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 8th @ 11 AM (EST)
| Team | Opponent | Odds | Game Total | Team Total | Passing | Running | Team Defense |
| Baltimore | Tennessee | -3.5 | 55 | 29.25 | «« | «« | |
| Buffalo | Indianapolis | -6 | 51.5 | 28.75 | «« | «« | |
| New Orleans | Chicago | -10 | 47 | 28.5 | «« | ««« | « |
| Tampa Bay | Washington | -8.5 | 45 | 26.75 | « | «« | « |
| Pittsburgh | Cleveland | -6 | 47.5 | 26.75 | « | « | |
| Tennessee | Baltimore | 3.5 | 55 | 25.75 | |||
| Seattle | LA Rams | -3.5 | 42.5 | 23 | « | ||
| Indianapolis | Buffalo | 6 | 51.5 | 22.75 | |||
| Cleveland | Pittsburgh | 6 | 47.5 | 20.75 | |||
| LA Rams | Seattle | 3.5 | 42.5 | 19.5 | |||
| Chicago | New Orleans | 10 | 47 | 18.5 | |||
| Washington | Tampa Bay | 8.5 | 45 | 18.25 |
SUMMARY
3-STARS
- Quarterback: None
- Running Back: Alvin Kamara (Saints)
- Receivers: None
- Defense: None
2-STARS
- Quarterback: Josh Allen (Bills), Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Drew Brees (Saints)
- Running Back: Devin Singletary/Zack Moss (Bills), J.K. Dobbins/Gus Edwards (Ravens), Ronald Jones II (Buccaneers)
- Receivers: Stefon Diggs/Cole Beasley/Gabriel Davis (Bills), Marquise Brown/Willie Snead/Mark Andrews (Ravens), Michael Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders/Jared Cook (Saints)
- Defense: None
1-STAR
- Quarterback: Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)
- Running Back: James Conner (Steelers)
- Receivers: Mike Evans/Chris Godwin/Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers), Diontae Johnson/JuJu Smith-Schuster/Chase Claypool/Eric Ebron (Steelers)
- Defense: Buccaneers, Saints, Seahawks
