Buffalo Bills vs Dallas Cowboys
In Buffalo’s first nationally televised game of the season, the (now) 9-3 Bills carved up the Cowboys like the Thanksgiving turkey they’re about to enjoy, winning to the tune of 26-15. ‘Jerry World’ was left quiet, and Dallas overall played dry; no gravy to their offense other than Ezekiel Elliot. It was a very poor performance given the confidence Jerry Jones shared in Jason Garrett just a day prior.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
- Josh Allen: 19/24, 231 yards, 1 TD, 1 Fumble (recovered) | 10 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD
The second-year signal-caller for Buffalo has been locked in the past few games. Josh Allen was sharp in his first primetime game, a game in which he had circled on the calendar simply from a childhood dream. Posting a QBR of 120.7, Allen got it done through the air and on the ground. He also received the coveted post-game turkey leg courtesy of Tracy Wolfson of CBS. Allen was able to use his legs, evading the Dallas pass rush multiple times, and even found Cole Beasley for a score on a 25-yard strike over the middle of the field.
Allen has a tough matchup Week 14 at home against the Ravens, but I believe you can still start him with QB2 expectations.
Running Backs
- Devin Singletary: 14 carries, 63 yards | 4 targets, 3 catches, 38 yards, 1 TD
- Frank Gore: 9 carries, 11 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 14 yards
Topping 100 scrimmage yards again, rookie Devin Singletary has turned it up in recent weeks. Against Dallas, he was able to rack up 63 yards on 14 carries, but found the end zone on one of his three catches in what was a trick play and pass courtesy of John Brown. An uptick in pass situations will surely do Singletary good, but he’s earned the trust of the coaching staff and surpassed the ageless Frank Gore on the depth chart.
Speaking of Gore, he wasn’t asked to do much in this one, only earning 11 yards on nine carries, and caught his lone target for 14 yards. While Singletary is the fantasy back to own and start, he has a tough slate ahead vs the Ravens.
Wide Receivers/Tight End
- Cole Beasley: 7 targets, 6 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD
- John Brown: 4 targets, 3 catches, 26 yards | 1/1, 28 yards, 1 TD
- Isaiah McKenzie: 3 targets, 3 catches, 34 yards
- Robert Foster: 2 targets, 1 catch, 20 yards
- Dawson Knox: 4 targets, 3 catches, 17 yards
#RevengeGame was in full swing for Cole Beasley. In his return to Dallas, you would think the Cowboys have never seen him before. Beasley caught six passes just as he did for the Cowboys for seven years to the tune of 110 yards. It was his first time cracking the century mark this season, and he should remain on the flex radar; though I wouldn’t expect the same performance next week against Baltimore.
Brown only had three catches, but it was his gimmie pass to a wide-open Singletary that saved his fantasy day. Isaiah McKenzie and Robert Foster were also involved but remain off the fantasy radar.
Dawson Knox was able to reel in three catches, but only make 17 yards of it. He’s certainly an afterthought in this offense and doesn’t have any real fantasy appeal.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
- Dak Prescott: 32/49, 355 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2 Fumbles (1 lost) | 4 carries, 25 yards
Interception and fumbles aside, Dak Prescott had a strong fantasy performance. However, the multiple turnovers led to an ugly loss in real life, where it truly counts. He took four sacks for 32 lost yards, lacking awareness in the pocket, and missed on some ugly throws. Despite the positive fantasy stat line, it was Prescott’s worst game of the season. He’ll get the Bears in Chicago Week 14, and he’ll surely need to nix turning over the ball if he wants to get the ‘Boys back in the win column–which hasn’t happened since Week 11.
Running Backs
- Ezekiel Elliot: 12 carries, 71 yards | 10 targets, 7 catches, 66 yards
- Tony Pollard: 3 carries, 7 yards | 1 target, 0 catches
It started as an Ezekiel Elliot game – and should have remained that way – but game script spoke otherwise. A majority of his (ground) yards came on a 30-yard rush, but the seven catches on 10 targets were encouraging, allowing him to post 20.7 points in full-PPR formats. His volume will keep him as a top-5 fantasy option the rest of the way.
Tony Pollard, who’s had decent involvement in recent weeks, was very quiet today. He remains a top handcuff without true standalone value at this point.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Amari Cooper: 11 targets, 8 catches, 85 yards
- Michael Gallup: 6 targets, 3 catches, 63 yards
- Randall Cobb: 3 targets, 3 catches, 53 yards
- Tavon Austin: 5 targets, 2 catches, 22 yards
- Ventell Bryant: 1 target, 1 catch, 15 yards, 1 TD
- Jason Witten: 8 targets, 6 catches, 42 yards, 1 TD, 1 2PT Conversion
- Blake Jarwin: 3 targets, 2 catches, 9 yards
Quite the list of targets and production for Dallas in this game, yet it was all for naught as they still couldn’t pull off the win. Amari Cooper, battling injuries all season, led the charge with 11 targets, eight catches and 85 yards. He did get lit up late in the game, but was able to come back in. Michael Gallup posted 63 yards on just three catches, and just missed a highlight-reel touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Randall Cobb, who has been hot in recent games, was only targeted three times (catching all three), only coming in the second half. I’d safely suggest to start Cooper and Gallup, but you may want to temper expectations on Cobb. However, it is worth noting that at the time of writing, Cooper is scheduled to go for an MRI on his knee, and should he potentially miss next Thursday’s game in Chicago, Cobb would be back in the starting fold.
Other receivers that you wouldn’t expect were involved as well. Tavon Austin was actually a thing, seeing five targets, only catching two. Ventell Bryant – who? – had his only target and catch go for a touchdown late in the 4th. Hilariously, Tony Romo screamed “Dez Bryant” initially after the score. These two remain off the fantasy map.
Onto the tight ends. Jason Witten dialed it back some, having the second-most targets on the day behind Cooper with eight, catching six of those for 42 yards, a touchdown and two-point conversion. He remains a solid target for Prescott, and you can certainly do worse at the TE position than him. His counterpart Blake Jarwin, is not a viable streamer.
- Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)