First Look for NFL DFS Research: Week 2 Vegas Totals, Salaries, Top Daily Fantasy Football Matchups

Zach Thompson looks into the NFL DFS projections for Week 2 to pick out some spots to attack and mispriced players for your FanDuel and DraftKings DFS lineups.

After an awesome opening week with plenty of dramatic twists and turns, the NFL is ready to move on to Week 2 of the season, and it's so good to have football back in our lives for another fall. For the second straight week, there are 13 games on Sunday, and 12 of those are on the DraftKings and FanDuel main slates. The main slate doesn't include the matchups on Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, or the two Monday Night Football games, but it still has plenty of juicy options to consider for your DFS lineups. In this post, we'll dive in and get an early look at Sunday's action. Check out which teams and stacks stand out for the first NFL DFS contests of the season and where the data points us.

This post is designed to be a one-stop shop for readers as they begin their DFS research for Week 2. While it always pays to wait for all the relevant information during the week regarding weather, injuries, and even Vegas line movement, it's also a good idea to get out in front of things early and at least start formulating a play. There is always plenty of information to sort through and break down each week!

We are looking at the NFL DFS main slate for FanDuel and DraftKings on Sunday, September 14. This analysis and data dump will vary from week to week, but hopefully it's helpful in kickstarting your research. Since it's a new season, we're dealing with a tiny sample size in some of the data and including last year's data for some other slices of information. As the season goes on, we'll get to know the 2025 versions of these teams better. Do yourself a favor if you haven't already and pick up an NFL RotoBaller Premium Season Pass and get all of the premium NFL DFS tools to help you have a successful season.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Week 2 Vegas Totals and Team Data

In this section, we take a look at which teams should be expected to put up the most actual points this week (which usually means fantasy points, too). With it being Week 2, the offense and defense info is from just one week, so weigh it accordingly.

You shouldn't target ONLY the teams who are expected to score the most points, but the majority of your players are going to come from these teams each week. Deciding which offenses are worthy of stacking (and of course, how you are going to stack them) is the challenge!

Top Implied Team Totals for Week 2: Main Slate Only

1. Ravens - 29
2. Bengals - 27
3. Bills - 26.25
4. Lions - 26
5. Cardinals - 25.5

2025 Top-Scoring Offenses: Points Per Game

1. Bills - 41
2. Ravens - 40
3. Steelers - 34
4. Colts - 33
5. Jets - 32

2025 Stingiest Defenses: Points Allowed Per Game

1. Colts - 8
2. Rams - 9
3. Jaguars - 10
4. Broncos - 12
5. Cardinals/49ers - 13

The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills both put up plenty of points and yards in their Sunday Night Football matchup, and they're expected to keep rolling this week. The Ravens are home against the Browns and bring the highest implied total of the main slate, while the Bills head on the road and take on the Jets, who just gave up 34 points to Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers last week. Both offenses should be great sources of production again this week.

WHAT A WAY to start the SNF season. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/KKKU4x6Obu

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 8, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to roll over the Browns last week and had the highest implied point total in Week 1, but they had a quiet game, even though they did get the road win. Cincinnati is on the board with a high ceiling again this week at home against the Jaguars, and Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and company will be a good stack to consider once again this week.

The Cardinals also sneak into the top five with another favorable matchup. They went on the road and beat the Saints in week 1, and now they'll come home and host the Panthers, who were run all over by the Jaguars in Week 1.

Week 2 DFS Matchups

Here, we want to get specific not only with some mismatches for both passing and rushing offenses, but also with some individual positional matchups as well. Rankings are based on Week 1 results, so small sample size disclaimers are in full effect.

Top-5 Matchups for Passing Offenses using DVOA ratings

1. Cleveland (22) vs. Baltimore (32)
2. Philadelphia (8) vs. Kansas City (31)
3. Seattle (25) vs. Pittsburgh (30)
4. Chicago (23) vs. Detroit (29)
5. Miami (31) vs. New England (28)

The Browns' offense looked solid under Joe Flacco in Week 1 and hung right with the Bengals. Flacco will face his former team, the Ravens, in Week 2, as they try to bounce back from that tough Week 1 loss. Flacco is the elder statesman, but aside from him, the rest of the offense is extremely young and stocked with playmakers. Third-year receiver Cedric Tillman and rookies Harold Fannin Jr. and Dylan Sampson stood out in Week 1, and Quinshon Judkins could be in the mix in Week 2 as well.

Our rookies shined through in our season opener

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 8, 2025

The Chiefs were torn up by Justin Herbert in Week 1, and Justin Fields dismantled the Steelers. While the Eagles and Seahawks didn't show especially strong passing games in their Week 1 games, they should be in good spots to bounce back in Week 2. The same is true for the Dolphins, who looked horrible on the road in Indianapolis and will hope to bounce back at home against the Patriots in a divisional game.

The other interesting team that catches my attention in this is the Bears, who have a favorable matchup against a Lions defense that looked very beatable in Green Bay. Dan Campbell is sure to have them fired up for Week 2, but there was a lot to like about Ben Johnson's debut with the Bears on Monday night, and Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, and D.J. Moore have salaries that were set before that contest, opening potential value.

