The Bills and Patriots will clash on Sunday Night Football this weekend, a highly-anticipated AFC East showdown. It's a great game for fantasy football and DFS enthusiasts, as both teams are coming in hot.
The Bills started the season with a wild 41-40 win over the Ravens, and then proceeded to beat their next three opponents by double-digits. Reigning MVP Josh Allen sits atop the 2025 MVP odds boards on most sportsbooks, and running back James Cook finds himself among the early frontrunners for Offensive Player of the Year.
On the other side, Drake Maye and the Patriots have started to click. Tight end Hunter Henry and first-year Pats wideout Stefon Diggs have been solid of late, and New England's D has enjoyed the return of stud cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Could this be the year the Pats finally get back to the playoffs?
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Most NFL football fans will be tuning in for this divisional showdown, and most GPP tournament fans will be constructing lineups. Our job is to help shine a light on the best DFS studs, sleepers and value plays for both DraftKings Showdown and FanDuel single-game tournaments.
Let's get to it. Here's our favorite fantasy picks and optimal lineups for Bills vs. Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
Bills vs. Patriots NFL DFS picks: Optimal DraftKings Showdown lineup
➕ Sign up for DraftKings to play Showdown cash and GPP contests.
Before we get into our lineup and strategy, here are the key scoring settings for DraftKings Showdown contests:
They're full-point PPR, and they feature three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, and 100 receiving yards. The Captain pick costs 1.5 times a player's original price, but he also gets his point total multiplied by 1.5.
POS | Player | TEAM/OPP | SALARY |
| Captain | Josh Allen, QB | Bills vs. NE | $18,000 |
| FLEX | Drake Maye, QB | Patriots at BUF | $10,000 |
| FLEX | Khalil Shakir, WR | Bills vs. NE | $8,200 |
| FLEX | Dalton Kincaid, TE | Bills vs. NE | $7,400 |
| FLEX | Rhamondre Stevenson, RB | Patriots at BUF | $4,800 |
| FLEX | Dawson Knox, TE | Bills vs. NE | $1,600 |
Captain: Josh Allen, QB, Bills ($18,000)
What can we say!? He's the MVP, he's the betting frontrunner to win a second, and he's always fire against the division-rival Patriots.
Allen put up 25.9 DK points last week against New Orleans, a hair over his season-long average of 25.6. He's a no-brainer in the Captain's chair.
FLEX 1: Drake Maye, QB, Patriots ($10,000)
With both teams pretty good against the run, we couldn't resist grabbing both QBs in this one. Maye posted 23.2 DK points last week vs. Carolina, and he had 47.5 combined points the previous two weeks vs. Pittsburgh and Miami.
The second-year QB's a stud! And there's no doubt in our minds he's worth more than $10,000 against a Bills defense that has allowed plenty of chunk-yard plays through the air this season.
FLEX 2: Khalil Shakir, WR, Bills ($8,200)
There's a strong chance stud Pats cornerback Christian Gonzalez shadows Keon Coleman in this one, so look for slot-man Shakir to get after it.
The fourth-year receiver has looked fantastic the past couple weeks, catching 9-of-9 targets for 114 yards and two TDs, good for 32.4 total PPR points. Fire up Shakir like a 2Pac fan in the mid-90s.
FLEX 3: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Bills ($7,400)
New England has been pretty good against the run this season, and Christian Gonzalez is back in the lineup to help the secondary combat Buffalo's wide receivers. The most vulnerable part of the Pats' D? Its coverage vs. tight ends.
We won't sugarcoat it — the Patriots have surrendered the most PPR points to the TE position in the 2025 season. That's muy bueno for Kincaid, who has already averaged 12.5 DK points per game through four games. Three TDs and 179 yards is good on its own, but with a matchup like this, he's a must-play.
FLEX 4: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Patriots ($4,800)
Stevenson makes Kyren Williams seem like a top-notch ball-control guy (too soon, I know). That being said, Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels and the Pats remain loyal to the veteran.
And, with multiple catches in three of the first four games of the season, Mondre's pass-catching upside makes him a particularly compelling play this weekend. Plug him in and pray for the best.
FLEX 5: Dawson Knox, TE, Bills ($1,600)
Knox is more than just a sleeper at the end of our lineup. He's also the second-half of our tight end sandwich, giving us a greater chance of benefiting if and when a TE scores for Buffalo.
Like we already mentioned, the Pats stink against the position. Here's hoping we strike it rich with the two-TE daily fantasy set.
MORE: How to play DFS
Bills vs. Patriots NFL DFS picks: Optimal FanDuel single-game lineup
➕ Sign up for FanDuel to play cash and GPP single-game contests.
Here are the key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game tournaments: They're half-point PPR with three-point bonuses for 300 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, or 100 receiving yards.
The MVP pick multiplies that player's total by 1.5 and, for the first time, the MVP pick also costs 1.5 times that player's salary.
POS | Player | TEAM/OPP | SALARY |
| MVP | Josh Allen, QB | Bills vs. NE | $21,300 |
| FLEX | Drake Maye, QB | Patriots at BUF | $12,600 |
| FLEX | Khalil Shakir, WR | Bills vs. NE | $10,200 |
| FLEX | Dalton Kincaid, TE | Bills vs. NE | $8,600 |
| FLEX | Joshua Palmer, WR | Bills vs. NE | $5,000 |
| FLEX | Dawson Knox, TE | Bills vs. NE | $2,000 |
We took a similar approach with our FanDuel lineup, but we were able to lock down Palmer as our fourth flex over Stevenson.
As you might expect, we have Buffalo winning this game, but we like the idea of somewhat-monopolizing the Bills downfield receivers more than we like the uncertainty of the Pats' pass-catchers.
If we did target a New England receiver, it would probably be veteran tight end Hunter Henry ($8,200 FD, $7,600 DK) — but Kincaid has a higher floor and ceiling in this one.