Quick look back before we dive into Week 3. Prescott was the story of the week, exactly the get-right game we were hoping for after that ugly Week 1 dud: 4 touchdowns, 279 yards, the whole nine. Lamb rode shotgun with a 153-yard, 2-score day in that same stack. 

Purdy backed it up too, tossing a pair of scores in the QB/TE pairing, and Shough and Olave kept doing what they've been doing since Week 1, Shough with his second straight 22-plus-point game and Olave hauling in 8 of 10 looks for a score. 

Not everything landed, though. Caleb Williams' injury turned his performance into a dud against Minnesota. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens actually got upset at home by the Saints, and the Burrow fade wasn't exactly a clean win either since he still found paydirt twice to Ja'Marr Chase. Wentz flopped as the FanDuel value, 143 yards and just 6.3 points.

Now, Week 3. We've got the two best quarterbacks in football on the same slate, a game being played in Rio, of all places, and some pricing gaps between the two sites that genuinely surprised me. Let's get into it.

NFL DFS Week 3 QB Picks

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills - DraftKings: $8,000 | FanDuel: $9,100

What else is there to say about Allen at this point? 582 yards, 5 touchdowns, zero picks through two weeks, and he added 92 yards and 4 more scores on the ground for good measure. The five-touchdown coming-out party in the Bills' new stadium was the kind of performance that makes you wonder if we're watching an MVP repeat unfold in real time, and the fact that he hasn't turned the ball over once is the part that really stands out given how turnover-prone he's been in stretches before. Now he gets an 0-2 Chargers team that's looked lost on both sides of the ball; Justin Herbert already has two picks and three fumbles to his name this year. Buffalo is a 7-point home favorite with the total at 50.5, the highest number on the board outside the Rio game. He's the top price on both sites, and honestly, he's earned it.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens - DraftKings: $7,500 | FanDuel: $8,600

This is about as good a matchup as Jackson could ask for. Dallas allowed the most points in franchise history a year ago, and the defense hasn't looked much better through two games this season; it's still one of the softer units in football. Jackson's legs alone are enough to carry a big day against a defense like that, and he might not even need to do it alone. Zay Flowers has a good shot to play after missing last week with a hamstring issue, which would give this passing attack its top weapon back on top of everything else. The Cowboys also can't run the ball at all right now, just 135 yards through two weeks, so expect Baltimore to lean on tempo and keep finding ways to get Jackson extra snaps. Throw in a game being played in Rio de Janeiro with the highest total on the entire slate at 52.5, and Baltimore favored by 3, and this is a smash spot across the board.

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $6,200 | FanDuel: $8,100

Mahomes looks like Mahomes again, plain and simple. 566 yards, five touchdowns through two games, and the overtime win over the Colts was the real signal: 382 yards, three scores to three different guys, no picks. A big part of that is Kenneth Walker giving Kansas City an actual run game for once, back-to-back 100-yard efforts that keep defenses off balance and set up the play-action shots this offense has always lived on. The Chiefs lead the league in total offense through two weeks, and now they get to feast on a Dolphins team starting Malik Willis that just doesn't have the pieces to keep up. Kansas City is favored by 11.5 with the total at 45.5. He's priced well behind Allen and Jackson on DraftKings, and in a game with this much blowout potential, that gap feels like a mistake.

 

 


 

Best NFL DFS QB Values for Week 3

Geno Smith, New York Jets - DraftKings: $4,900 | FanDuel: $6,700

Smith quietly put up 247 yards and a score last week, and now he gets a Lions secondary that just got torched for 31 points and over 400 yards by the Bills, banged up and clearly struggling to keep pace. Detroit is favored by 6.5, so New York is probably playing from behind most of the afternoon, and Smith has made a career out of piling up garbage-time and catch-up volume in spots like this. At this price, betting on the Jets needing to throw early and often feels like an easy call.

Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders - DraftKings: $4,800 | FanDuel: $6,800

Cousins had himself a game in Week 2: 253 yards, three scores, spreading it around to 10 different guys, including a big day from Tre Tucker, and he did all of that without Brock Bowers, who's been out since a meniscus trim right before the season started. Now word is Bowers is finally trending toward his 2026 debut this week, and bolting a mismatch weapon like that onto an offense that's already clicking is about as good as upside gets. Las Vegas is on the road against a Saints defense that's been average at best, favored by 3 with the total at 43.5. Cousins looking this comfortable even without his best weapon is exactly why I like him here, especially at a price this soft on FanDuel.

