Mike McClure, the professional DFS player who has won more than $2 million in his career, has published his top picks for Monday Night Football’s Eagles vs. Bears matchup at SportsLine. The problem is that nobody outside SportsLine’s paying members can actually see what those picks are.
The article is titled “NFL DFS, Eagles vs. Bears: Top daily Fantasy picks, lineup advice for ‘Monday Night Football'” and it promises a full slate of recommendations from McClure, who has finished tied for first in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker twice and won the FanDuel Million once. Instead, it spends nearly half its length describing a player who has caught one pass for three yards and then tells readers they have to pay to find out the rest.
Locked Picks at SportsLine
McClure’s picks are locked behind a paywall at SportsLine. The article itself admits this: “You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.” That means anyone reading the free version of the article gets a description of McClure’s method and a few named players, but not the actual lineup.
The article says McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in winnings and that he uses a model that simulates every snap of NFL action, taking matchups, statistical trends, and injuries into account. All of that is true, and all of it is also a pitch for the paid service.
The Player With One Reception
One of McClure’s top picks for Bears vs. Eagles is Chicago tight end Colston Loveland. The article describes his season so far as “extremely frustrating,” noting that Loveland has just one reception for three yards. The opportunities, however, have been there: he has run 64 routes, which ties him with Mark Andrews for 21st in the league at tight end.
The article argues that Loveland is a great value because his DFS price has dropped significantly. It also points out that the deep ball is likely limited with Case Keenum under center, meaning Loveland could see more targets in the short game. The logic is that a player who has barely touched the ball might finally convert those chances into catches.
The Quarterback Who Airs It Out
McClure is also building around Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts. The article notes that opposing defenses have been taking away the run game and forcing Hurts to throw it. Through two weeks, he has attempted 62 passes for 467 yards and five touchdowns. He also remains a threat on the ground, with 12 carries for 62 yards.
The article calls Hurts “almost a lock to score when Philadelphia gets inside the 2-yard-line with ‘tush push’ coming into play.”
The Paywall Problem
The article spends a lot of time describing the players and the reasoning behind them, but the actual lineup is hidden. It is a classic tease-and-paywall approach, where the free content is designed to drive traffic to the premium offering.
What is odd about this particular piece is how much of it is devoted to explaining a player nobody can actually see.
Picks You Can See
Beyond Loveland and Hurts, the article mentions that McClure is targeting another undervalued player who could produce big numbers. It calls this pick “the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing.” That is a bold claim, but the player’s name is not revealed in the free version.
The article also promises NFL DFS rankings, advice, and stacks from McClure, all from the expert with more than $2 million in winnings. The question is whether the free preview is enough to justify the paywall.
Comparing the Two Teams
Both teams have injury concerns. The Bears lost quarterback Caleb Williams to a hamstring injury, and third-stringer Case Keenum is reportedly starting. Tyson Bagent is available after clearing concussion protocol over the weekend.
The Eagles have slipped past the Commanders and Titans, but they have their own issues. Dallas Goedert is out with a knee injury, and Saquon Barkley is coming off a stinger that cost him most of Week 2 at Tennessee.
| Team | Key Injury | Key Player | DFS Angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | Caleb Williams (hamstring) | Colston Loveland | Value pick, low price |
| Eagles | Dallas Goedert (knee) | Jalen Hurts | Big upside, goal-line threat |
What We Actually Know
The article provides a useful primer on the matchup. It explains the Bears’ quarterback situation, the Eagles’ injury problems, and the DFS landscape for both teams. For readers who want to understand the context, it delivers.
What it does not deliver is the actual picks. The article repeatedly sends readers back to SportsLine to see the full lineup, and that is the entire point of the exercise.
Our View
This is a well-written tease, not a news article. The reporting is accurate and the analysis is coherent, but the payoff is missing. A professional DFS player with millions in winnings should be able to share his picks freely. The paywall is a feature of SportsLine’s membership model, not a criticism of the picks themselves.
The article spends so much time praising McClure’s expertise and his model’s accuracy, and then it leaves the picks behind a paywall. The reader is left with a description of a player who has caught one pass for three yards and a quarterback who has thrown for 467 yards, but no actual lineup.
For serious DFS players, the value proposition is weak. The free preview is informative, but the picks themselves are the product, and the product is gated. That is a structural issue, not a temporary annoyance.
The article ends with the same pitch it began with: visit SportsLine to see the optimal picks, rankings, and stacks. The reader who wants to know what McClure actually chose will have to pay to find out.
We think that is a bad deal. The reader is left with a description of a player who has caught one pass for three yards and a quarterback who has thrown for 467 yards, but no actual lineup.
The Eagles vs. Bears matchup on Monday Night Football will be a good game regardless of who wins the DFS contests. The question of which players to roster is interesting, but the answer should not be hidden.
Source material: “NFL DFS, Eagles vs. Bears: Top daily Fantasy picks, lineup advice for 'Monday Night Football',” CBS Sports.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.