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; Blue font = Sunday games; Red font = Monday game]
UPDATED SATURDAY JANUARY 15th @ 10 AM (EST)
| Team | Opponent | Odds | Game Total | Team Total | Passing | Running | Team Defense |
| Kansas City | Pittsburgh | -12.5 | 46.5 | 29.5 | ««« | ««« | «« |
| Tampa Bay | Philadelphia | -8.5 | 45.5 | 27 | «« | ««« | « |
| Cincinnati | Las Vegas | -5.5 | 48.5 | 27 | «« | «« | |
| LA Rams | Arizona | -4 | 49.5 | 26.75 | « | « | |
| Dallas | San Francisco | -3 | 50.5 | 26.75 | « | « | |
| Buffalo | New England | -4.5 | 44 | 24.25 | « | ||
| San Francisco | Dallas | 3 | 50.5 | 23.75 | |||
| Arizona | LA Rams | 4 | 49.5 | 22.75 | |||
| Las Vegas | Cincinnati | 5.5 | 48.5 | 21.5 | |||
| New England | Buffalo | 4.5 | 44 | 19.75 | |||
| Philadelphia | Tampa Bay | 8.5 | 45.5 | 18.5 | |||
| Pittsburgh | Kansas City | 12.5 | 46.5 | 17 |
SUMMARY
3-STARS
- Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs)
- Running Back: Darrel Williams (Chiefs), Leonard Fournette/KeShawn Vaughn (Buccaneers)
- Receivers: Tyreek Hill/Byron Pringle/Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
- Defense: None
2-STARS
- Quarterback: Tom Brady (Buccaneers), Joe Burrow (Bengals)
- Running Back: Joe Mixon (Bengals)
- Receivers: Mike Evans/Tyler Johnson/Breshad Perriman/Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers), JaMarr Chase/Tee Higgins/Tyler Boyd/C.J. Uzomah (Bengals),
- Defense: Chiefs
1-STAR
- Quarterback: Matthew Stafford (Rams), Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
- Running Back: Sony Michel/Cam Akers (Rams), Ezekiel Elliott/Tony Pollard (Cowboys)
- Receivers: Cooper Kupp/Odell Beckham/Van Jefferson/Tyler Higbee (Rams), Amari Cooper/CeeDee Lamb/Cedrick Wilson/Dalton Schultz (Cowboys)
- Defense: Buccaneers, Bills
