Last night's game went largely as expected, except for on big miss: Dak Prescott. Believe me, when I go all in and whiff, I feel it. Dak had 2.6 fantasy points after one quarter and 0.7 at halftime. One of his interceptions wasn't his fault. But who cares? Points are points, and facing a defense averaging 1.3 turnovers per game, he coughed up three in less than eight minutes.
Fortunately, he turned things around in the second half. Given the sit/start options many of you were facing, hopefully he did enough not to doom you in your semifinals or finals.
Speaking of which, keep a close eye on the Eagles-Saints game on Sunday. If Philly wins, they'll clinch the NFC East, meaning Dallas would travel to Tampa Bay, Carolina, or New Orleans in the first round (depending on who wins the NFC South). While Jerry Jones historically has insisted that his guys won't rest in a meaningless final game, this year might be different, especially in a 17-game season and (if things break perfectly for them) four-game playoff.
So if the Eagles win, and if you're playing for the title in Week 18, Cooper Rush and Malik Davis might be much better bets than Dak and Zeke. And as for Tony Pollard, I doubt we'll see him again until the postseason.
Elsewhere, I pushed Dalton Schultz in three Pro Football Network articles yesterday, as well as on this page. He entered this week leading the team in red-zone targets, and with Michael Gallup not stepping up as a true #2 WR, and with the playoffs around the corner, I believed they'd get Schultz more involved. Because Dallas probably can't go far in the postseason with a CeeDee-Lamb-or-bust passing game.
Also, I wrote yesterday that Malik Davis was a nice desperation RB flier, assuming Dak wouldn't need to throw 40+ times, and assuming Zeke Elliott wouldn't need to get 18+ touches. Well, Dak threw 41 times and Zeke had 19 touches. That said, Davis managed to get 8.2 fantasy points, while Zeke--who I tepidly recommended as someone who "should get 8+ points"--netted 9.7.
For Tennessee, emergency QB Joshua Dobbs had his own turnover issues, committing two at critical times: at the Dallas 24 in the secon quarter, and then throwing into Cowboys territory in the fourth. Regardless, he did about as well as anyone could have expected in his first NFL start.
This also might have marked the first time all season (someone correct me if I'm wrong--going off memory) that Treylon Burks and Robert Woods both had double-digit fantasy points. It seems clear that Dobbs, Burks, and Woods will feature prominently next week in Jacksonville. With Derrick Henry back, they might have a shot, and surely Dobbs' presence should make Burks and Woods no worse than deep-league streamers. Oh, and I missed on Chris Conley. Thought he'd be a nice DFS play, mostly because I never anticipated Burks or Woods breaking through.
On the ground, I advised caution on Hassan Haskins and offered up fourth-stringer Jonathan Ward as a possible alternative for RB-needy managers--with the caveat that he might not see any action. Haskins finished with 7.3 points, while Julius Chestnut had 4.2, while Ward got four quick points on the final drive. I haven't been a fantasy believer in Haskins since the summer. In a more dyanamic passing attack, the relatively slow Haskins could be the thunder to another RB's lightning. But as a lead back against stacked boxes, he doesn't have much of a chance. In dynasty, I'd cut bait quickly.
Lastly, the final-score prediction. I predicted a 32-12 Cowboys victory, putting me six points off target. Apparently, not good enough. So who will be crowned the final TNF champion of the 2022 season? A couple of you were four points away. Four of you were three points away. But . . .
. . . Russ Kidwell hit it on the nose. And I believe he was the first one to make a prediction on the page yesterday. So you all had the advantage of seeing what he picked before deciding, "Russ doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm going my own way."
Ah, but Russ gets the last laugh. A perfect score on the final TNF contest of 2022. Couldn't be a more perfect situation, except if I'd won.
Congrats Russ!
Fortunately, he turned things around in the second half. Given the sit/start options many of you were facing, hopefully he did enough not to doom you in your semifinals or finals.
Speaking of which, keep a close eye on the Eagles-Saints game on Sunday. If Philly wins, they'll clinch the NFC East, meaning Dallas would travel to Tampa Bay, Carolina, or New Orleans in the first round (depending on who wins the NFC South). While Jerry Jones historically has insisted that his guys won't rest in a meaningless final game, this year might be different, especially in a 17-game season and (if things break perfectly for them) four-game playoff.
So if the Eagles win, and if you're playing for the title in Week 18, Cooper Rush and Malik Davis might be much better bets than Dak and Zeke. And as for Tony Pollard, I doubt we'll see him again until the postseason.
Elsewhere, I pushed Dalton Schultz in three Pro Football Network articles yesterday, as well as on this page. He entered this week leading the team in red-zone targets, and with Michael Gallup not stepping up as a true #2 WR, and with the playoffs around the corner, I believed they'd get Schultz more involved. Because Dallas probably can't go far in the postseason with a CeeDee-Lamb-or-bust passing game.
Also, I wrote yesterday that Malik Davis was a nice desperation RB flier, assuming Dak wouldn't need to throw 40+ times, and assuming Zeke Elliott wouldn't need to get 18+ touches. Well, Dak threw 41 times and Zeke had 19 touches. That said, Davis managed to get 8.2 fantasy points, while Zeke--who I tepidly recommended as someone who "should get 8+ points"--netted 9.7.
For Tennessee, emergency QB Joshua Dobbs had his own turnover issues, committing two at critical times: at the Dallas 24 in the secon quarter, and then throwing into Cowboys territory in the fourth. Regardless, he did about as well as anyone could have expected in his first NFL start.
This also might have marked the first time all season (someone correct me if I'm wrong--going off memory) that Treylon Burks and Robert Woods both had double-digit fantasy points. It seems clear that Dobbs, Burks, and Woods will feature prominently next week in Jacksonville. With Derrick Henry back, they might have a shot, and surely Dobbs' presence should make Burks and Woods no worse than deep-league streamers. Oh, and I missed on Chris Conley. Thought he'd be a nice DFS play, mostly because I never anticipated Burks or Woods breaking through.
On the ground, I advised caution on Hassan Haskins and offered up fourth-stringer Jonathan Ward as a possible alternative for RB-needy managers--with the caveat that he might not see any action. Haskins finished with 7.3 points, while Julius Chestnut had 4.2, while Ward got four quick points on the final drive. I haven't been a fantasy believer in Haskins since the summer. In a more dyanamic passing attack, the relatively slow Haskins could be the thunder to another RB's lightning. But as a lead back against stacked boxes, he doesn't have much of a chance. In dynasty, I'd cut bait quickly.
Lastly, the final-score prediction. I predicted a 32-12 Cowboys victory, putting me six points off target. Apparently, not good enough. So who will be crowned the final TNF champion of the 2022 season? A couple of you were four points away. Four of you were three points away. But . . .
. . . Russ Kidwell hit it on the nose. And I believe he was the first one to make a prediction on the page yesterday. So you all had the advantage of seeing what he picked before deciding, "Russ doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm going my own way."
Ah, but Russ gets the last laugh. A perfect score on the final TNF contest of 2022. Couldn't be a more perfect situation, except if I'd won.
Congrats Russ!