Underdog Fantasy Sunday Football Top Plays 9/7

Finally, the NFL has come back to our television screens, and I’m here to tell you the Top Underdog Plays for the Sunday slate. No Lowers here my friends, we love fun at FantasyNow+, and we’re taking 5 Highers to sweat as we kick off the first NFL Sunday of the year!

Ja’Marr Chase HIGHER Than 99.5 Receiving Yards

The first thing I’ll say is I juiced this selection a bit. The normal offering is 82.5 receiving yards, but I’m so confident that this game is going to be a shootout that I bumped Chase up to 99.5 receiving yards. Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense was absolutely putrid, and the Bengals were forced to put up points in bunches just to win a game.

Frankly, their off-season moves and how they looked in the pre-season didn’t instill any confidence that they corrected that issue at all, and I think the Bengals will have to score copious amounts of points once more to be victorious every week. And for Cincy, they go as Ja’Marr Chase goes. I think he puts up a monster first week against a Browns team with a high implosion risk, even in Week 1.

Joe Flacco HIGHER Than 34.5 Passing Attempts

In the same game, I’m correlating my Ja’Marr Chase stance with my prediction that the Browns are also going to have to throw the ball a lot, and are going to have success doing so. The Browns’ defense is certainly better than Cincinnati’s, but I wouldn’t classify them as great by any means.

The Browns also have a somewhat uncertain running back situation with Quinshon Judkins unsigned still at the time of writing this article, and only Jerome Ford and fellow rookie Dylan Sampson in the backfield. I think Joe Flacco may find that passing is the best way to move the ball in this game, and keeping pace with the Bengals offense will be no small task.

Trey McBride HIGHER Than 69.5 Receiving Yards

Did my Arizona Cardinals homerism come out a little with this one? Possibly, but I also think that the Saints are just going to be yet another terrible defense and terrible team in 2025. McBride is Kyler Murray’s primary target on drop backs, and there are few linebackers and safeties in football that can keep up with McBride, let alone cover him.

I’m not confident that the Cardinals blow the Saints out the way they probably should, and if they hang around in the game for several quarters, I think Trey McBride smashes this Higher easily.

Ashton Jeanty HIGHER Than 0.5 Rushing + Receiving TDs

Let’s have some fun folks! This is the highest pedigree, most talked-about running back prospect since Saquon Barkley came out of Penn State. I know it’s a bit scary to take rookies sight-unseen, but this dude is just built different.

The Raiders’ offense should be much-improved this season with Geno Smith under center, and having Jeanty will catapult a team that finished last in most rushing categories last year into the mid to upper echelon this season for most statistics. I don’t believe Jeanty will cede goal-line work or high value touches to anyone else in that room, and I also think Jeanty has the ability to break big runs that lends to this play.

Jonathan Taylor HIGHER than 99.5 Rushing Yards

My last selection is another juiced up entry, with the normal option being 79.5 rushing yards for Jonathan Taylor. However, I feel very strongly that the Miami Dolphins’ rushing defense is highly suspect. I also feel strongly that the Colts are going to be very run-heavy under Daniel Jones, especially against a weak defense like Miami.

Fantasy football fans will remember that Taylor absolutely dominated in the fantasy playoffs last season, specifically after the Colts stopped starting Anthony Richardson. Daniel Jones is not very good either, but he can at least hit underneath targets and keep drives moving at a much better clip than Richardson could. I like Taylor to get the ball a lot in this game, and I don’t think the Dolphins will be able to stop JT.

**All projections are pulled from FantasyPros Weekly Research Tools.