The third Sunday of the 2025 NFL season wraps up with the Kansas City Chiefs visiting the New York Giants in primetime on Sunday Night Football. Both teams enter this matchup at 0-2 which isn’t new territory for the G-Men, but it’s somewhat surprising to see the Chiefs off to such a start after making the Super Bowl each of the last three years. It’s a fun matchup to dig into with plenty of spots for players to break the slate. Here are the Chiefs vs. Giants DFS picks for the latest Sunday Night Football DFS Playbook!

 

 

 

Chiefs vs. Giants DFS Picks & Preview: Sunday Night Football, 9/21

As mentioned at the top of the article these two are both sitting at 0-2 and since 1990, teams that lose the first two games of the season historically have a 12.2% chance of making the playoffs. So while there’s still optimism with the Chiefs playing in the postseason, the odds are against them.

But one team will come away with their first win of the season in this matchup. The Chiefs have looked rather sluggish through two games. Rashee Rice is still serving his six-game suspension and Xavier Worthy dislocated his shoulder early in the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Chargers. He has managed to practice but he was inactive in Week 2. The running game has also been wildly ineffective for the Chiefs as well, but they did go against two of the more difficult run defenses in the NFL (the Chargers and Eagles). But Patrick Mahomes currently leads the team in rushing yards while Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have combined for 94 rushing yards on 28 attempts (3.3 yards per carry).

The Giants are coming off easily the most exciting game through two weeks as they lost a very close shootout to the Dallas Cowboys that went to overtime. Love him or hate him, but Russell Wilson played great in that game but there will be some that place the blame solely on him as opposed to the defense. And that will be a big narrative for this matchup. The Giants defense cannot stop anything opposing offenses throw at them and they’re beat up on that side of the ball coming into this game.

There are plenty of ways to construct our winning NFL DFS Showdown lineups for Sunday Night Football. Here are this week’s Chiefs vs. Giants DFS picks!

 

 

 

Chiefs vs. Giants SNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Chiefs -6.5 (-105)
    • Giants +6.5 (-115)
  • Money Line:
    • Chiefs (-325)
    • Giants (+260)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 45.5 (-105)
    • Under 45.5 (-115)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread:
    • Chiefs -5.5 (-120)
    • Giants +5.5 (-102)
  • Money Line:
    • Chiefs (-280)
    • Giants (+230)
  • Game Total:
    • Over 44.5 (-115)
    • Under 44.5 (-105)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Chiefs vs. Giants SNF, September 21st 

The skies should be clear for this game with light winds and temperatures in the low 60’s that will be cooling off as the game progresses.

 

Chiefs vs. Giants Injuries: Sunday Night Football Week 3

On the defensive side the Chiefs have already ruled out Mike Danna and Kristian Fulton. The two larger injuries to watch are with Xavier Worthy and Jalen Royals. Worthy, despite dislocating his shoulder in Week 1, has been practicing which is surprising given the severity of his injury. Royals has yet to make his NFL debut, but he practiced in full later in the week so he does look ready to play Sunday night.

Update: Xavier Worthy has been ruled OUT for this game.

The Giants have already ruled out linebacker Darius Muasau while Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are listed as doubtful. Chauncey Golston is listed as questionable so the defensive side is really licking their wounds heading into Week 3. Another big injury to monitor is with regard to Andrew Thomas. The Giants star left tackle is no stranger to appearing on the injury report but he is questionable after being limited in practice this week.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants - DraftKings: $11,000 | FanDuel: $13,600

Through two games, Nabers leads the NFL in receiving yards at 238 but a large chunk of those came in last week’s monstrous performance where he caught 9-of-13 targets for 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Through two games he’s seen back-to-back games of at least a dozen targets and that should be the case on a weekly basis.

There are plenty of metrics we can throw out there that just emphasize how good he’s been since entering the league last year. Per Big Blue Film Room (a Giants fan account on Twitter), Nabers leads the league with 875 receiving yards outside the numbers since the start of the 2024 season. That largely correlates with deeper targets and winning contested catches.

