What We Saw: Week 3

Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterbacks

 

• Dak Prescott: 19/32, 246 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT | 2 carries, 7 yards, 1 TD

 

Dak Prescott continued his torrid start to the season, showing no fear early firing passes into tight windows.  Prescott’s second passing TD displayed this fearlessness as he threw a rope into the hands of a well-covered Amari Cooper from 19 yards out.  Prescott was blessed to have several completions almost gift-wrapped for him as Miami defenders left some huge openings in zone coverage.

Interestingly, Dallas ran a couple of option plays, both of which Prescott pitched to his RB, but it shows the confidence the coaching staff has in Prescott with the ball in his hands as a runner.  Prescott’s rushing TD came on a designed pass play in which Prescott had no open options and scampered in from eight yards out. Prescott is playing like a QB1 and can be started as such until he proves otherwise.

 

Running Backs

 

• Ezekiel Elliott: 19 carries, 125 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 14 yards
• Tony Pollard: 13 carries, 103 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 25 yards

 

Looking at the boxscore of Dallas’s RBs without digging deeper, one might presume Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard split the workload throughout the game.  In reality, Pollard’s work came mostly in garbage time as he accumulated 74 yards and his TD in the last 10 minutes of the game–once the win was already secured.  Pollard is a valuable handcuff for the Elliott owner but doesn’t carry enough standalone value to anyone else except in the deepest of leagues.  

Elliott didn’t look like a player who missed all of the preseason as he frequently gained positive ground and was not limited in this game.  Elliott owners were probably discouraged by the short passing TD and Prescott’s rushing TD instead of Elliott getting the calls on those occasions, but Zeke will get his in due time and is a no-brainer RB1 this season.

 

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

 

• Amari Cooper: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 88 yards, 2 TDs
• Devin Smith: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 39 yards
• Randall Cobb: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
• Jason Witten: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 54 yards

 

If it wasn’t clear before this week, Amari Cooper is Prescott’s #1 target.  Prescott seemed to look to Cooper first on every pass play and would give Cooper a shot if he was in one-on-one coverage.  Cooper’s first TD was the result of an excellent out route and his second was an absolute laser from Prescott in front of Cooper and the trailing defender.  Cooper should remain a high-end WR2 for as long as Prescott is under center.

Devin Smith started for the injured Michael Gallup and was the second-most targeted receiver on the day for Dallas.  Most of Smith’s targets were deep passes to utilize his speed, but Smith did show some nice route-running on a comeback where he made a couple of defenders miss and pick up good yardage.  Smith isn’t as refined as Gallup but might slot in as an emergency FLEX option until Gallup returns.

Randall Cobb and Jason Witten mainly patrolled the middle of the field, but it seemed as if Miami was willing to give up the areas outside the hash marks in this game.  As a result, those two were mainly held in check except for a nice catch and run by Witten when Prescott rolled right and found him along the right sideline.  Witten is no more than a solid TE2 at this point in his career and Cobb provides WR4 value with Cooper and Zeke commanding the majority of the offensive touches.

 

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterbacks

 

• Josh Rosen: 18/39, 200 yards, 3 sacks, 18 yards lost | 3 carries, 13 yards 
• Ryan Fitzpatrick: 2/2, 29 yards

 

Despite the “Taking for Tua” rumblings surrounding the Miami Dolphins, Josh Rosen looked like a competent QB during the first half of the game and if not for a fumble might have given Miami the lead heading into the half.  Rosen showed good pocket awareness and threw several passes perfectly only to be let down time and again by his pass catchers. Rosen struggled mightily after halftime as Dallas’s defensive line was able to generate pressure and force Rosen into making poor decisions as a result.  Miami might yet get the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, but there were enough flashes early to think Miami could win a game or two this season. If Miami’s receivers can hold on to more passes, Rosen could be an emergency starter in two QB leagues when BYE weeks begin.

Ryan Fitzpatrick spelled Rosen for a handful of plays in the first half while Rosen was evaluated for a concussion.  

 

Running Backs

 

• Kenyan Drake: 13 carries, 44 yards, 1 fumble lost | 6 targets, 3 receptions, 34 yards
• Kalen Ballage: 7 carries, 11 yards | 3 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards

 

Kenyan Drake saw the majority of the work at RB in this game and looked decent for the most part.  Drake’s biggest “contribution” to the game, however, was the fumble he lost late in the first half as Miami was looking to take the lead.  Drake got turned around and his elbow was struck by a defender, forcing the ball free. Dallas recovered and never looked back. Drake shows the talent to be a solid RB, but he’s stuck behind a bad offensive line.  Drake is worth holding in larger leagues, but don’t expect more than low-end RB2 numbers at best from Drake.

Kalen Ballage was the second option for Miami today, mainly spelling Drake for a few plays at a time.  Ballage did see his most extensive time coming out of halftime following Drake’s fumble before the end of the first half.  Ballage didn’t look like anything special in this game and I wouldn’t recommend his taking up a valuable bench spot in anything but the largest of leagues.

 

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

 

• Preston Williams: 12 targets, 4 receptions, 68 yards
• DeVante Parker: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 56 yards
• Jakeem Grant: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards
• Nick O’Leary: 1 target, 1 reception, 19 yards

 

Preston Williams has officially carried over his positive preseason buzz into the regular season.  Williams was targeted early and often by Rosen, often giving Williams chances at 50/50 balls.  Despite the low percentage of targets turned into receptions, Williams was the best player on the field for Miami.  One of Williams’ incompletions was a near-TD that Miami HC Brian Flores elected not to challenge.  Williams appeared to bring the ball in and take two steps while in the end zone but was unable to hang on to the ball as the defender ripped it away.  Regardless, the targets are encouraging and Miami figures to be playing from behind a lot this season. Williams should provide WR3 production in most weeks.

Jakeem Grant was next-most targeted but was inefficient with his catches.  Grant was forced into extended action when Allen Hurns exited with a concussion early, so Grant is not likely to return fantasy value other than as Miami’s primary kick and punt returner.

DeVante Parker has teased fantasy players for years because of the athletic ability he shows on occasion.  That ability was on full display again in this game as Parker hauled in a ridiculous one-handed catch early in the game.  Rosen missed Parker several times throughout the game, but the trust Rosen has in Parker is there. I can see a scenario where parker returns WR3-value or better in games, but then completely disappears in others.  I wouldn’t suggest rostering Parker for the simple fact it’ll be a neverending headache trying to figure out when to start him.

 

–Bryan Sweet