota at Cleveland Browns (4.7% owned) – Coming off an impressive Week 1 where he threw for 4 TD passes in the first half, Mariota was slow out of the gate in Week 2. The Browns sacked him 7 times in this one, but a late surge and TD pass netted him just enough to put "TheDuganBrothers" on top. He finished with a solid 276 total yards and a pair of scores.

RB – DeAngelo Williams vs San Francisco (3.7% owned) – The most productive short-yardage back in Week 2, Williams took advantage of his final game as the feature back in Pittsburgh before the return of Le'Veon Bell. He amassed 92 total yards and THREE touchdowns against the 49ers. He was a ballsy call after Adrian Peterson and the Vikings were simply incapable of moving the ball against the 49ers in Week 1.

RB – Danny Woodhead at Cincinnati (10.9% owned) – One of the more prominent fixtures in the San Diego offense, Woodhead once again was a favorite target for Philip Rivers against Cincinnati. He caught 6 passes and totaled 94 yards in a loss to the Bengals.

WR – Travis Benjamin at Cleveland (0.8% owned) –As mentioned in the first recap, Benjamin was the big-play extraordinaire for the Browns, finding the end zone 3 times against the Titans.

WR – Antonio Brown vs San Francisco (28.4% owned) – As he is nearly every week, Brown was once again the most consistent WR in the NFL. He hauled in 9 passes for 195 yards and a score, nearly doubling the yardage necessary for the 100+ yard bonus on DraftKings.

WR – Julian Edelman at Buffalo (16.5% owned) – The Patriots exploded to the tune of 40 points against the Bills, and Edelman saw a whopping 19 targets. He hauled in a dozen of them for 97 yards and 2 scores. The full-point PPR on DraftKings worked wonders for our 2 Million Dollar winner in this spot..

TE – Rob Gronkowski at Buffalo (13.7% owned) –Once again going back to the Patriots, this one should come as no surprise. The best TE in football did it once again. Many players were scared of the tough matchup, but those who stuck with GRONK were rewarded handsomely. He hit the 100+ yard plateau and finished with a 7-113-1 line against division rival Buffalo.

FLEX – Larry Fitzgerald at Chicago (6.5% owned) –Once again, we have a player facing the Bears in the 2 Million Dollar FLEX spot. As mentioned above, Fitz joined Travis Benjamin and DeAngelo Williams with 3 TDs of his own. He also broke the 100+ yard barrier, finishing with 112 on 8 catches.

D/ST – St. Louis Rams at Washington (22% owned) – As you can see, the Rams were a very popular choice at D/ST, and while they were an overall major disappointment, they did just enough to separate this lineup from the pack with 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery in a lackluster effort against the Redskins.

There's your recap for the BIG winners in Week 2! Take some notes on roster construction, and most importantly, realize that the NFL provides many players with opportunities to have huge games. Players like Antonio were chalk plays, but as you can see here, these types of plays can be near must-plays in these types of situations. Obviously it will be rare to not only have 3 skill players score a trio of TDs, but to also roster all three in your lineup, but finding the potential in these players can really make a difference. Finding key players at low ownership (Larry Fitzgerald and Travis Benjamin, for example) can really set you apart from the field. Dig deep in your research, check out all of our content at DFC, and you may just find yourself atop the leaderboard next week!