What’s crazy is that he’s actually left fantasy points on the table, even after his massive performance last week. Per Jacobs Gibbs of CBS Sports, Nabers leads all receivers with 21.6 wasted expected fantasy points which could be lost due to quarterback inaccuracy or defensive backs winning the reps against the receiver. Through two weeks, Nabers is top 10 at the position in targets per route run (29%) and he’s top five in yards per route run (2.87) so it’s not shocking at all that we kick of the Sunday Night Football DFS picks with him.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs - DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $13,000

Mahomes has really had to put the team on his back to start the year but the Chiefs still find themselves in an 0-2 hole. We don’t love that he’s only completed 58.8% of his passes. That’s rather uncharacteristic of him, but he’s totaled 123 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns through two games. That rushing upside is what we’re looking at because he’s topped 23 fantasy points each of the first two weeks on DraftKings.

The Giants defense has surrendered over 900 yards of offense through two weeks. Dak Prescott totaled 361 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns a week ago. This is by far one of the easiest matchups Mahomes and Co. will see all year. And it’s not just the passing upside, but Mahomes leads the team in rushing yards because Isiah Pacheco looks washed (3.1 yards per carry) and Kareem Hunt isn’t much better in terms of efficiency (3.6 YPC).

Things will get easier for Mahomes when he gets Rashee Rice back, but until then he will be asked to do more and if he’s going to be running more then we can confidently keep him in this section.

Hollywood Brown, WR, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $8,400 | FanDuel: $10,400

I would be stunned if Xavier Worthy suits up for this game, but if he does he’s well worth playing at Captain as well. But the reality is that he suffered a dislocated shoulder in Week 1 and he didn’t play last week. I’m not expecting him to play but if he does then we can cautiously play him. It’s still shocking that he’s managed to practice. (Update: Xavier Worthy has been ruled OUT for this game)

I don’t particularly love Hollywood Brown but it’s a good spot for him. He saw 16 targets in Week 1 and caught 10 of them. He just doesn’t do much after the catch. Last week was a tough matchup but he caught all five targets for a whopping 30 yards, and his longest catch was 11 yards. If we circle back to the Brazil game, his longest reception was 49 yards. That accounts for nearly half his total yardage for Week 1. Aside from that he had nine catches for 50 yards. And while this is cherry picking, he’s averaging just 5.7 yards per catch on the season if you take away the big catch against the Chargers in Brazil.

So this is largely a volume play and we’re mostly buying into the Giants secondary lacking any ability to cover him. The Giants have given up 422 receiving yards to opposing wideouts through two games.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $8,000 | FanDuel: $9,600

I can’t say I’m the biggest country music fan, but Toby Keith did nail it with this lyric: “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” That should be the mantra for any old guy I ever include in the Captain section. I know he’s not the player he used to be. But that doesn’t mean he can’t turn back the clock for one game.

The Chiefs are 0-2 and would be in new territory if they fell to 0-3. That being said, Kelce really hasn’t looked awful. Kelce could have two touchdowns in as many weeks but last week one went right through his hands and into the defender’s. So it was a costly turnover and the Chiefs lost the game. And so far through two weeks, the stat line isn’t anything special. He only has six receptions on 10 targets for 108 yards and a touchdown.

But according to Jacob Gibbs of CBS Sports, Kelce did lead all tight ends with the highest average separation score and route win rate in Week 2. So I’ll lean into that ahead of a matchup where the Giants have struggled to defend the tight end position. In Week 1, fellow old guy Zach Ertz caught 3-of-5 targets for 26 yards and a touchdown against the G-Men. Then last week Jake Ferguson caught 9-of-12 targets for 78 yards. So keep an open mind here. Kelce’s older but we just need him to be great for one game to help us win big with the Sunday Night Football DFS picks.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Core Plays

Russell Wilson, QB, New York Giants – DraftKings: $9,400 | FanDuel: $12,000

Wilson is certainly playing like his job is on the line every week, because it kind of is. If the Giants fall out of contention and deem this another season without making the playoffs, then they need to at least get a better look at their first-round pick from this year’s NFL Draft, Jaxson Dart. The Giants have started 0-2 for the 10th time in the last 13 years. That’s the most of any organization in the NFL.

We’ve seen two completely different performances from Wilson through two weeks, but the high passing volume is there and he’s rushing a little bit as well. In Week 1 he only completed 45.9% of his attempts while in last week’s shootout with Dallas he completed 73.2%. There’s a solid argument to be made that he is worthy of playing at Captain and I might agree due to the 78 pass attempts through two weeks. But if Wilson is popping off for a huge game, with the target consolidation of this offense, it’s likely that Malik Naber and/or Wan’Dale Robinson are as well.