Top-5 Matchups for Rushing Offenses using DVOA ratings

1. Dallas (3) vs. NY Giants (32)
2. NY Jets (5) vs. Buffalo (31)
3. Kansas City (13) vs. Philadelphia (30)
4. Arizona (18) vs. Carolina (29)
5. Seattle (16) vs. Pittsburgh (28)

The Giants were torn up by the Commanders in Week 1, and the Cowboys will hope to continue their struggles against the run game in Week 2. Javonte Williams was one of the best running backs in all of fantasy football in Week 1, and he should remain the featured back in Dallas, who could rely heavily on the run game, especially if they play from ahead on Sunday afternoon in their home opener.

THAT'S ✌️

📺: #DALvsPHI on NBC
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/bICpWpfRdO

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 5, 2025

The Jets also got off to a strong start on the ground with Justin Fields and Breece Hall both churning out yardage against the Steelers. They'll take on the Buffalo defense that allowed Derrick Henry to run wild before their last-minute win on Sunday night.

The Cardinals are a fascinating option in this list as well, since the timeshare between veteran James Conner and second-year back Trey Benson will continue to be one to watch. If Benson gets extra work against a porous Panthers run defense, he could be one of the best values of the week.

There's also a timeshare emerging in Seattle, where Kenneth Walker III split time with Zach Charbonnet, and Charbonnet got the touchdown in Week 1. They'll both be in good spots against the Steelers, who the Jets had success against last week

2025 Top-5 DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matchups for Each Position

(Top matchup listed first, player to target in parentheses)

QB - Baltimore (Flacco), Kansas City (Hurts), Pittsburgh (Darnols), Miami (Maye), Buffalo (Fields)

RB - Buffalo (Hall), Seattle (Warren or Gainwell), Pittsburgh (Walker III or Charbonnet), Tennessee (Williams), Carolina (Conner or Benson)

WR - Kansas City (Brown or Smith), Baltimore (Tillman or Jeudy), Buffalo (Wilson), New England (Hill or Waddle), N.Y. Giants (Lamb)

TE - New England (Conner), Seattle (Smith/Freiermuth), Baltimore (Njoku/Fannin), Cincinnati (Strage), N.Y. Jets (Kincaid)

DEF - Tennessee (LAR), Miami (NE), Carolina (ARI), New England (MIA), Denver (IND)

The Bills and Ravens are all over this list, but that may be due to the small sample size and their matchup on Sunday. We'll have a better idea which of these rankings are "sticky" after Week 2, but the trends are definitely interesting even if they are extremely short-term so far.

The matchups for DEF are already developing according to script, though, making the Rams a great play after they did a good job shutting down the Texans in Week 1.

Week 2 DFS Salary Analysis

If you play exclusively on FanDuel or DraftKings (unlike me), then you may not find this next part all that helpful. But for those of you who play on both sites, this section is designed to compare salaries between the two sites in search of disparate value.

Most DFS players use similar player pools on both sites, but the point-per-dollar value of each player matters especially when making some tough decisions at the end of your roster. Remember that projections vary from FanDuel to DraftKings, as DK uses full-PPR scoring as well as player performance bonuses. It's also important to remember that DK uses a $50K salary cap while FanDuel uses $60K. These value numbers are calculated based on a comparison of the percentage of salary cap space, not just pure salary.

FanDuel Values (FD, DK)

1. Zay Flowers ($6.3K vs. $6.2K)
2. Bo Nix ($7.1K vs. $6.1K)
3. Kyle Williams ($4.1K vs. $3.8K)
4. Tetairoa McMillan ($5.7K vs. $5.4K)
5. Kaleb Johnson ($4.4K vs. $4.9K)

DraftKings Values (DK, FD)

1. Kyren Williams ($6.3K vs. $8K)
2. Christian McCaffrey ($7.5K vs. $8.9K)
3. Dallas Goedert ($3.8K vs. $5.8K)
4. Daniel Jones ($5.2K vs. $7.2K)
5. Elijah Moore ($3.4K vs. $5K)

Cheap Stacks (DK, FD)

There are plenty of cheap value plays to fit around expensive stacks. As the pricing tightens up each week, I like to look for some of the cheapest viable stacks that feature the QB and one of their receivers (could be WR1, WR2, or TE1).

1. Williams - Odunze ($10.2K, $12.7K
2. Lawrence - Thomas Jr. ($12.3K, $14.6K)
3. Tagovailoa - Hill ($11.7K, $13.9K)
4. Young - McMillan ($10.5K, $12.3K)
5. Rattler - Olave ($9.7K,$12.5K)

Notable Rookie Salaries (DK, FD)

1. Cam Ward ($4.9K, $6.7K)
2. Travis Hunter ($5.2K, $5.9K)
3. Tetairoa McMillan ($5.4K, $5.7K)
4. TreVeyon Henderson ($5.5K, $5.3K)
5. RJ Harvey ($5.3K, $5.5K)
6. Dylan Sampson ($5.2K, $5.5K)
7. Tyler Warren ($4.5K, $4.5K)
8. Bhayshul Tuten($4.2K, $4.5K)
9. Kyle Williams ($3.8K, $4.1K)
10. Colston Loveland ($3.7K, $4.8K)

Alright, that's it for Week 2 and my data dump! I took quite a bit of time to find some stats that I hope you find helpful, so that you don't have to!

Good luck, and make sure you continue following RotoBaller all season long for the best fantasy football, DFS, and betting advice!

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