Every week, the first step of your DFS homework should be to examine the opening Vegas odds on all the NFL games for that week. Through some fairly simple algebra, it is easy to derive a spreadsheet that predicts team totals for every game, thereby allowing you to develop a rudimentary gamescript to help narrow down your decisions for the week. Once the appealing (and unappealing) games have been highlighted, it becomes easier to focus upon those games to help build your core of players for that week; the caveat, however, is that the NFL is a dynamic league and anything is subject to change from Tuesday to Sunday...so keep that in mind as the week progresses and always monitor player injuries, weather conditions, and potential roster moves. Let's take a look.
[Black font = Saturday games; Red font = Sunday games]
Updated Friday, January 15th @ 4 PM (EST)
| Team | Opponent | Odds | Game Total | Team Total | Passing | Running | Team Defense |
| Kansas City | Cleveland | -10 | 57 | 33.5 | ««« | ««« | |
| New Orleans | Tampa Bay | -3 | 52 | 27.5 | « | « | |
| Green Bay | LA Rams | -6.5 | 45.5 | 26 | « | « | « |
| Buffalo | Baltimore | -2.5 | 49.5 | 26 | « | « | |
| Tampa Bay | New Orleans | 3 | 52 | 24.5 | |||
| Baltimore | Buffalo | 2.5 | 49.5 | 23.5 | |||
| Cleveland | Kansas City | 10 | 57 | 23.5 | « | ||
| LA Rams | Green Bay | 6.5 | 45.5 | 19.5 |
SUMMARY
3-STARS
- Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs)
- Running Back: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chiefs)
- Receivers: Tyreek Hill/Sammy Watkins/Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
- Defense: None
2-STARS
- Quarterback: None
- Running Back: None
- Receivers: None
- Defense: None
1-STAR
- Quarterback: Drew Brees (Saints), Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Josh Allen (Bills)
- Running Back: Alvin Kamara (Saints), Aaron Jones (Packers), Devin Singletary/Zack Moss (Bills)
- Receivers: Michael Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders/Jared Cook (Saints), Davante Adams/Allen Lazard/Marquez Valdes-Scantling/Robert Tonyan Jr (Packers), Stefon Diggs/Cole Beasley/Gabriel Davis/Dawson Knox (Bills)
- Defense: Packers