Dallas Cowboys - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Dak Prescott or Kirk Cousins?

by Mike Rose

10/26/17

NFL

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins hook up for some good old-fashioned NFC East football. In fact, you’d have to go back to Thanksgiving 2016 for the last time they squared off.

In that game, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins outperformed his Cowboys counterpart, Dak Prescott. The Michigan State product completed 41 of 53 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns while the Mississippi State alum went 17 of 24 for 195 yards and a score.

In Week 2 of 2016, Cousins outperformed Prescott as well, throwing for 364 yards with a touchdown to interception ratio of 1-to-1. Prescott, meanwhile, went for 292 yards with no scores and zero turnovers.

Week 8 now brings us the season’s first showdown between the ‘Skins and Cowboys, and we’ll break down how things should turn out for the two star quarterbacks.

Fantasy Matchup: Dak Prescott (20.5 PFP) vs. Kirk Cousins (17.0 PFP)

The FOX Game of the Week should be a very competitive one as these two young quarterbacks face off. Prescott is averaging 23.04 Dober Fantasy Points per week while Cousins is averaging 20.76. The second-year signal caller is currently a 3.5-point favorite if you’re looking at these two guys for your Dober Play Cards.

Prescott has had a great 2017 thus far after having an outstanding rookie season. He’s racked up 1,426 yards with 14 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He also has a 98.2 passer rating to lead the No. 13 total offense and No. 22 passing offense in the NFL. Last week Dallas went up against the San Francisco 49ers, which allowed Prescott to throw for 234 yards while completing 16 of 25 passes and tossing three touchdowns.

Prescott’s numbers have been good enough to rank him as the No. 4 quarterback in fantasy football. And he’ll be facing a Washington defense that ranks No. 23 against fantasy passers. This same ‘Skins defense will have a short week to recover after being thrashed by Philly’s Carson Wentz to the tune of 331 total yards and four passing touchdowns. I definitely like Prescott’s Dober fantasy matchup in Week 8 because he is a dual-threat quarterback just like Wentz.

Despite losing to the Eagles on Monday Night Football, Cousins played very well. He completed 30 of 40 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns for the No. 13 ranked passing attack. He has had a fantastic season so far as he ranks No. 7 in fantasy at the quarterback position.

Through the first seven weeks, he’s passed for 1,637 yards with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions. His passer rating is excellent as well at 107.2. He’ll be going up against a Dallas defense that ranks No. 22 in fantasy. The unit was given a gift in Week 7, however, as it faced a 49ers offense that managed to only score 10 points.

Dallas’ defense has allowed 261.3 yards per game and 19.3 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, so Week 8 is also a great matchup for “Captain Kirk.”

On paper, this game screams high scoring. With that in mind as well as the excitement from the home crowd in a rivalry game, I’d go with Cousins on your Dober Play Cards. But both field generals possess favorable matchups.

Week 8 Fantasy Projection: Kirk Cousins (+3.5) vs. Dak Prescott