Atlanta Falcons - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Dak Prescott or Matt Ryan?

by Mike Rose

11/8/17

NFL

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan

A pivotal matchup is set to occur inside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon when the Atlanta Falcons welcome the Dallas Cowboys into town for the first time since 2015.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had a great showing in the last game against the ‘Boys, throwing for 285 yards and two touchdowns while Dak Prescott was just finishing up his college career at Mississippi State.

This will be only the 27th time these two franchises have met in NFL history with Dallas winning 16 prior matchups.

Fantasy Matchup: Dak Prescott (18.0 PFP) vs. Matt Ryan (15.5 PFP)

Prescott has averaged 21.53 Dober Fantasy Points per game this season—well over six points more than Ryan—and enters this matchup as 2.5-point chalk. This likely wouldn’t be the case had Ryan been performing like a reigning MVP in 2017.

For the season, Prescott has thrown for 1,818 yards with 16 touchdowns against four interceptions. He’s only passed for over 245 yards four times and has thrown two of his four interceptions in two games in which he’s had over 250 yards. Now he will face a Falcons defense that ranks No. 17 against quarterbacks in fantasy as well as No. 18 in the NFL with 10 sacks.

Prescott has quietly had a very good season, ranking as the No. 4 quarterback in fantasy. He’s coming off a great game against Kansas City in which he threw for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns. If you’re looking for a standout effort from Prescott, Atlanta’s defense has given up 240.6 yards and 16.6 points per game to opposing quarterbacks in fantasy football. The Falcons have also tallied just two interceptions through the first half, though still not as bad as a Raiders defense that has yet to intercept an opposing quarterback.

Meanwhile, after starting off super slow in 2017, Ryan has turned on the jets the last three weeks. He’s compiled a 5-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio in games that were all away from home. We’ll see if he can continue his great play in front of his home crowd where he’s thrown three interceptions in the last two games in the dome.

On the season, he’s completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 2,157 yards and a less than stellar 11-to-7 touchdown to interception ratio. He’ll be facing an improved Dallas pass rush that ranks No. 3 in sacks and No. 20 against quarterbacks in fantasy football, so this could be an interesting matchup for the reigning MVP. He’s coming off of his first 300-plus yard performance since Week 1, but he’s already matched his 2016 interception total (7).

Ryan has certainly been playing his best football of the season in recent weeks. If the Atlanta offensive line can keep the Dallas front seven in check, we could see that roll continue. In what will be the game of the week regardless, I like Ryan on my Dober Play Card. You should look to start him regardless of his underdog status versus Prescott, who could be without the services of Dez Bryant.

Week 10 Fantasy Projection: Matt Ryan (+2.5) vs. Dak Prescott