What We Saw: Week 16

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Eagles @ Cowboys

The Eagles came out guns a-blazing in this one, racing out to a 14-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Cowboys worked it back down the field and scored 10 unanswered points to get within 1. The fireworks continued, with the Cowboys able to end the second quarter on top, 20-17. The Cowboys once again feasted on the Eagles’ secondary to start the second half, with a nice catch-and-run from CeeDee Lamb. The Eagles’ offense completely stalled in the third quarter, while the Cowboys continued to move the ball with ease both in the air and on the ground. The Cowboys coasted to victory, winning 37-17, as they stay alive in the hunt for the NFC East title.

Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 21/39, 342 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 3 sacks | 9 carries, 69 yards, 1 fumble lost

In the first half, Hurts looked unstoppable. He was extending plays with his legs, going through all of his reads, finding open guys, and getting rid of the ball when need be. He even had a bruising run in the red zone, bulldozing his way past a couple of Dallas defenders into the end zone. Unfortunately, it was called back, as Hurts had stepped out of bounds. But it was still a big boy run. That was the first half Jalen Hurts, who had DirecTV.

Second half Jalen Hurts had cable. He wasn’t finding the guys with regularity, he was out of rhythm, and the rest of his offense wasn’t particularly helpful. Countless false start penalties from Matt Pryor and Isaac Seumalo put the Eagles in tight spots time and again on 2nd and 3rd downs. He completely unraveled in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over twice via the interception and once via the fumble. This was Hurts’ first “bad” game under center, so it will be interesting to see how he rebounds from his struggles.

Running Backs

Miles Sanders: 15 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD | 6 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards

Boston Scott: 2 carries, 17 yards

Jordan Howard: 3 carries, 8 yards

Sanders looked excellent in the first half, as he was able to find running room and decent running lanes, even behind a banged-up offensive line. He even had some receiving targets across the first and second halves when the Eagles fell behind and tried to pass to catch up. Pederson appears willing to go to the run a little more often than he did with Wentz, although part of that may be to simplify the offense for Hurts under center. Regardless of how he gets the volume, Sanders is finding ways to be valuable these days and is finishing his season strong.

A Miles Sanders score in Dallas.#FantasyFootball | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/qilABzD6Fr

— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 27, 2020

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

DeSean Jackson: 1 target, 1 reception, 81 yards, 1 TD

Quez Watkins: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 57 yards

Dallas Goedert: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 38 yards

Zach Ertz: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 33 yards

Jalen Reagor: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 30 yards

Greg Ward: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards

Travis Fulgham: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 27 yards

Alshon Jeffery: 1 target, 1 reception, 22 yarsds

Welcome back, DeSean Jackson! “D-Jax” had himself one heck of a TD catch, burning the Dallas secondary for an 81-yard bomb (see below) and calling Eagles fans back to the old days of Michael Vick and Jackson terrorizing opposing defenses. That was his only catch (and target of the game), so don’t elevate Jackson to WR1 status just yet. Otherwise, Hurts once again spread the targets around. He looked to Ertz as a frequent check-down option, with some of those incompletions simply being thrown out of Ertz’s reach. Reagor got a few looks, but a couple of them were just plain uncatchable. Just like last week, there isn’t much data to suggest any one of these receivers is a favorite target or gaining an edge over the rest of the receiving corps. If you need a WR, it’s probably best to look elsewhere.

DeSean Jackson from 81-yards out. #FantasyFootball . #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/5EeUz4hAF0

— QB List (@TheQBlist) December 27, 2020

Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback

Andy Dalton: 22/30, 377 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks | 5 carries, 16 yards

The Red Rocket has proven more than capable of handling this dynamic Cowboys offense this season, with today being no exception. Dalton was magnificent, with just a couple of mistakes sprinkled in here and there. He didn’t fall for Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz’s tricks and utilized each of his 3 talented receivers to feast on weak defenders. Dalton completed the majority of his passes (17/30 passes) from 0-10 yards away from the line of scrimmage and benefitted from some long gains made on short passes, but he was still more than willing to look deep and find receivers deep downfield. Dalton gets the sneaky-good Giants pass defense next week as the Cowboys vie for the NFC East division title.

Running Backs

Ezekiel Elliott: 19 carries, 105 yards | 4 targets, 4 receptions, 34 yards

Tony Pollard: 9 carries, 12 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards

Zeke was excellent today, finding holes and running hard once he found some space. On multiple occasions, Zeke bulldozed straight through Eagles defenders and picked up extra yards after contact. It didn’t appear as though the injuries he sustained earlier in the season bothered him at all, as he was able to consistently find chunks of yardage and take the pressure off of Dalton when need be. I’m hesitant to say Zeke is completely back, especially because it was against a subpar Eagles defense, but it was a nice step in the right direction for someone who has disappointed fantasy managers all season.

If Zeke were to be out next week, Pollard is a must-start, regardless of the matchup. Pollard has looked dynamic in his opportunities and filled in admirably for Elliott when the latter is out.

Wide Receivers

Michael Gallup: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TDs

Amari Cooper: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 121 yards

CeeDee Lamb: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 19 yards, 1 TD

Dalton Schultz: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards

Today was a good day for the Cowboys receiving corps. Amari Cooper was the only receiver of the three-headed WR monster to not score a touchdown, and he still picked up 121 yards. Michael Gallup dominated his coverage — Eagles CB Michael Jacquet looked about as good in coverage as a traffic cone — and showed off his chemistry with Andy Dalton (see one of his TD catches below). All three main Cowboys wideouts were able to find open space and utilize their above-average speed to pick up huge YAC. In fact, all three of them had a reception of longer than 50 yards today. CeeDee Lamb was also able to show off his speed via a designed running play, as he swept across the offensive formation and strolled into the end zone for another score (see below). Cooper (WR2) and Lamb (WR3) have been more consistent than Gallup (WR3/FLEX) this season, but Dalton looks more than willing to find each of them when the opportunity presents itself.