Dallas Cowboys - Fantasy News

Eagles at Cowboys Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

11/18/17

NFL

Dallas Cowboys

Alfred Morris

This week’s edition of Sunday Night Football will feature a matchup between the top two teams in the NFC East when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. The Eagles enter atop the NFC at 8-1 while the Cowboys are currently out of the playoff picture at 5-4.

Philadelphia has been one of the most surprising teams of 2017 through 10 weeks. Carson Wentz has made enormous strides in his second season, and the Eagles are averaging 8.5 points per game more than they did in 2016. Free-agent additions on defense have improved that unit, which was one of the worst in the league last season.

After a 2-3 start, it looked like Dallas had turned the corner after rattling off three straight wins. However, without Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith and Sean Lee, the Cowboys were massacred in Atlanta. They’ll need to figure things out quickly if they are going to make a late-season run to the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles Week 11 Projected Fantasy Points
Carson Wentz: 21.0 PFP
Alshon Jeffery: 11.5 PFP
Jake Elliott: 10.0 PFP
Zach Ertz: 10.0 PFP
Nelson Agholor: 9.5 PFP
Jay Ajayi: 9.0 PFP
LeGarrette Blount: 7.0 PFP
Torrey Smith: 5.0 PFP
Wendell Smallwood: 5.0 PFP

Dallas Cowboys Week 11 Projected Fantasy Points
Dak Prescott: 18.0 PFP
Dez Bryant: 11.0 PFP
Jason Witten: 8.5 PFP
Terrance Williams: 6.5 PFP
Cole Beasley: 6.5 PFP
Mike Nugent: 6.0 PFP
Alfred Morris: 5.5 PFP
Brice Butler: 5.5 PFP

Start 'Em: Zach Ertz (10.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 13.54

Despite missing a game with a hamstring injury, Ertz leads the Eagles in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He ranks second on the team in targets per game with eight and has scored 10.6 DFP or more in every contest he has played. Dallas has given up an average of 9.77 DFP per game even though it hasn’t faced many premier players at the position. This looks to be a high-scoring contest, and Ertz should be in line for his usual role as a security blanket and red zone threat. That should be enough to get him over his PFP this week.

Sit 'Em: Wendell Smallwood (5.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 5.1

Since the Jay Ajayi trade, Smallwood’s role has been thrown into flux. He received just five carries in the Denver game before the bye week, compared to 13 for Corey Clement, nine for LeGarrette Blount and eight for Ajayi. A receiving back out of West Virginia, Smallwood has just 10 catches, making him ill-suited for the Darren Sproles role. He has only two games this season with more than 5.0 DFP, and his touches are likely only going to decrease. In this four-headed backfield, Smallwood looks to be the odd man out, and we recommend fading him on Dober Play Cards.

Start 'Em: Dez Bryant (11.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 10.31

An unpopular player in fantasy circles right now, Bryant has been underwhelming this season. Though he has been healthy most of the year, he is having one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. However, players as talented as Bryant don’t stay down for long, and he has traditionally owned the Eagles. In the 10 contests against Philadelphia in which he’s played the majority of the game, he has averaged 16.93 DFP. While the Philly defense has played better this season than in years past, the Eagles don’t have a corner that can man up against Bryant. Without Zeke Elliott, the Cowboys will need to throw the ball a lot to keep up with the explosive Eagles offense. Look for Bryant to bounce back in a big way in this one.

Sit 'Em: Alfred Morris (5.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 2.29

It appears that Morris has tentatively taken hold of the starting running back job while Elliott is suspended. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that job is going to be very productive for fantasy purposes. Morris got 11 carries for 53 yards against the Falcons but gave up all passing-down work to Rod Smith. Lest we forget, Darren McFadden is also lurking in case Morris fails to establish himself as the superior option. Led by Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia has the best run defense in the league. The Eagles have given up 383 rushing yards to running backs this season, 266 fewer than the next-lowest team. Even if Tyron Smith plays, finding running lanes in this game is going to be difficult, especially if the Cowboys get down early. Without any receiving work, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Morris gets over his PFP in this game.