This is our Sunday Night Football DFS breakdown, running through all the relevant player salaries on DraftKings and FanDuel while forecasting the potential game outcomes as the Buffalo Bills face the Baltimore Ravens in Buffalo.
Buffalo vs. Baltimore
QUARTERBACK
The salary cap never feels more cruel than on single-game slates where the Bills play the Ravens.
Normally Lamar Jackson ($10800 DK, $13200 FD) and Josh Allen ($11000 DK, $13600 FD) are both borderline must-plays on most single-game slates, but they might go down as the first and second-most expensive players cumulatively over the course of the 2025 single-game slate roster. Finding the money for both can be challenging, but it's still at least worth making the effort.
Both quarterbacks are candidates to go over 30 or even 40 fantasy points in a given game, so while it's a valid strategy to stack just one offense and fade the opposing quarterback it's also reasonable to set aside the funding for both. Allen and Jackson can both lead their respective teams in rushing fantasy points, so particularly if their respective running back teammates disappoint there's a chance for both Jackson and Allen to land on the top cashing roster.
If you do leave off either Jackson or Allen you might want to consider either the starting running back on the team in question or the defense of the opposing team in question. Jackson and Allen normally post mammoth production, so if it were to fade them you'd want to consider how to capture that void in your Sunday night DFS strategy.
RUNNING BACK
Derrick Henry ($10200 DK, $12800 FD) is worth paying up for even if you have Jackson on the same roster, but if you fade Jackson then it might be extra reason yet to roster Henry. While they can certainly coexist to some substantial extent, it would otherwise stand to reason that if Jackson's rushing production lags then it might be explained by Henry taking a bigger share of the pie than expected.
Justice Hill ($3000 DK, $4000 FD) will likely remain the RB2 behind Henry, especially the more the Ravens need to throw the ball in a given game. If Jackson throws more passes than usual for whatever reason, it could result in a bump in snaps for Hill, who seems to be Todd Monken's most trusted running back in blitz pickup after Henry. Keaton Mitchell ($2000 DK, $1600 FD) might have more pure running ability than Hill, but Mitchell's usage might correlate to when the Ravens are winning more than to when they are losing. If you're picking the Bills to win it might therefore be reason to consider Hill, regardless of how your roster is otherwise composed.
James Cook ($9200 DK, $10400 FD) was a touchdown machine in 2024, and NFL defense will doubtlessly remain spread thin by trying to account for both the outside/in-space threat posed by Cook and the inside/power presence of Allen. While there's plenty of rushing touchdowns to split between them over the year, in a one-game snapshot it's possible that one could poach a touchdown or two at the other's expense. For what it's worth, Cook didn't do much in his two games against Baltimore last year.
It's tough to predict the usefulness of Ray Davis ($3200 DK, $3400 FD) or Ty Johnson ($2400 DK, $3800 FD) to a fantasy roster otherwise, but the general deal is Davis is the more likely eventual starter of the two while Johnson is a more explosive and more adept downfield as a receiver. The Bills would probably prefer to give Cook as much of the high-leverage usage in this game as possible, however, given the stakes of the matchup.
WIDE RECEIVER + TIGHT END
Zay Flowers ($8200 DK, $10000 FD) could be a challenge for Buffalo's current boundary corners – though all three fit Buffalo's scheme well and Sean McDermott is one of the best defensive backs coaches of recent memory, each of Christian Benford, Dorian Strong and Jamarcus Ingram is a taller with a general lack of speed. The Bills corners are almost always comfortable crash down underneath, so Flowers might need to make his plays downfield, but the double move downfield could be there for Baltimore.
Although Rashod Bateman ($5800 DK, $8000 FD) is a fine consideration as the likely WR2 for Baltimore this year, a person could argue that Mark Andrews ($7000 DK, $8600 FD) a worthwhile candidate to be Baltimore's second-leading pass catcher, especially with Isaiah Likely (foot) out.
The next-leading targets among the Ravens pass catchers are probably DeAndre Hopkins ($4200 DK, $5000 FD) and TE2 Charlie Kolar ($1600 DK, $1200 FD). Both players seem capable, but Hopkins and Kolar specifically might be in a zero-sum game since Hopkins generally need three-wide (1TE) sets and Kolar needs two-wide (2TE) formations to see the field.
The punt-play options among the Ravens pass catchers are Tylan Wallace ($1200 DK, $2000 FD), Devontez Walker ($600 DK, $1800 FD) and LaJohntay Wester. Wester is also expected to be Baltimore's punt returner, making him a logical candidate to pair with the Baltimore DST if you were already making that pick otherwise.
For the Buffalo passing game it's not as easy to predict the usage – Khalil Shakir ($7600 DK, $9400 FD) is likely the top guy and he's certainly the Bills wideout who draws targets most rapidly on a per-snap basis, but he also might see the most of standout slot corner Marlon Humphrey. The reason to still consider Shakir even against Humphrey is that (A) Shakir might be quite good – maybe even good enough to thrive against standout cornerbacks – and (B) the other two Ravens cornerbacks are equally tough or close to it. Keon Coleman ($6600 DK, $4800 FD) and Joshua Palmer ($5400 DK, $7600 FD) are the next two wideouts, yet they too face potentially tough coverage from Jaire Alexander and Nate Wiggins. Coleman is bigger than Alexander and especially Wiggins, so that might be something Buffalo explores if they can arrange single coverage downfield, but Palmer is the one of the two more likely to draw targets in the intermediate or underneath.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid ($5600 DK, $5400 FD) often needs the slot rep to see the field, so his interests might be understood as at odds with Shakir. The two of them will doubtlessly see the field at the same time at some points, but it might only occur occasionally. Kincaid drew targets at a blistering pace when he was on the field in 2024, so if he gets a snap count boost in this game it could make him a good DFS target. If Kincaid can't get the necessary number of snaps it would probably be due to Shakir taking too many slot reps and Dawson Knox ($3600 DK, $3000 FD) taking too many of the in-line reps. Knox generally doesn't draw targets but is cheap enough to present touchdown-dependent punt-play utility.
It's not clear how the Bills might split up the remaining opportunities between Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel ($2800 DK, $2800 FD) or Tyrell Shavers, but those are the punt-play options among Bills wide receivers. Moore will generally play in the slot, making him something like the backup to Shakir and Kincaid. Samuel might be the swing backup on the boundary, while Shavers probably most resembles Coleman.
KICKER
Matt Prater ($4800 DK) is in for Tyler Bass. On the other side, Tyler Loop ($4600 DK, $6800 FD) is stepping in as the new kicker in Baltimore. Neither kicker is especially proven at this point, but Prater was once a solid starting kicker and Loop demonstrated some range in college, making six of nine attempts beyond 50 yards in 2024.
Either kicker is a justifiable pick, but their projections appear volatile.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
It's a tough sell to pick a defense against either of these quarterbacks, but single-game slates sometimes reward aggressive differentiation and even the best players have their bad days. It would be surprising, but either of Jackson or Allen could commit an uncharacteristic turnover or two that could hold sway over the cashing details of the slate.
With that said, the Ravens ($4400 DK, $6400 FD) and the Bills ($5000 DK, $6200 FD) both face tall tasks due to the opposing quarterback in question. Both Allen and Jackson are tough to sack, and even good defensive performances sometimes fall well short when the quarterback is locked in.
Rather than betting on the defense specifically, it might make as much sense to consider one of these DSTs for the returner potential in either case. Wester looks like a potential standout punt returner for Baltimore, and Brandon Codrington could be a standout returner on both kicks and punts this year.
