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ESPN+ Cheat Sheet: Our best fantasy football advice for Week 1

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The ESPN+ Cheat Sheet is your one-stop shop for Week 1 fantasy football advice. We've curated all of our best start/sit advice from this week, including insights from Matt Bowen, Mike Clay Tristan H. Cockcroft, Eric Karabell and Liz Loza. Don't have time to read it all? That's why cheat sheets were invented! Catch up on a week's worth of reading in mere minutes, see which players are on the injury report, consider the betting data and then set your lineup with confidence.

Lines accurate as of latest timestamp. For latest odds, go to ESPN BET.

Injury aggregation powered by Rotowire. Football Power Index by ESPN Analytics.


Tennessee Titans vs. Chicago Bears -3.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 44.5 (fifth highest)
FPI favorite: Bears by 5.3

Titans injury watch: WR DeAndre Hopkins: Q; WR Colton Dowell: O

Bears injury watch: WR Keenan Allen: Q

Best of the Week

  • Matt Bowen: Caleb Williams will be tested in his first NFL start, but is a fringe QB1 due to an offensive plan that will allow him to feature his mobility and create defined reads and shot-plays.


New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals -7.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 40.5 (12th highest)
FPI favorite: Bengals by 9.3

Patriots injury watch: RB Antonio Gibson: Q; WR Kendrick Bourne: O

Bengals injury watch: WR Ja'Marr Chase: Q; WR Tee Higgins: D

Best of the Week

  • Eric Karabell: implores you not to overthink it when it comes to Ja'Marr Chase and his limited practice leading into this game. If he's starting for the Bengals, he's starting for you, too.

  • Tristan H. Cockcroft: loves the running game matchup for the Bengals and sees a heavy, fantasy-relevant workload including short-yardage situations.

  • Matt Bowen: sees roles for both Moss and Chase Brown, which puts them both in deeper-league flex territory.


Arizona Cardinals vs. Buffalo Bills -6.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 47.5 (fourth highest)
FPI favorite: Bills by 6.8

Cardinals injury watch: TE Tip Reiman: Q; WR Xavier Weaver: O

Bills injury watch: none to report

Best of the Week

  • Mike Clay: rates this a "plus" matchup for the new-look Bills receiver room led by Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel and rooke Keon Coleman.

  • Tristan H. Cockcroft: Look for Coleman to have a chance to show what he can do as a perimeter receiver, against which the Cardinals defense struggled last season and should continue to do so this season.


Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Miami Dolphins -3.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 48.5 (2nd highest)
FPI favorite: Dolphins by 3.8

Jaguars injury watch: none to report

Dolphins injury watch: WR Malik Washington: O; WR Odell Beckham Jr.: O

Best of the Week


Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Atlanta Falcons -3.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 41.5 (eighth highest)
FPI favorite: Falcons by 2.7

Steelers injury watch: QB Russell Wilson: Q; WR Roman Wilson: O

Falcons injury watch: none to report

Best of the Week


Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants +1.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 41.5 (eighth highest)
FPI favorite: Saints by 5

Vikings injury watch: TE T.J. Hockenson: O

Giants injury watch: none to report

Best of the Week

  • Mike Clay: Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and "deep sleeper" Jalen Nailor can all be upgraded against essentially the same Giants perimeter defense that struggled last season

  • Liz Loza: trusts that Malik Nabers will get his career off to a good start against a banged-up Vikings secondary, in a game whose line portends some back-and-forth scoring between the two teams.


Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints -4
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 41.5 (eighth highest)
FPI favorite: Texans by 2.2

Panthers injury watch: TE Tommy Tremble: O; TE Ian Thomas: O; RB Jonathon Brooks: O

Saints injury watch: TE Dallin Holker: O; WR A.T. Perry: Q

Best of the Week

  • Liz Loza: likes Alvin Kamara's lack of competition for touches in the Saints backfield and, when you also consider his receiving prowess, sees both volume and opportunity this week against what was bottom-5 defense against rushing last season.

  • Mike Clay: The Panthers receiving crew face a tough Saints secondary, with Diontae Johnson likely drawing Marshon Lattimore. Veteran Adam Thielen, however, should hold his own against Kool-Aid McKinstry in his NFL debut.


Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts +3
Lineup Lock: Sunday 1:00 PM ET


Over/under total: 48.5 (2nd highest)
FPI favorite: Vikings by 0.4

Texans injury watch: none to report

Colts injury watch: WR Josh Downs: O

Best of the Week

  • Matt Bowen: Don't sleep on Tank Dell as the third receiver in the Texans offense. He's capable of big scores even without double-digit targets, as in Week 3 last season when he scored 25.5 points catching 5 of 7 targets.

  • Mike Clay: is a little more hesitant to start Dell, calling him a fringe WR3 even against a "no-so-intimidting" Colts CB room.


Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers -3
Lineup Lock: Sunday 4:05 PM ET


Over/under total: 39.5 (14th highest)
FPI favorite: Chargers by 4.2

Raiders injury watch: none to report

Chargers injury watch: WR DJ Chark Jr.: O

Best of the Week


Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks -6
Lineup Lock: Sunday 4:05 PM ET


Over/under total: 41.5 (eighth highest)
FPI favorite: Seahawks by 6

Broncos injury watch: none to report

Seahawks injury watch: TE Pharaoh Brown: O; WR Tyler Lockett: Q

Best of the Week


Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns -2.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 4:25 PM ET


Over/under total: 40.5 (12th highest)
FPI favorite: Buccaneers by 4.4

Cowboys injury watch: TE John Stephens Jr.: O

Browns injury watch: RB Nick Chubb: O; RB Nyheim Hines: O

Best of the Week

  • Tristan H. Cockcroft: This is not an ideal matchup for Dak Prescott as the Browns defense is elite at limiting deep pass plays. Prescott will need volume to achieve a top-eight QB result this week. Likewise, Jake Ferguson goes up against last season's third-toughest defense against opposing tight ends and is unlikely to have a big game.

  • Mike Clay: No need to downgrade Amari Cooper despite being shadowed by Trevon Diggs, who is making his return from an ACL injury.


Washington Commanders vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 4:25 PM ET


Over/under total: 42.5 (seventh highest)
FPI favorite: Cowboys by 0.7

Commanders injury watch: QB Marcus Mariota: O

Buccaneers injury watch: WR Trey Palmer: Q

Best of the Week


Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions -4.5
Lineup Lock: Sunday 8:20 PM ET


Over/under total: 52.5 (Highest)
FPI favorite: Lions by 4.6

Rams injury watch: TE Tyler Higbee: O

Lions injury watch: none to report

Best of the Week

  • Tristan H. Cockcroft: Jared Goff thrived as a streaming QB last season in situations similar to the one he faces Sunday night against the Rams.

  • Mike Clay: sees a bigger role for Jameson Williams this season but has him as a deep-league flex only in Week 1 against an upgraded Rams cornerback room.


New York Jets vs. San Francisco 49ers -4.5
Lineup Lock: Monday 8:20 PM ET


Over/under total: 43.5 (sixth highest)
FPI favorite: 49ers by 5.4

Jets injury watch: QB Jordan Travis: O

49ers injury watch: RB Christian McCaffrey: Q; RB Isaac Guerendo: Q; WR Jauan Jennings: Q; WR Ricky Pearsall: O

Best of the Week