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants – DraftKings: $7,400 | FanDuel: $8,600

Robinson’s a very strong play and he’s proving to be more efficient in 2025 than he was in 2024. Last year he finished with 93 receptions on 140(!) targets for 699 yards and three touchdowns. So the efficiency was rather weak but the volume was certainly there.

And that appears to be the case again this year. Opposing defenses need to account for Malik Nabers and he’ll get his share of targets on a weekly basis, but if we’re paying this price tag for a PPR cheat code who could see eight targets on every week then we’re sitting pretty.

Last year Robinson had 11 games with at least eight targets and he’s already seen at least eight targets in both games to kick off the 2025 season. Wilson has a 77.8% completion rate when targeting Robinson and he has 67 yards after the catch as well with no drops. He doesn’t carry the touchdown equity of Nabers but he’s a great volume play against the Chiefs this week.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Isiah Pacheco, RB, New York Giants – DraftKings: $7,000 | FanDuel: $6,800

So it hasn’t been an electric start for Pacheco through two games and even I’m hesitant to get exposure to him this week. But the matchup is promising and this could be the game that gets him going after two tough matchups in competitive game scripts.

In Week 1 the Commanders gave up 82 yards on 10 carries to Jacory Croskey-Merritt. In total they surrendered 133 rushing yards to Washington’s running backs and Austin Ekeler added three receptions for 31 receiving yards. Last week Javonte Williams collected 97 yards on 18 carries and found the end zone while adding six receptions for 33 yards. Even Miles Sanders scored a touchdown against New York in Week 2.

We may struggle to get a read on volume because Kareem Hunt will get touches as well but the matchup couldn’t be better for Pacheco this week. If he can’t provide efficiency and a touchdown against this defense then we really need to be concerned.

Tyrone Tracy, RB, New York Giants - DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $7,800

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants – DraftKings: $6,400 | FanDuel: $7,200

So this is an interesting situation. Cam Skattebo came on strong last week and out-produced Tyrone Tracy Skattebo carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards and scored while adding a pair of catches as well. He finished with 13.9 PPR points. Tracy finished with five carries for 15 yards while adding four receptions for 36 yards and finishing with 9.1 PPR points.

Could this be a trap? Could fantasy managers flock to the Skattebo side due to recency bias? It’s entirely possible! Dan Schneier does a lot of great in-depth fantasy analysis for CBS Sports and he is also a Giants fan who hosts the Big Blue Banter Giants podcast. Following Week 1, Tracy was a little critical of offensive coordinator Mike Kafka’s play calling. And while I’m paraphrasing, Dan Schneier has hinted that Skattebo’s usage last week may have been to punish Tracy for his comments. After all, Skattebo saw a 51% snap rate and 69% of the running back rush share in Week 2. When the Giants got the ball in the red zone, Skattebo saw 75% of the snaps and received all five of the running back carries in that part of the field.

And despite his “punishment” Tracy still saw five targets in the passing game which brings his total to 10 targets on the season. Fantasy football managers and DFS players may be buying into Skattebo a little too much. It’s very possible that Tracy’s comments are now water under the bridge and they revert back to leaning more on Tracy. Because of the recency bias, if the field gets more exposure to Skattebo then we should prioritize Tracy.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Value Plays

Theo Johnson, TE, New York Giants – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $4,000

Johnson is a bit of a tough sell just because a lot of the targets will go to Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson. Johnson has at least seen eight targets through two games including four catches on five targets last week for 34 yards.

The tight end position is so reliant on touchdowns and that’s somewhat true for Johnson. But he’s on the field and he’s running routes. In Week 1 he saw 77.9% of the snaps with a 71.1% route rate. Those numbers increased in Week 2 to 83.6% of the snaps and a 77.3% route rate. So if you pay down to Theo Johnson you can take comfort knowing he rarely comes off the field.

Jalen Royals, WR, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $1,800

Royals is set to make his debut for the Chiefs after missing the first two games of the season. He is technically listed as questionable but he practiced in full Thursday and Friday so he seems poised to make his debut Sunday night. The Chiefs are desperate for additional pass catchers and it’s still unknown if Xavier Worthy suits up.