Best NFL DFS QB Stacks for Week 3

Best QB/WR Stack

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $6,700 | FanDuel: $8,300

Stack with:

Prescott and Lamb were the whole story in Week 2, a 4-touchdown day from the quarterback paired with a 153-yard, 2-score afternoon from Lamb, who's up to a 13-197-3 line through two games now. Pickens has been the quieter half of that duo so far, but he's still very much part of a passing attack with real upside. This week they're in Rio to face the Ravens, in a game carrying the highest total of the entire week at 52.5, with Dallas catching 3 points. Throw in the fact that Dallas literally cannot run the ball right now, and you've got a recipe for this offense living in the air all game, which is good news for both receivers no matter how the score shakes out.

Best QB/TE Stack

Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $6,200 | FanDuel: $8,100

Stack with:

Kelce looked like vintage Kelce in Week 2, 9 catches on 11 targets for 101 yards and a score, and the chemistry with Mahomes was obvious from the jump. Kansas City is an 11.5-point favorite over Miami with the total at 45.5, and with a couple of the receivers still dropping passes they shouldn't, Kelce is the one guy in that offense you can trust to keep getting fed no matter how lopsided this gets.

Best Contrarian Stack

Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $5,400 | FanDuel: $7,500

Stack with:

Shough has back-to-back 22-plus-point games to open his career, and Olave has been right there with him the whole way, 8 catches on 10 targets for a score last week after a 28.2-point outburst in Week 1. Nobody is going to be talking about the Saints this week with Allen, Jackson, and Mahomes hogging the headlines, which is exactly why I like Shough and Olave as a quieter way to get correlated production. New Orleans is a 3-point favorite at home over the Raiders.

 

 

 

NFL DFS QB Fades for Week 3

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts - DraftKings: $5,000 | FanDuel: $7,100

Jones actually played fine last week: 210 yards, a touchdown, nothing to be ashamed of in that overtime loss to the Chiefs. The problem is Indianapolis is 0-2 and has now given up 1,029 yards through two games, the most by any team through its first two games in NFL history, so Jones basically had to win a track meet just to keep it close, and he did it without Alec Pierce for most of the game after a heel injury limited what the offense could do downfield. Houston's defense is nothing like what he just saw. The Texans are favored on the road by 2.5 with the total sitting at just 43.5, the lowest number on the board outside the early Seahawks-Commanders game. A low total, a defense that actually tackles, and a receiver room still banged up is not the combination I want for Jones this week. It's a fade for me.

DraftKings vs. FanDuel QB Picks for Week 3

Some of the pricing gaps this week genuinely surprised me. Mahomes sits at just QB7 on DraftKings but QB5 on FanDuel, which means DraftKings is somehow the discount site for one of the two best quarterbacks alive right now coming off a five-touchdown start. Daniel Jones shows one of the wider gaps too, QB21 on DraftKings versus QB16 on FanDuel, so DraftKings is knocking him down even further before you even get to the Texans matchup. Stroud and Herbert run the opposite way, priced higher on DraftKings than FanDuel has them, so FanDuel is the better site for either if their matchups appeal to you. Malik Willis and Sam Darnold round out the biggest gaps, both discounted harder on FanDuel than DraftKings. Quick note on Minnesota before you build anything there: Kyler Murray is back from the concussion protocol and reclaims the job this week, so Wentz is strictly a backup now; don't bother with him regardless of price.
 

 

 

NFL Week 3 QB Play of the Week

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills - DraftKings: $8,000 | FanDuel: $9,100

There's not much left to debate here. Five total touchdowns, zero picks through two games- that's video game numbers- and now he gets an 0-2 Chargers team at home where Buffalo is favored by 7 with a 50.5 total. I can't find a safer floor-and-ceiling combo anywhere on this slate. Josh Allen is my NFL DFS QB Play of the Week.

NFL DFS Week 3 QB Rankings

  1. Josh Allen
  2. Dak Prescott
  3. Lamar Jackson
  4. Patrick Mahomes
  5. Brock Purdy
  6. Joe Burrow
  7. Jared Goff
  8. Justin Herbert
  9. Trevor Lawrence
  10. Bryce Young
  11. Drake Maye
  12. C.J. Stroud
  13. Sam Darnold
  14. Tyler Shough
  15. Kyler Murray
  16. Geno Smith
  17. Kirk Cousins
  18. Baker Mayfield
  19. Justin Herbert
  20. Deshaun Watson
  21. Malik Willis
  22. Jacoby Brissett
  23. Cam Ward
  24. Jameis Winston
  25. Marcus Mariota
  26. Aaron Rodgers