Dallas Cowboys vs. New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
Quarterbacks
- Teddy Bridgewater: 23/30, 193 yards, 1 INT
In his second start filling in for injured QB Drew Brees, QB Teddy Bridgewater appeared to feel more comfortable than he has yet this season. Bridgewater was able to get the offense moving at a better pace than he had to this point in the season. He also looked comfortable getting out of the pocket to scramble when Dallas’ coverage dictated it. A few of Bridgewater’s drives stalled out prematurely – including an interception that was bobbled by WR Ted Ginn, Jr right into the waiting arms of Dallas DB Chidobe Awuzie on New Orleans’ first possession. Bridgewater was able to get the Saints another win in Drew Brees’ absence, but his fantasy value remains non-viable in this Saints’ offense. His inability to throw the ball down the field also continues to hinder the fantasy value of his best two playmakers – RB Alvin Kamara and WR Michael Thomas. Luckily for Kamara and Thomas owners, while their big-play upside takes a hit with Bridgewater, they’ve been given enough volume to remain viable without Brees thus far. Bridgewater’s inability to lead a TD drive on the evening did bolster the fantasy output of Saints’ kicker Wil Lutz, who was 4-4 on FG attempts for the night. Saints’ backup QB Taysom Hill didn’t attempt a pass on the night but did pick up an 18-yard rush out of the wildcat formation. It’s tough to say exactly where Bridgewater’s deep-ball issues are stemming from. Is it a case where Bridgewater isn’t confident enough to throw to his deep routes more often? Is it a case where Saints’ head coach Sean Payton is confident enough in Bridgewater’s deep-ball ability to let go of his leash? Whatever the case may be, Bridgewater will continue to remain a risky QB streaming option next week – even though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming to town.
Running Backs
- Alvin Kamara: 17 carries, 69 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
- Latavius Murray: 4 carries, 14 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
While New Orleans failed to get into the end zone against Dallas, they outgained the Cowboys on the ground 117-45 – largely due to the play of RB Alvin Kamara. While Kamara had tough sledding on the Saints’ first couple of possessions, he was able to break off a 13-yard run on an inside zone play in the 1st quarter. The Saints without Drew Brees are a team that wants to run the ball, milk the clock and play defense. New Orleans had 10 rushing first-downs on the night and only 6 passing first-downs. Backup RB Latavius Murray continued to struggle, finishing with only 20 total yards from scrimmage on the night. He wasn’t utilized much but proved effective at picking up first downs in a handful of short-yardage situations. Murray wasn’t used to spell Kamara hardly at all – instead, he was called upon for his big body and large frame to help the Saints move the chains against a stout Dallas run defense. This is Kamara’s show now, and what a show he puts on. Even with modest yardage totals and no TDs, Kamara showed how capable he is of producing in the NFL. After a slower first half, Kamara was able to get a little more going on the ground in the second half. I know it’s talked about all the time, but Kamara’s balance is truly remarkable. He is so difficult to bring down; so difficult to hit squarely. Oftentimes, it seems like Kamara only goes down when he wants to. He’ll realize that a running lane that he saw opening for a split-second closes up and so he goes down with it. Another detraction from Kamara without Brees is that Bridgewater has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long – and as a result, Bridgewater misses times where Kamara has slipped out into the flat for a potential check-down screen opportunity. All things considered, Kamara must be started at all costs and will look to get back into the end-zone against the Buccaneers’ surprisingly-tough run defense.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Michael Thomas: 9 targets, 9 receptions, 95 yards
- Ted Ginn, Jr: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 19 yards
- Jared Cook: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards
One thing is for certain: the Saints’ WRs have seen a drastic dropoff in fantasy production in the absence of Drew Brees. With WR Tre’Quan Smith out for a second-straight week with an ankle injury, QB Teddy Bridgewater once again leaned on his stud WR Michael Thomas to move the chains. Thomas impressed yet again, even on a night where he failed to find the end-zone. He finished with a perfect 100% catch rate – catching all 9 of his targets on the night. Thomas had a nice 20-yard reception on the Saints’ first scoring drive – catching a nicely-thrown back-shoulder pass from Bridgewater on the right sideline. Thomas would go on to finish the first half with 5 catches for 57 yards. TE Jared Cook is still struggling to find his place in New Orleans’ offense. While his three catches were his most yet in a Saints’ uniform, his 21-yard output was his second-lowest of the season. New Orleans finds itself in a similar position to the one they found themselves last year – they are still without a true #2 receiving option. It’s tough to say at this point whether or not Cook will be able to produce more once Brees returns from injury. It’s also tough to say whether or not Tre’Quan Smith can step up into the #2 WR role for New Orleans once Brees is back at the helm. However the cards may fall at that point, it’s tough to trust any Saints’ pass-catcher other than Thomas – at least until Brees returns.
