Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 27 at 4:35 PM ET
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Betting Odds: PHI -2.5, 49.5 Total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts (Start, QB1)
Well, I am here to eat my words. Two weeks ago I said you don’t want to be the one buying on to the hype train of the rookie starter. Well since I said that, Jalen Hurts has gone on to be a top-four quarterback over the last three weeks. In his debut as a starter, he had 167/1 through the air which doesn’t hop off the page, but he added 18/106 on the ground, which does jump off the page. He followed that up in Week 15 with 338/3 through the air and 11/63/1 on the ground to the tune of over 40 fantasy points (6 points/passing TD). He now gets the 9th worst Dallas passing defense who he is set up to torch. He has gone from a nobody to a must-start in a very short time and is actually someone you can count on as a fill-in for most of the quarterbacks out there not named Mahomes, Lamar, Rodgers, or Murray. Start with high confidence with the rushing floor he provides.
Running Backs
Miles Sanders (Start, RB2)
In Jalen Hurts’ debut, Miles Sanders looked like a new man, putting up nearly 30 fantasy points on 136 total yards and two touchdowns. He followed that up with 90 scoreless yards last week in what turned out to be a shootout with Arizona. This week against Dallas he gets the same matchup that he had in the Championship Week last season where he rewarded owners who trusted in him. I expect him to deliver for owners again this year against a soft Dallas defense yet again. He didn’t get to play in the first matchup this year with the Cowboys so we don’t have a game this year to compare to. All we know is that the Cowboys stink and Sanders does not, especially with the added rushing threat of Hurts. Start him with confidence this Sunday.
Wide Receivers
Alshon Jeffery (Sit), Travis Fulgham (Sit), Greg Ward (Sit), Dallas Goedert (Start, TE1), Zach Ertz (Sit)
The good news for the Eagles offense is that Jalen Hurts electrifies the offense as a whole. The bad news for fantasy managers is that he hasn’t yet keyed in on one receiver as his go-to, giving five different pass catchers four or more targets last week. Last week the three touchdowns went to Quez Watkins and two to Greg Ward, but neither are options that can be trusted. Zach Ertz was the top yards getter at 2/69 but still isn’t the preferred choice at tight end. The only player I suggest amongst this group is Dallas Goedert as he has four catches in two straight weeks. He is, however, a lower-end TE1, so I wouldn’t blame you for looking elsewhere.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Andy Dalton (Sit)
Andy Dalton has been serviceable the past several weeks with three 20+ point games in the last five, but he isn’t a, sure enough, bet to count on for a championship. If you made it this far, it wasn’t off the arm of Dalton. Look elsewhere this week as you are probably looking for more than 21 point upside from the quarterback position.
Running Backs
Ezekiel Elliott (Start, Flex), Tony Pollard (Sit)
Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Ezekiel Elliot is back and that means the excitement of Tony Pollard is probably over. Yes, Pollard has been the better back as shown by his 132 total yards and two touchdowns last week, but in the NFL, money wins out most of the time. We saw this with how long Carson Wentz stayed the starter for the Eagles and we will see that in Week 16 when Zeke makes his way back to the lineup. Pollard will revert to his change of pace role and Zeke becomes a volume-based flex that provides RB2 upside if he finds the endzone. It is a boring play, but Zeke is still worthy of a flex play against the Eagles. Pollard isn’t worth starting as he will just be a change of pace play for the Cowboys.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
Amari Cooper (Start, WR2), Michael Gallup (Sit), CeeDee Lamb (Sit), Dalton Schultz (Sit)
Amari Cooper is not an exciting play, but he is consistent other than last week where he laid a dud. Before that, he had five straight weeks of 12+ points with most of those games being in the mid to high teens. Now getting an Eagles defense that tends to get beat deep, he should be able to break loose for decent yardage and a possible score. Michael Gallup has been too inconsistent to start in a championship, and the same can be said for CeeDee Lamb who basically saved his week with an onside kick returned for a touchdown last week. The only viable start that I can see for the championship is Cooper as I don’t feel comfortable giving you options that don’t have a somewhat safe floor.
-Matt Dean (@MattDeanQBList on Twitter, mdean8 on Reddit)