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.
[Blue font indicates games *not* on the DFS main slate.]
UPDATED SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3rd @ 8 AM (EST)
| Team | Opponent | Odds | Game Total | Team Total | Passing | Running | Team Defense |
| Buffalo | Houston | -17 | 47 | 32 | ««« | ««« | ««« |
| Kansas City | Philadelphia | -7 | 54.5 | 30.75 | ««« | ««« | |
| LA Rams | Arizona | -4 | 54.5 | 29.25 | «« | «« | |
| Tampa Bay | New England | -7 | 49.5 | 28.25 | «« | ««« | |
| Dallas | Carolina | -4 | 51.5 | 27.75 | «« | «« | |
| San Francisco | Seattle | -2.5 | 52 | 27.25 | « | « | |
| LA Chargers | Las Vegas | -3 | 51.5 | 27.25 | « | «« | |
| Cincinnati | Jacksonville | -7.5 | 46 | 26.75 | « | «« | « |
| Cleveland | Minnesota | -1 | 51.5 | 26.25 | « | « | |
| Green Bay | Pittsburgh | -6 | 45 | 25.5 | « | « | « |
| Tennessee | NY Jets | -6 | 44.5 | 25.25 | « | ||
| Arizona | LA Rams | 4 | 54.5 | 25.25 | |||
| Minnesota | Cleveland | 1 | 51.5 | 25.25 | |||
| Seattle | San Francisco | 2.5 | 52 | 24.75 | |||
| New Orleans | NY Giants | -7 | 42 | 24.5 | «« | ||
| Washington | Atlanta | -1.5 | 47.5 | 24.5 | |||
| Las Vegas | LA Chargers | 3 | 51.5 | 24.25 | |||
| Philadelphia | Kansas City | 7 | 54.5 | 23.75 | |||
| Carolina | Dallas | 5 | 51.5 | 23.25 | |||
| Atlanta | Washington | 1.5 | 47.5 | 23 | |||
| Miami | Indianapolis | -2.5 | 42.5 | 22.5 | |||
| Chicago | Detroit | -3 | 42 | 22.5 | « | ||
| Denver | Baltimore | 0 | 44 | 22 | |||
| Baltimore | Denver | 0 | 44 | 22 | |||
| New England | Tampa Bay | 7 | 49.5 | 21.25 | |||
| Indianapolis | Miami | 2.5 | 42.5 | 20 | |||
| Pittsburgh | Green Bay | 6 | 45 | 19.5 | |||
| Detroit | Chicago | 3 | 42 | 19.5 | |||
| Jacksonville | Cincinnati | 7.5 | 46 | 19.25 | |||
| NY Jets | Tennessee | 6 | 44.5 | 19.25 | |||
| NY Giants | New Orleans | 7 | 42 | 17.5 | |||
| Houston | Buffalo | 17 | 47 | 15 |
SUMMARY
3-STARS
- Quarterback: Josh Allen (Bills), Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs)
- Running Back: Devin Singletary/Zack Moss (Bills), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chiefs), Leonard Fournette (Buccaneers)
- Receivers: Stefon Diggs/Emmanuel Sanders/Cole Beasley (Bills), Tyreek Hill/Mecole Hardman/Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
- Defense: Bills
2-STARS
- Quarterback: Matthew Stafford (Rams), Dak Prescott (Cowboys), Tom Brady (Buccaneers)
- Running Back: Darrell Henderson (Rams), Ezekiel Elliott/Tony Pollard (Cowboys), Austin Ekeler (Chargers), Joe Mixon (Bengals)
- Receivers: Robert Woods/Cooper Kupp/Tyler Higbee (Rams), Amari Cooper/CeeDee Lamb/Dalton Schultz/Blake Jarwin (Cowboys), Mike Evans/Chris Godwin/Antonio Brown/Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers)
- Defense: Saints
1-STAR
- Quarterback: Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers), Justin Herbert (Chargers), Baker Mayfield (Browns), Joe Burrow (Bengals), Aaron Rodgers (Packers)
- Running Back: Trey Sermon (49ers), Nick Chubb/Kareem Hunt (Browns)
- Receivers: Deebo Samuel/Brandon Aiyuk/George Kittle (49ers), Keenan Allen/Mike Williams/Jared Cook (Chargers), Odell Beckham Jr/Donovan Peoples-Jones/Austin Hooper (Browns), Ja'Marr Chase/Tyler Boyd/Tee Higgins (Bengals), Davante Adams/Marquez Valdes-Scantling/Robert Tonyan Jr (Packers)
- Defense: Titans, Packers, Bengals, Bears