Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 26 at 8:20 PM ET
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Betting Odds: DAL -11, 47 Total on Oddshark
Network: NBC
Writer: Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware on Twitter)
Washington Football Team
QUARTERBACKS
Taylor Heinicke (Sit), Kyle Allen (Sit), Garrett Gilbert (Sit)
The Washington Football team’s quarterback room was vacant this past week after both Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen tested positive for COVID. Enter Garrett Gilbert, who was giving his kid a bath on Thursday night when he received a call telling him to pack his bags for Philadelphia. Gilbert played about as well as could be expected of someone in that situation, but we don’t want to put our fantasy football fates and fortunes in his hands this week, should he saddle up again. We’d rather not start Heinicke or Allen either if we can help it. Look elsewhere in Week 16.
RUNNING BACKS
Antonio Gibson (Start, RB1), Jaret Patterson (Sit), Jonathan Williams (Sit)
Through the first 11 weeks of the season, Antonio Gibson was targeted more than three times only once. Since then, he has seen 6 or more passes thrown his way in three of his last four games. Since the start of Week 12, Gibson has been the overall RB8 among qualified running backs (2 or more games played).
However, the Cowboys offer a tougher test than most, ranking 9th overall in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. Even so, we still like Gibson as a low-end RB1 this week, even though two of the team’s top interior linemen (Brandon Scherff and Tyler Larsen) are currently shelved on the COVID list.
Behind Gibson, there’s little to get excited about. J. D. McKissic on IR, rookie Jaret Patterson has seen his snap share rise. However, Gibson has sucked up the vast majority of those vacated touches, and we see no reason for that to change, even with Patterson logging his first NFL touchdown on Tuesday. Patterson demonstrated a nose for the end zone in college, but Gibson should still see the lion’s share of the red zone work. Expect Jonathan Williams to remain a non-factor, and leave both of these backups on the waiver wire this week.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Terry McLaurin (Start, WR2), Adam Humphries (Sit), DeAndre Carter (Sit), Cam Sims (Sit), Dyami Brown (Sit), Ricky Seals-Jones (Sit), John Bates (Sit)
Terry McLaurin has seen only 13 targets in his last three games combined. However, he has also been playing hurt; he thankfully seems to be slowly rounding back into form. Consider him a must-start, although we’ll need to temper expectations depending on who’s under center. Adam Humphries has been the most targeted receiver in Washington over the past three weeks, but given the plethora of similar options available on the waiver wire, he’s not someone we’re rushing to put into our lineups. DeAndre Carter is electric but underused. Like his less exciting teammates Cam Sims and Dyami Brown, Carter is a low-floor option. None of the three should be appearing in Week 16 lineups with the playoffs on the line.
In his second game back from injury, Ricky Seals-Jones (33 snaps, 60 percent) saw the field almost as much as rookie John Bates (34 snaps, 62 percent). We expect the pendulum to keep swinging back in RSJ’s favor this coming week: Seals-Jones played over 90 percent of the team’s snaps in the five games prior to injury, and was a Top Ten tight end in terms of total fantasy points scored between Week 5 and Week 8.
If Heinicke returns under center, we like Seals-Jones’ chances of offering streaming value, but we can’t recommend him or Bates as a starting (Top 12) tight end this week. Neither player was particularly productive against an Eagles team that’s famously bad against tight ends; their task becomes more difficult this week against a Cowboys team featuring a more talented linebacking corps.
Dallas Cowboys
QUARTERBACKS
Dak Prescott (Start)
Last week, we explored Dak Prescott‘s lower-than-expected fantasy performance this season, with a special focus on his reduced mobility and the associated fallout. We recommended him as a low-end QB1 against a pathetic New York Giants defense, and he proceeded to finish as the QB23. Whereas the Giants have been a middling defense statistically against opposing fantasy quarterbacks, the Washington Football Team has been the absolute worst. Literally.
No squad has allowed more passing touchdowns than the Football Team through 14 games (28), and only three teams have allowed more passing yards. With last week’s letdown in mind, we understand if you want to pass on our recommendation to start Prescott, but all too often, a matchup like this one is an elixir for a player who needs to get his groove back.
RUNNING BACKS
Ezekiel Elliott (Start, RB2), Tony Pollard (Start, Flex), Corey Clement (Sit)
Tony Pollard is playing through a fascia tear in his foot, and his performance last week was quite impressive, given the nature of that particular injury. The same can’t be said for Ezekiel Elliott, who continues to post rather pedestrian numbers as he deals with a nagging knee ailment. Both have been reasonably productive considering their situations, but neither has scratched the surface of the upside that their fantasy managers hoped for on Draft Day so many months ago.
As things stand, Elliott is poised to offer mid-tier RB2 numbers this week, while Pollard should be flex-worthy for fantasy managers who require his services this Sunday. Corey Clement won’t offer any value as long as both Elliott and Pollard dominate the snap share in the Cowboys’ backfield.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
CeeDee Lamb (Start, WR1), Amari Cooper (Start, WR2), Michael Gallup (Start, Flex), Cedric Wilson (Sit), Dalton Schultz (Start)
In Week 8, both CeeDee Lamb (6-112-0) and Amari Cooper (8-122-1) both posted 100-yard games. Since then, Dallas Cowboys wide receivers have crossed that threshold just once: Micheal Gallup in Week 12 (5-102-0). An offense that was expected to run laps around the league like a Lamborghini has instead lumbered along like an old, beat-up pickup truck with two flat tires.
Cooper (2-8-0) hit rock bottom last week and tanked a ton of fantasy managers’ playoff hopes in the process. Gallup broke a four-game streak with five or more receptions, posting a disappointing 3-32-0 line. Only Lamb scored more than 10 PPR points (6-50-0), but only barely. So why are we recommending starting all three? Only the Minnesota Vikings have allowed more fantasy points per game to wide receivers so far this season. An undermanned defensive unit on a short week is just what the doctor ordered for this struggling passing game.
We’re not just bullish on Dallas wide receivers this week. After watching Dallas Goedert eviscerate the Football Team defense on Tuesday night, we’re fired up for Dalton Schultz‘s prospects against that same unit coming off a very short week. Oh, and did we mention that (as of Wednesday night) three of the Football Team’s five rostered linebackers were on the COVID list, including both OLBs? Treat Schultz as a set-it-and-forget-it TE1 for the remainder of your fantasy playoffs.