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterbacks
- Dak Prescott: 22/33, 233 yards, 1 INT | 1 carry, 7 yards
The Cowboys’ high-flying offense was slowed to a halt in the first half against a stingy New Orleans defense. After punting on their first possession, Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense had better luck moving the ball the next time the Cowboys had the ball. After driving down into a goal-to-go situation, on 3rd-down, Prescott rolled out to his left and just overthrew Randall Cobb in the end zone. The Cowboys would have to settle for a field goal, and that would be their only points of the first quarter. Prescott mostly struggled to move the Cowboys’ offense down the field in the first half. After getting out to a promising start to a drive in the second quarter, Prescott hit TE Jason Witten on a 16-yard strike – when the ball was promptly knocked out by Saints’ LB AJ Klein for a fumble and recovered by New Orleans. Prescott came out and led a nice TD drive on Dallas’ opening drive of the second half, however. It was a masterful 11-play, 84-yard drive that took nearly 6 minutes off the clock. While RB Ezekiel Elliott found the end-zone on a 1-yard TD run, it was Prescott’s 35-yard strike to TE Blake Jarwin that got the Cowboys down to the Saints’ 2-yard line. The Cowboys would fail to score from that point on, and would go on to lose for the first time this season. It was a less-than-stellar outing for Prescott, but he’ll look to get back on track next week at home against Green Bay.
Running Backs
- Ezekiel Elliott: 18 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 30 yards
Like most of the players on Dallas’ offense, it was a pretty rough night for RB Ezekiel Elliott. While his 1-yard TD plunge did offer some value on the night, he was ultimately ineffective and incredibly inefficient overall. He finished with only 65 yards from scrimmage on 24 touches – an unimpressive 2.7 yards per touch. Elliott appeared to slip and lose his footing a number of times in the game – particularly in the first half. Elliott would also lose a fumble on the night – on a critical 4th and 1 from Dallas’ own 43-yard line. New Orleans would go on to score a 19-yard field goal thanks to that turnover – and carry a 9-3 lead into halftime. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would have predicted such a stout performance from New Orleans’ defense tonight, but that is exactly how the game turned out for Dallas and for Elliott. Dallas backup RB Tony Pollard was unable to register a carry or a target on the night. Pollard was actually targeted on a pass play in the 3rd quarter, but a defensive pass interference against the Saints would wipe out the play. As a team, the Cowboys were only able to finish with 45 total rushing yards – a far cry from the 145.5 rushing yards they had been averaging to this point in the season. Elliott and the Cowboys’ rushing attack will try to turn it around at home against the Packers next week – who are coming off a defensive performance that allowed Eagles’ RB Jordan Howard to score 3 rushing touchdowns.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Amari Cooper: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards
- Randall Cobb: 6 targets, 3 catches, 41 yards
- Jason Witten: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 50 yards
Much like Dallas’ running game, their passing attack also failed to get anything going throughout most of the game. TE Jason Witten led the Cowboys in receiving yards with 50, but he also lost a fumble in the first half. Luckily for Witten, his turnover wouldn’t lead to any Saints’ points. WR Amari Cooper scattered a handful of catches throughout the night but was called for two offensive pass-interference penalties as well. Cooper’s 48 yards were the second-lowest output he’s had this season, and this was the first game that he failed to reach the end zone. Backup TE Blake Jarwin added 49 yards on 3 catches, including a lovely 35-yard reception on a seam route in the middle of the field down to the Saints’ 2-yard line. That would set up the game’s only TD of the evening – a one-yard plunge from RB Ezekiel Elliott. Outside of Dallas’ 3rd quarter TD drive, they only had one possession that didn’t end in either a punt or a turnover. While Dallas is certainly missing the presence of injured WR Michael Gallup, WR Randall Cobb filled in fairly nicely for him for the second consecutive week. While Cobb failed to find the end zone this week, he did have a nice 32-yard reception during the Cowboys’ final possession while attempting to take the lead. Ultimately, this was likely just a tough week for Dallas’ pass-catchers resulting from a better-than-average defensive performance by New Orleans. Cobb will look to have a stronger fantasy showing next week against his former team – but at this point, it would be hard to trust any of Dallas’ WRs other than Amari Cooper, except in deeper leagues.
–Corey Saucier