What We Saw: Week 17

Ja'Marr Chase single-handedly decided many fantasy matchups this week

Ben Brown
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Cardinals @ Cowboys

Final: Cardinals 25, Cowboys 22

Writer: James Schiano (@JeterHadNoRange on Twitter)

 

The NFL is a week-to-week league and what happened in your last game has no bearing on what will happen in the next one. The Cowboys came out flatter than a two-month-old bottle of Sprite after publicly humiliating the Washington Football Team last Sunday. Their lackluster start allowed the sputtering Cardinals to open up an early lead that they would never relinquish. This result shook up the NFC playoff picture and surely some fantasy championships.

 

 

Arizona Cardinals

 

Quarterbacks

 

Kyler Murray: 26/38, 263 yards, 2 TD | 9 carries, 44 yards

Chris Banjo: 1/1, 23 yards

 

Murray was up to his usual heroics in this one. His cleanest game in weeks came when his team needed it most against the red-hot Cowboys’ defense improved his personal, lifetime record at AT&T Stadium to 9-0! Joe Buck even joked after the game that Murray and Jerry Jones were co-owners.

This was the first time in what felt like months where Murray was not running for his life on every play. Check out this clean pocket that allowed him to wait for Christian Kirk on a deep flag route.

 

 

Murray waited about 4 seconds before letting this ball go. He simply did not have that type of time against the Colts, Lions, and Rams, at least not on a semi-regular basis. You realize he has one of the most impressive arms in the league when he can sit back there like this and really let one rip. But I mean, that arm still looks pretty good when he’s on the run.

 

 

To do that running at full speed…wow. It’s simply unfair. Kliff Kingsbury decided to purposefully take advantage of this very unique skill earlier in the game on the goal line. Check this out, it was one of the most creative plays I’ve seen this season.

 

 

This was 4th down after the Cardinals were stopped right at the goal line on their first drive. So, six plays down there and no glory so far and they pull out the play-action speed RPO. Murray executed it to perfection and Kingsbury cashed in on his gutsy call.

 

Running Backs

 

Chase Edmonds: 18 carries, 53 yards | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 29 yards

Jonathan Ward: 2 carries, 3 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards

Eno Benjamin: 2 carries, 3 yards

 

James Conner was ruled out not long before this game started and it opened the door for Edmonds. His busy afternoon had me nostalgic to when we were thinking about who was getting the upper hand in this timeshare just a few short months ago. Ironically, they have barely been active together. Football can be funny.

What isn’t funny is Edmonds’ shake. He’s lethal in the open field and made a fool out of Donovan Wilson here.

 

https://twitter.com/MrMatthewCFB/status/1477779815013187585?s=20

 

It has been great to see him close the year strong after dealing with some nagging injuries.

Also, I’d be remiss to go through this RB recap and not mention Ward’s circus catch on Arizona’s wild fake punt call.

 

 

Let’s take another look at that one!

 

 

All the credit to Chris Banjo for trusting his guy to make a play too. David Tyree salutes you Mr. Ward.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Christian Kirk: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 79 yards

Zach Ertz: 9 targets, 7 receptions, 41 yards

AJ Green: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 74 yards

Antoine Wesley: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 30 yards, 2 TD

Greg Dortch: 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards | 1 carry, 24 yards

 

DeAndre Hopkins’ absence really kills this group, but Wesley has emerged as Murray’s go-to red-zone target and tied the whole thing back together. I showed you his first score on the speed RPO: that play was more about Murray’s heroics. His second was downright foolish.

 

 

The body control, the focus, the athleticism! Wesley has stepped up when the Cardinals needed him most and is making a strong case to stick around.

Otherwise, Ertz, Kirk, and Green did most of the heavy lifting. Green even put this 33-year-old version of a double move on the uber-aggressive Trevon Diggs to set up Arizona’s first field goal.

 

https://twitter.com/FTB_Vids_YT/status/1477756496314175488?s=20

 

I’m not going to say that was the most agile or nuanced move I’ve seen, but it got the job done. This group is very balanced and could see anyone from it stand out.

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

 

Dak Prescott: 24/38, 226 yards, 3 TD | 5 carries, 20 yards, fumble

 

The Cowboys were not sharp early in this game as a whole. They had less than 150 yards of total offense in the first half and Prescott is not free of blame. His only sign of life from the first three quarters was a well-executed two-minute drill that got Dallas on the board.

He found his stride in the fourth quarter, though, and led a furious comeback that all started with this fourth-down conversion.

 

 

What a gamer. That tough run set up a nice touchdown to Cedrick Wilson.

 

 

Prescott’s next touchdown to Amari Cooper looked eerily similar.

 

 

The late-game stats helped the box score look suitable and probably bailed out a few fantasy managers. They should not let anyone misconstrue this as a good game for Dak though. He will need to be a lot better than this if the Cowboys intend to make a post-season run.

 

Running Backs

 

Ezekiel Elliott: 9 carries, 16 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 14 yards

Tony Pollard: 3 carries, 9 yards | 5 targets, 3 receptions, 49 yards

 

It’s getting a little sad watching Elliott putter around every week. It’s so clear that he is not the same player he once was. I hope, for the Cowboys’ sake, that the blatant lack of explosiveness is more due to injury than a true decline.

Still, every play where he is on the field rather than Pollard moves the Cowboys further away from competing with the NFC’s elite teams. It will be fascinating to see how this backfield shakes out over the next 12 months.

 

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

 

Dalton Schultz: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 54 yards

Amari Cooper: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards, TD

Cedrick Wilson: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 35 yards, TD

CeeDee Lamb: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 51 yards

Michael Gallup: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, TD

 

The Cardinals did a great job of putting multiple defenders on Lamb all afternoon and forced Prescott to utilize his other options. Schultz wound up a target-hop and was generally open in the middle of the field.

You saw Cooper’s touchdown above. That was nice. He, like Elliott, seems to have taken a monumental step back from where he was just a short time ago and we can only hope that it is health-related and not the beginning of the end.

Gallup made the play of the game from this group, adjusting in mid-air to secure the Cowboys’ first points of the game.

 

 

Nice pitch and catch.

Watch Gallup seal off the defender with his body and still have the concentration to catch this ball.

He grabbed his knee after the play and apparently heard a pop, which is not great. The Cowboys would certainly miss his red-zone presence if he were forced to miss time.

It would later be revealed that the Cowboys fear he has a torn ACL. That would be a big blow to this offense down the stretch.

 

— James Schiano (@JeterHadNoRange on Twitter)

Series Navigation
Introduction
Eagles @ Football Team
Buccaneers @ Jets
Dolphins @ Titans
Jaguars @ Patriots
Raiders @ Colts
Chiefs @ Bengals
Giants @ Bears
Falcons @ Bills
Texans @ 49ers
Broncos @ Chargers
Panthers @ Saints
Rams @ Ravens
Lions @ Seahawks
Cardinals @ Cowboys
Vikings @ Packers

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