Join the Footballguys Daily Update
Start your morning with our roundup of the most important stories in football - with the fantasy insight you need to make league-winning decisions. Delivered straight to your inbox, 100% free.
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.
UPDATED SATURDAY DECEMBER 14th @ 3 PM (EST)
SUMMARY
Team | Opponent | Odds | Game Total | Team Total | Passing | Running | Team Defense |
Baltimore | NY Jets | -14.5 | 45 | 29.75 | ««« | ««« | ««« |
San Francisco | Atlanta | -10.5 | 48.5 | 29.5 | ««« | ««« | « |
Kansas City | Denver | -10 | 45.5 | 27.75 | «« | ««« | «« |
New Orleans | Indianapolis | -9 | 46.5 | 27.75 | «« | ««« | « |
Seattle | Carolina | -6 | 49 | 27.5 | «« | «« | |
Tennessee | Houston | -3 | 51 | 27 | «« | «« | |
Oakland | Jacksonville | -6.5 | 46.5 | 26.5 | «« | «« | « |
Cleveland | Arizona | -3 | 49.5 | 26.25 | «« | «« | |
New England | Cincinnati | -10 | 41.5 | 25.75 | « | «« | ««« |
Tampa Bay | Detroit | -5 | 45.5 | 25.25 | « | « | |
NY Giants | Miami | -3 | 46.5 | 24.75 | « | « | |
LA Rams | Dallas | -1 | 48.5 | 24.75 | « | « | |
Houston | Tennessee | 3 | 51 | 24 | « | « | |
Dallas | LA Rams | 1 | 48.5 | 23.75 | |||
Minnesota | LA Chargers | -1.5 | 45.5 | 23.5 | |||
Arizona | Cleveland | 3 | 49.5 | 23.25 | |||
Philadelphia | Washington | -6 | 39 | 22.5 | «« | ||
Green Bay | Chicago | -4.5 | 40.5 | 22.5 | « | ||
LA Chargers | Minnesota | 1.5 | 45.5 | 22 | |||
Miami | NY Giants | 3 | 46.5 | 21.75 | |||
Carolina | Seattle | 6 | 49 | 21.5 | |||
Detroit | Tampa Bay | 5 | 45.5 | 20.25 | |||
Jacksonville | Oakland | 6.5 | 46.5 | 20 | |||
Pittsburgh | Buffalo | -1 | 37 | 19 | « | ||
Atlanta | San Francisco | 10.5 | 48.5 | 19 | |||
Indianapolis | New Orleans | 9 | 46.5 | 18.75 | |||
Chicago | Green Bay | 4.5 | 40.5 | 18 | |||
Buffalo | Pittsburgh | 1 | 37 | 18 | « | ||
Denver | Kansas City | 10 | 45.5 | 17.75 | |||
Washington | Philadelphia | 6 | 39 | 16.5 | |||
Cincinnati | New England | 10 | 41.5 | 15.75 | |||
NY Jets | Baltimore | 14.5 | 45 | 15.25 |
3-STARS
- Quarterback: Lamar Jackson (Ravens), Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers)
- Running Back: Mark Ingram (Ravens), Raheem Mostert (49ers), LeSean McCoy/Darwin Thompson (Chiefs), Alvin Kamara/Latavius Murray (Saints)
- Receivers: Marquise Brown/Mark Andrews (Ravens), Emmanuel Sanders/Kendrick Bourne/George Kittle (49ers)
- Defense: Ravens, Patriots
2-STARS
- Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes II (Chiefs), Drew Brees (Saints), Russell Wilson (Seahawks), Ryan Tannehill (Titans), Derek Carr (Raiders), Baker Mayfield (Browns)
- Running Back: Chris Carson (Seahawks), Derrick Henry (Titans), Sony Michel/James White (Patriots), Josh Jacobs (Raiders), Nick Chubb/Kareem Hunt (Browns)
- Receivers: Tyreek Hill/Sammy Watkins/Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Michael Thomas/Ted Ginn Jr/Josh Hill (Saints), Tyler Lockett/DK Metcalf/Jacob Hollister (Seahawks), A.J. Brown/Corey Davis/Jonnu Smith (Titans), Tyrell Williams/Darren Waller (Raiders), Odell Beckham/Jarvis Landry/David Njoku (Browns)
- Defense: Eagles, Chiefs
1-STAR
- Quarterback: Jameis Winston (Buccaneers), Eli Manning (Giants), Jared Goff (Rams), Tom Brady (Patriots), Dak Prescott (Cowboys)
- Running Back: Peyton Barber (Buccaneers), Saquon Barkley (Giants), Todd Gurley (Rams), Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys)
- Receivers: Chris Godwin/Breshad Perriman/O.J. Howard (Buccaneers), Sterling Shepard/Golden Tate/Darius Slayton/Kaden Smith (Giants), Robert Woods/Brandin Cooks/Cooper Kupp (Rams), Julian Edelman/Phillip Dorsett/Jakobi Meyers/Mohamed Sanu (Patriots), Amari Cooper/Michael Gallup/Jason Witten (Cowboys)
- Defense: Steelers, Packers, Saints, 49ers, Bills