Game Overview ::
By hilow >>
- The Cowboys held a walkthrough on Wednesday after their MNF loss, making CeeDee Lamb’s absence from practice Thursday (after being listed as limited Wednesday) meaningful.
- Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson also did not practice Thursday, which does not bode well for his chances of playing against the Commanders after he sustained a concussion and is on a short week. I expect him to miss Week 12.
- Both of the Cowboys All-Pro guards missed practice Thursday as well.
- Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore has yet to practice after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline.
- The Commanders are coming off a long week after losing to the Eagles on Thursday of Week 11 while the Cowboys are on a short week after losing to the Texans on Monday.
- Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks returned to a limited session Thursday as he attempts to return from an extended absence due to a knee injury.
How dallas Will Try To Win ::
The Cowboys proved on Monday that they are not going to roll over and fade into oblivion for the remainder of the season with Dak Prescott done for the year. That said, they did not look to be a functioning offense against the Texans in Week 11. They managed to keep the game close in the first half after largely struggling to move the football, with a 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown by special teams ace KaVontae Turpin going down as their only touchdown of the game. They had four turnovers on downs, a fumble that was taken to the house, an interception, two punts, and a missed field goal outside of their three-play touchdown “drive” and a long field goal. Even so, they allowed Cooper Rush to drop back 60 times (five sacks and 55 pass attempts) in a game where CeeDee Lamb briefly departed twice and tight end Jake Ferguson went down with a concussion after one catch. Further clouding their paths to success are the facts that Lamb missed practice Thursday as he tends to multiple injuries while Ferguson appears set to miss Week 12 as he is clearly still symptomatic, as of Thursday. In other words, the Cowboys appear on the brink of trotting out a skill position corps consisting of Jalen Tolbert, Ryan Flournoy, recent acquisition Jonathan Mingo, special teamer KaVontae Turpin, and backup tight end Luke Schoonmaker, pending the availabilities of CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.
The Dallas backfield has been a maddening mix of mediocrity this season, with Rico Dowdle operating as the “lead” back, having played more than 52% of the team’s offensive snaps just once all season, which came in Week 9 when Ezekiel Elliott was held out for disciplinary reasons. Futhermore, fullback Hunter Luepke appears set to return from one missed game after getting in a limited sessions Thursday. Dowdle is a solid bet to see 15-18 opportunities but he has accounted for more than 20 opportunities just once all season (came in a win over the Steelers), making him a shaky fantasy bet in this spot regardless of the plus matchup. Speaking of the matchup, the Commanders rank dead last on the slate in yards allowed before contact per attempt at a robust 2.71, but the Dallas offensive line has underperformed immensely to just 1.51 yards before contact per attempt and could be without both starting All-Pro guards after both Zack Martin and Tyler Smith failed to practice Thursday with combo ankle injuries (ankle plus). Zeke should step into 20-30% of the snaps but has seen just six and four opportunities in the past two games.
There are innumerable uncertainties with this Dallas pass-catching corps this week. The only thing that appears certain at present is that tight end Jake Ferguson appears highly unlikely to suit up after failing to practice in any capacity Thursday, which means he is still experiencing concussion symptoms after almost immediately being ruled out early in the team’s Monday Night Football loss to the Texans. That makes sense considering this was his second concussion of the season. CeeDee Lamb has been battling multiple injuries including a painful AC joint sprain and failed to practice Thursday, Brandin Cooks was designated for return but managed just a limited sessions Thursday, and Jonathan Mingo has been with the team for just two weeks and already wasn’t trusted with a full route tree while with the Panthers. Backup tight end Luke Schoonmaker saw six targets on a 40% snap rate in Week 2 when Ferguson missed with a concussion and 10 targets on a 53% snap rate when Ferguson left Week 11 early. The fact that Schoonmaker is the bare minimum salary on DraftKings is something to keep in mind as the week progresses. Of note here, the Commanders have ceded the fewest pass yards per game since Week 4 at just 177.0 but have filtered the fifth highest rate of targets to the slot, making the status of CeeDee Lamb of the utmost importance to the potential upside of Schoonmaker. Schoonmaker held a 51.2% slot snap rate in the two games without Ferguson this season, accompanied by a lowly 39.8% route participation rate.
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