NFL DFS Showdown Picks for Rams vs. Broncos on Sunday Night Football (September 27th)

The Los Angeles Rams will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos on Sunday Night Football in Week 3. Both of these teams had disappointing showings in Week 1, with the Rams losing to the 49ers in Australia and the Broncos losing to the Chiefs in Kansas City. However, both bounced back in Week 2, and they enter this matchup with one win apiece. The Rams are listed as 1.5-point road favorites, while the total sits at 44.0.

The Rams managed to get past the Giants last week, despite missing both Puka Nacua and Myles Garrett. Both players will miss this game as well, leaving them without arguably their best player on both sides of the ball. That didn’t matter vs. the Giants, who suffered a multitude of key injuries in that contest, but it might not be the same story vs. Denver.

Denver rebounded from a historically bad tackling performance in Week 1. Next Gen Stats credited them with 248 missed tackle yards allowed vs. the Chiefs, which was the worst mark in their database. They were much better in Week 2 vs. the Jaguars, and their offense held up their end of the equation. The Broncos ultimately outgained the Jags by nearly 125 yards, so it was a comprehensive victory.

Let’s dive into all the fantasy options for Sunday Night Football.

As news breaks throughout the week and we adjust our projections (powered by award-winning expert ranker Sean Koerner), player ratings in our Player Models will change as the projections change. For updates, visit the models directly.

And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

Or you can just use our NFL DFS sims to effortlessly create advanced lineups.

Finally, make sure to check out all the projections available for purchase within the FantasyLabs Models. Subscribers now have the option to purchase Derek Carty’s THE BLITZ from our Marketplace.

You can also combine them to create your own aggregate projections:

NFL DFS Stud Picks

Matthew Stafford may be at the tail end of his career, but he is still performing at an extremely high level. He won the MVP award last season, and he bounced back from a poor performance against the 49ers with an elite showing in Week 2. Despite missing Nacua, Stafford racked up 327 passing yards and four touchdowns, good for 30.98 DraftKings points.

That’s the type of production that Stafford is capable of on a weekly basis. He provides nothing with his legs, but his arm is good enough to make up for it. He was tied for second at quarterback in fantasy points per game last year, with only Josh Allen besting him.

Unfortunately, Stafford will face a much stiffer test in Week 3. The Broncos defense is one of the best in football. They didn’t look the part in Week 1, but they looked back to themselves in Week 2. They were sixth in pass defense EPA last week after finishing seventh in that department last year. Denver also allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing QBs last season.

This game will also be played in Denver, which is always a tough environment. Opposing QBs have historically averaged a Plus/Minus of -3.49 at Mile High Stadium (per the Trends tool).

Add in the injury to Nacua, and it could be tough sledding for Stafford on Sunday night. He still has the top ceiling projection in our NFL Models, but he’s a middling value in terms of projected Plus/Minus.

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Davante Adams should serve as Stafford’s top receiver this week, just like he did vs. the Giants. Stafford has always peppered his No. 1 option with targets, and Adams took full advantage of that role last week. He finished with 10 targets, which he turned into eight catches, 195 yards, and two scores. Adams racked up 42.5 DraftKings points, making him the second-highest-scoring receiver of the week.

Unsurprisingly, Adams’ utilization in that contest was phenomenal. He was only on the field for 82% of the team’s pass plays, but he earned a target on 37% of his routes run. He finished with a 38% target share, 68% air-yards share, and 50% end-zone share. Touchdowns have always been a big part of Adams’ game, and he now has 16 touchdowns in 16 regular season games since landing in Los Angeles.

The big question is: can Adams do it again? This time, he’ll have to face one of the toughest secondaries in football. Patrick Surtain is one of the league’s premier cornerbacks, and Adams owns a Plus/Minus of -4.7 in this matchup. It’s tied for the worst mark on the slate.

Expectations should definitely be lower than they were vs. the Giants, but Adams is still capable of putting together a huge performance. Surtain got the better of Adams in their two most recent matchups, but Adams also has a game with 85 yards and two scores against the star CB. Those matchups were all when Adams was with the Raiders; he’s clearly in a much better situation now. He owns the top median projection in our NFL Models, and he has the top projected Plus/Minus in the stud tier.

Bo Nix is the lone Broncos stud. That’s a very loose definition in Nix’s case. He has been far from stud-like so far this season, finishing with a negative Plus/Minus in each of his first two games. He wasn’t much better in 2025-26, finishing as QB11 in fantasy points per game.

Nix has always been a boom-or-bust type of option. When he hits his ceiling, he’s capable of scoring as much as any QB in fantasy (outside of possibly Allen). He had five games of at least 24.78 DraftKings points last season, including one with just under 40.

However, Nix also has a pretty low floor. He had six games with less than 14 fantasy points, and he’s posted a negative Plus/Minus in roughly half of his outings. Like many quarterbacks, Nix has also struggled as an underdog: he’s averaged 16.68 DraftKings points per game in that split, compared to 20.99 as a favorite.

This matchup could be disastrous for Nix. The Rams have an elite interior pass rush, headlined by Aaron Donald. He looked like the same dominant force as always in his first game in three years, earning the top PFF pass-rush grade at the position. Nix has been pressured on more than 40% of his dropbacks so far this season, and he has not handled that pressure well. He’s merely 31st in EPA per play when pressured this season, so it could be a long day at the office.

Nix is also expected to be the highest-owned option in the flex, making him a strong fade candidate. He definitely has some upside, but you could gain a lot of leverage if he has a poor showing.

NFL DFS Midrange Picks