I’m actually happy to pay down to this spot regardless of what happens with Worthy. Royals is a fourth-round rookie from the 2025 NFL Draft and he totaled 126 receptions, 1,914 yards, and 21 touchdowns over his final two seasons in college. He offers the catch-and-run upside that most receivers in this offense don’t have. So given how bad the Giants defense has been against opposing receivers, this is a great pay down option on both sites who can easily pay off this price tag.

Noah Gray, TE, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $3,000

Noah Gray hasn’t done very much this year and it’s actually somewhat surprising. The Chiefs are hurting for pass catchers given all the injuries and suspensions. And yet, Gray has just two receptions on the year. He did see five targets last week but only caught one pass. In total, he has just FOUR receiving yards on the season. But the Giants have been weak at defending the tight end position and the overall production could keep DFS players away from this value option.

Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs – DraftKings: $400 | FanDuel: $2,400

Smith is the preferred punt option on DraftKings if you need one. Through two games, the running backs on Kansas City have been very inefficient and it’s hard to trust either with a large workload. If you’re playing Isiah Pacheco or Kareem Hunt, you’re praying either can get in the end zone or utilize the matchup to put up production.

Brashard Smith is a rookie and he may have trouble breaking through the depth chart. But the Chiefs are getting very little from Pacheco and Hunt. ESPN’s Dan Graziano had this to say earlier this week, “Don’t be surprised if at some point soon rookie Brashard Smith gets a shot. They view him as a different kind of back from those two (Pacheco and Hunt) – more of a receiver type who can make explosive plays in space. Once they trust the rookie to handle all of the running back responsibilities, he could be a factor in their offense.” 

Playing Smith is risky, but he costs nothing on DraftKings and doesn’t need to do very much. If this is possibly a week where the Chiefs draw up more packages for him then he can crush this price tag with any semblance of production.

 

 

 

SNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

Heading into this matchup, I’m inclined to leave the Giants D/ST out of our Sunday Night Football DFS picks. They remind me a lot of the Miami Dolphins from the matchup a few nights ago and sure enough, the Dolphins gave up 31 points. The Giants may very well be worse on the defensive side. Through two games they’ve given up 61 points and over 900 yards of offense with just six sacks and one takeaway to show for themselves. The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t as dominant as they were in previous seasons, but they still enter this game with roughly a 26-point implied team total. We’ve seen opposing offenses easily run and throw on the G-Men. The Giants rank outside the top 20 in pressure rate (25.5%) and pass rush win rate (31%). They’re also tied for 22nd in the NFL in defensive EPA/DB (0.17), so I’m not very interested in playing shares of this defense.

The Chiefs have actually been worse than the Giants in defensive EPA/DB at 0.19 but I do place a little more confidence in them for this matchup as they rank just outside the top 10 in sack rate (7.6%) and they’re third in blitz rate (43.9%), but those numbers might be a bit misleading because they only have five sacks on the year. They also haven’t forced a turnover yet, but they’ve given up far less production to opposing offenses compared to the Giants.

Due to the shortcoming of the D/ST’s, and the Chiefs price tag, I imagine DFS players will lean into the kickers and rightfully so. It’s hard to predict or gauge D/ST touchdowns. Kickers tend to provide a better safety net as long as the offenses are moving the ball. Harrison Butker is regarded as one of the better place kickers in the NFL and being attached to an offense run by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes certainly helps. Butker has managed to kick a 50+ yard field goal in each of the first two games this year. He correlates well in all lineups utilizing a Chiefs player at Captain.

Graham Gano is naturally in play and I don’t hate the idea of playing a few lineups where you roster both kickers. That can establish a decent floor in this matchup while also saving salary. Gano is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts so far this season and he’s made all four of his extra point attempts as well. A majority of his production came last week against the Dallas Cowboys, but there is the possibility the Giants offense stalls in the red zone against the Chiefs and Gano potentially sees three or four field goal attempts. The Giants have an implied team total of roughly 19-20 points so if he’s only getting a couple shots, we better hope they’re coming from deep.

 

 

 

Chiefs vs. Giants DFS Player Pool: SNF, 9/21

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-