Week 1 NFL Sunday Best Bets and Lineup Prep

Good morning, and happy first NFL Sunday of the season to all who celebrate.

If you are partaking in the festivities (parking yourself on the couch in front of the TV all day) and have some fantasy football lineups to tweak, bets to make or DFS lineups to create, you’re going to want to keep reading.

In today’s Winners Club you’ll find:

Who’s In, Out and Still Questionable

Checking your lineup every Sunday morning prior to kickoff is crucial. You want to start a complete, healthy lineup each and every week and a lot can happen in a few days… like top pick Christian McCaffrey cutting up his shin on a cleat in practice and briefly landing on the injury report.

The Panthers star running back, thankfully, is a go for Week 1, but a few players listed below are not and many of them are still questionable, so keep up with their status as kickoff approaches and have an audible (or two) in mind.

Quarterbacks

Zach Wilson, Jets: OUT (knee)

Running backs

J.K. Dobbins, Ravens: OUT (knee)

Kenneth Walker, Seahawks: QUESTIONABLE (hernia)

Wide receivers

Russell Gage, Buccaneers: QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)

Chris Godwin, Buccaneers: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (knee)

Michael Thomas, Saints: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (hamstring)

Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports

Rondale Moore, Cardinals: OUT (hamstring)

Drake London, Falcons: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (shoulder)

KJ Hamler, Broncos: QUESTIONABLE (knee, hip)

Allen Lazard, Packers: DOUBTFUL, not expected to play (ankle)

Jakobi Meyers, Patriots: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (knee)

Tight ends

Zach Ertz, Cardinals: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (calf)

George Kittle, 49ers: QUESTIONABLE, not expected to play (groin)

Logan Thomas, Commanders: QUESTIONABLE, expected to play (knee)

Week 1 Spreads

The Bills lived up to their offseason hype in the opener against the Rams. Buffalo’s 31-10 road win further ingrained the team as the Super Bowl favorite (+500) and did well to strike fear into fantasy managers with any Rams players not named Cooper Kupp on their team.

There are 15 games left to react—and overreact—to. Let’s take a look at the lines.

After some movement across the board, Colts-Texans is the biggest spread of the week and Browns-Panthers – a.k.a. the Baker Mayfield revenge game – has the closest spread. You’ll also notice just how many road favorites there are on the slate, even in division games.

Our SI Betting analysts made their Week 1 best bets for SI Sportsbook’s “Perfect 10” contest.

“The weekly game requires bettors to make 10 selections against the spread (ATS) for a chance at a $10,000 prize. Every bettor who picks at least six games correctly will be awarded consolation prizes in the form of free bets.”

Enter at SI Sportsbook and head over there to find the latest spreads, prop bets and future markets for your favorite sports. And speaking of player props: Jen Piacenti singled out five bets she likes today.

1 p.m. ET (FOX): Saints (-5.5) vs. Falcons

1 p.m. ET (FOX): 49ers (-6.5) vs. Bears

1 p.m. ET (CBS): Steelers vs. Bengals (-7)

1 p.m. ET (FOX): Eagles (-5.5) vs. Lions

1 p.m. ET (CBS): Patriots vs. Dolphins (-3.5)

1 p.m. ET (CBS): Ravens (-6.5) vs. Jets

1 p.m. ET (FOX): Jaguars vs. Commanders (-3)

1 p.m. ET (CBS): Browns vs. Panthers (-1)

1 p.m. ET (CBS): Colts (-7) vs. Texans

4:25 p.m. ET (FOX): Giants vs. Titans (-5.5)

4:25 p.m. ET (FOX): Packers vs. Vikings (-1.5)

4:25 p.m. ET (CBS): Chiefs (-6.5) vs. Cardinals

4:25 p.m. ET (CBS): Raiders vs. Chargers (-3.5)

8:20 p.m. ET (NBC): Buccaneers (-2.5) vs. Cowboys

8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN): Broncos (-6.5) vs. Seahawks*

*Monday

Fantastic Week 1 Lineup Calls

Here’s hoping you made the right decisions for Thursday Night Football and didn’t start Allen Robinson over Gabriel Davis like I may have in one league… Anyway! Helping you avoid making critical mistakes like that is what the SI Fantasy team is here for.

Each week, Michael Fabiano comes out with his famed Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em column as well as positional rankings, which you may have already seen in Thursday’s newsletter. Fabiano updates these articles as new information comes out, so take another look to ensure you’re trotting out the best possible lineup today.

Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Kickers and defenses

Player Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Flex | Kickers | Defenses

Grace Hollars / USA TODAY NETWORK

Matt De Lima assembled a must-read Week 1 cheat sheet for managers, Shawn Childs has his statistical projections to aid in lineup calls and for the DFS crowd, Piacenti has bargain buys and spend-up studs to fill your lineup with.

And if you want to go even further, visit the @SINow and @SI_Fantasy Twitter accounts at noon EST to join the “Winners Club: By SI Sportsbook” spaces and get your most-pressing fantasy questions asked and answered!

In Other News

Fantasy Takeaways from Bills-Rams: There were encouraging developments on Thursday Night Football—like Gabriel Davis putting together a great game and Cooper Kupp being his same old self—and more concerning matters, like Cam Akers and Allen Robinson’s struggles.

Albert Pujols Hits Home Run No. 696: The Cardinals’ star is continuing his march toward the 700-mark with another dinger Saturday. Pujols tied Alex Rodriguez’s career total with his 17th home run of the season, which came in a 7-5 St. Louis win.

Rating the Job Security of Every NFL Coach: The season has only just started, but who’s on the hot seat already? From “in question” to “nothing to see here” find out which jobs are secure and which ones could be coming open after a string of losses.

Raiders Extend Darren Waller: Las Vegas added three years and $51 million in new money to Waller’s contract, which will keep him with the team for the next five seasons. Waller was limited by injuries in 2021 but he put together a Pro Bowl season in 2020.

Thanks for reading Winners Club! Enjoy today’s games and, as always, best of luck with your bets and in all of your fantasy matchups.

I’ll be back in your inbox Tuesday to talk waiver wire pickups and debrief Week 1.