Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Final Score: Packers 23, Cowboys 13
Writer: Pranav Babarjung
Two Up
- Matthew Golden – Another high target volume day results in a score and over 100 yards.
- CeeDee Lamb – Back from injury, Lamb led the Cowboys again with 18 targets
Two Down
- MarShawn Lloyd – Lloyd was out-carried and outplayed, with Josh Jacobs‘ CEL removal on the horizon.
- Dak Prescott – Dak was seeing ghosts, throwing two interceptions and panicking under pressure.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Dak Prescott: 34/54, 258 Yards, TD, 2 INTs | 2 Carries, 7 Yards
Dak Prescott attempted 54 passes after playing from behind the entire game. Only 86 of those yards and both interceptions came in a scoreless first half for Dallas. One was because CeeDee Lamb slipped and fell, but the other was a bad decision to throw into double coverage. Although the final score was 23-13, at no point did it seem like the Cowboys had any chance in this game. Dak was repeatedly making bad calls throughout the game, and was under consistent pressure. Although he was only sacked once, he took seven hits, not including three (questionable) roughing the passer calls in the fourth quarter. One of these penalties wiped a clean interception off the board as well. Something is just off with Prescott, and the Cowboys need to figure it out soon. Some might even consider his play… embarrassing.
Running Back
Javonte Williams: 11 Carries, 41 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards
Javonte Williams was still the feature back on the team, but had lower volume on a day where Dak threw 54 passes. He found his way into the end zone in the third quarter on the third of three straight runs up the middle to put Dallas on the board. After that, they completely abandoned the run and Williams saw only one more touch.
Tyler Goodson: 2 Carries, 0 Yards | 3 Targets, 9 Yards
Hunter Luepke: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 9 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
George Pickens: 11 Targets, 6 Receptions, 73 Yards
George Pickens only had two receptions through three quarters. When Dak started slinging it in the fourth, Pickens started producing and ended the day as the Cowboys’ leading receiver in yardage. He almost added a 19-yard reception that he bobbled and caught lying down, but his shoulder was slightly out of bounds. In games where the Cowboys don’t throw as much and CeeDee Lamb is healthy, I’d be concerned about his volume.
CeeDee Lamb: 18 Targets, 9 Receptions, 70 Yards
After last week’s bust due to injury, Lamb looked back in form and led the team in targets. 18 targets is just so much opportunity, even though he only connected on nine of them. Lamb was also entirely at fault for one of Dak’s interceptions; slipping and falling in front of Brandon Cisse for an easy turnover. He remains the favorite end zone target, including the unsuccessful 2-point conversion.
Ryan Flournoy: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 40 Yards, TD
Despite being the third option on this team, Flournoy actually led in fantasy points thanks to the late touchdown. He has seen at least four targets in each game, so all-in-all not a bad choice for a bye-week fill.
Brevyn Spann-Ford: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 35 Yards
Jake Ferguson: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 13 Yards
Spann-Ford put up season-highs in all categories and was on the field for just six fewer snaps than that of Ferguson. After last week’s shenanigans, Ferguson seems to lost some of the trust of his quarterback, with Spann-Ford seeing five targets on 16 routes while Ferguson saw three targets on 29 routes run.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Jordan Love: 23/41, 276 Yards, TD, INT | 4 Carries, 12 Yards, TD
Love had an expectedly solid showing, but had potential for an even better performance. He came out the swinging from the jump, throwing for 109 yards and a touchdown on a 90-yard drive (additional yardage due to penalties). On the next drive he immediately threw a pick off an underthrown ball, a sound decision but poor execution. In the second quarter, he threw an absolutely perfect dot to Matthew Golden for what would have been a long second touchdown, but he somehow dropped it. Christian Watson would follow suit later in the game. His rushing touchdown was a one-yard sneak, set up by a Golden end zone DPI. Even in the face of consistent pressure, Love was confident and delivered, with only one other iffy pass. He took three sacks and eight hits. The Packers have never been a team to rely on the quarterback sneak, and to see them ask Love to punch it in instead of hand it off to a running back gives him even more fantasy upside.
Running Back
Pierre Strong Jr. : 11 Carries, 28 Yards | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 39 Yards
In only his second week on the team, Strong has taken over this backfield. He didn’t have much production in non-PPR formats and was stuffed at the one-yard line in the second quarter. His value will likely tank with Josh Jacobs’ imminent return.
MarShawn Lloyd: 8 Carries, 10 Yards | 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Even coming off a two-touchdown game, Lloyd’s inefficiency finally caught up with him, losing significant work to Strong.
Kaleb Johnson: 1 Carry, -2 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Matthew Golden: 13 Targets, 6 Receptions, 104 Yards, TD
Golden had a great showing and was in line for an even better one if it hadn’t been for a bad case of butterfingers that afflicted this team. He dropped not one, but two separate touchdowns during this game. The one he caught was also bobbled for no reason. On the flip side, he also went up for some stunning highlight grabs, stopped Dee Winters’ interception from going for a touchdown (by luck), and set up Love’s rushing TD. This was Golden’s third game with double-digit targets and third game eclipsing 100 yards.
Christian Watson: 8 Targets, 3 Receptions, 64 Yards
Watson had the chance to join Golden in the end zone, but also wasn’t able to hold on to a pass that was tipped but ultimately hit him right in the hands. He saw more of Joey Porter Jr. than Golden did, which definitely played a role in his limited receptions. Eight targets is still encouraging usage, especially when most of those are high-yardage chunks.
Tucker Kraft: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 37 Yards
Kraft matched Watson with eight targets. He briefly left the game after a scary hit to his left knee, but came back unbothered. He had a chance to hit paydirt on a reception from the two-yard line, but was held to no gain.
Savion Williams: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 32 Yards | 2 Carries, 9 Yards
Williams got the first two Love passes for 22 Yards in his first game back. His usage afterwards was relatively sparse, though he did get a red zone carry.