The Dallas Cowboys will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Cowboys skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 10 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Cooper Rush, QB
You need Cooper Rush to pick up the Dak Prescott trends against the Eagles (five straight multi-TD pass games, averaging 305 passing yards per game over that stretch) if you’re going this route in a Superflex situation. Even then, we are talking about a player with just 275 passes (60% complete) on his NFL résumé.
The Eagles own the fifth-best defense on a yards-per-play basis this season, and that is why I have Rush ranked in the bottom five of starting signal callers this weekend.
Dak Prescott, QB
News broke on Monday that the hamstring injury that resulted in an early Week 9 exit for Dak Prescott will cost him at least a month in a season that is spiraling out of control in the Big D. This shouldn’t doom your fantasy roster; Prescott has only been a QB1 twice this season, so hopefully this injury doesn’t undo the good you’ve done up to this point.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Disciplinary actions resulted in Ezekiel Elliott being left home last week as Dallas traveled to Atlanta, likely saving you from yourself if you were considering Flexing the veteran running back for reasons unknown.
Rarely is decline linear, but Elliott’s profile makes the mathematically inclined pretty happy:
- 2021: 66% snap share, 1% production over expectations
- 2022: 54.6% snap share, 0.7% production below expectations
- 2023: 51.3% snap share, 10.6% production below expectations
- 2024: 34.3% snap share, 13.4% production below expectations
The ‘Boys play their first of two November games against a top-10 red-zone defense this week, so even if you’re justifying holding ‘Zeke due to his role in close, you’re in trouble.
Rico Dowdle, RB
It’s pretty clear that the Ezekiel Elliott thing has run its course, and Rico Dowdle is the beneficiary (Week 9: 71.6% snap share, his first time over 51% this season). His touchdown catch last week looked less like an elite athlete and more like a baby deer, learning how to walk on a frozen pond while trying to juggle, but all points count the same, right?
Dowdle has seen at least five targets in four different games this season; with his carry count no longer much of an obstacle, he deserves to be locked in as a Flex play at worst, even against the NFL’s sixth-best red-zone defense (45.8% touchdown rate).
CeeDee Lamb, WR
There are plenty of moving pieces in Dallas these days, but CeeDee Lamb should be relatively immune. That’s not to say that Cooper Rush doesn’t lower the projectable ceiling of maybe the best receiver in the sport, but there’s no real action to make — you’re playing him.
All Lamb did was turn 26 targets into 17 catches, 262 yards, and a touchdown against these Eagles last season. He’s seen double-digit targets in each of his past four games against the divisional rival, a game plan that I suspect to be in place this weekend, even with a different triggerman.
Are we going to get Lamb at a significant ownership discount in the DFS streets?
Jalen Tolbert, WR
The idea of rostering the WR2 in this Dallas offense made plenty of sense entering the season after Brandin Cooks scored eight times a season ago. The execution, however, has been less than ideal.
Through nine weeks, only six times has a Cowboy receiver not named CeeDee Lamb scored 8.5 PPR points this season, a sample that would be on the fringe of usable if it was all one player. But there are three different names on that list, making this a fool’s errand to try to chase.
But wait, it gets better. Dak Prescott has been placed on injured reserve and, on Tuesday, Dallas traded for Jonathan Mingo, a younger version of Jalen Tolbert but with more draft capital and more size.
I’m not suggesting that Mingo wins this WR2 job, but he’s another cook in a kitchen that lost all direction with its head chef sidelined. Outside of Lamb, there isn’t a Dallas receiver that needs to be on your roster.
Jake Ferguson, TE
Jake Ferguson had a 27-yard catch on Dallas’ first offensive play last week and a 15-yarder on the third play. He’s got a level of slippery to him that you don’t see often at the tight end position, and that has allowed him to both get open (he and Brock Bowers are tied atop the position in games with at least six receptions this season) and turn a short target into something more.
Fergy was a top-six tight end in both games against the Eagles last season, totaling 163 yards and a touchdown across those two games. I like this matchup, and I like this player, I just don’t like this Cooper Rush-led offense.
That doesn’t mean you automatically bench Ferguson, however. Look at your waiver wire and see if you can find an option with a trustworthy QB that you can plug in. If your leagues are anything like mine, those players were scooped up a month ago.
By EPA, Philadelphia is the fourth most vulnerable defense to the slot, and Ferguson has proven a capable producer in that role (76.1% catch rate). The downgrade at quarterback certainly hurts the floor projection, but I expect the volume to remain stable and that’s enough for him to earn a top-10 ranking for me.
Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys Insights
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles are averaging 4.63 plays of 20-plus yards per game this season, the fourth most in the league, just ahead of the Commanders (4.56). The Cowboys rank 22nd at 3.13 per game.
QB: The ball hit the ground on three of four Jalen Hurts third-down passes in the Week 7 win against the Giants – he’s completed 12-of-14 third-down passes since.
Offense: The Eagles run the ball 73.6% of the time in the red zone, which is easily the highest rate in the league and a drastic bump from their already high 63.8% rate that they posted a season ago. Philadelphia is pacing to increase their red zone rush rate for a fourth straight season.
Defense: Through nine weeks, Philadelphia is allowing the third-fewest yards per game (290.1).
Fantasy: Saquon Barkley has reached 110 yards from scrimmage in seven of eight games and twice this season (including Week 9) has he had a 20-plus yard rush AND reception.
Betting: Philadelphia’s last three divisional road games haven’t landed anywhere near the close spread – all have finished more than 16 points off of the script presented by sportsbooks.
Dallas Cowboys
Team: The Cowboys are averaging just 0.13 runs of 20-plus yards this season, easily the lowest mark in the league (only three other teams even sit below 0.38 per game).
QB: Over his past five games against the Eagles, Dak Prescott has thrown 16 touchdown passes and is averaging 305 yards through the air per game.
Offense: Dallas has the second-worst turnover differential in the NFL (-1.38; only the Raiders have been worse).
Defense: By total defensive EPA, only the Jaguars and Panthers grade out worse this season than the Cowboys. On a per-game basis, Dallas is pacing toward its worst defensive season (by EPA) since 2013.
Fantasy: Jake Ferguson and Brock Bowers lead the position in games with six-plus receptions this season (five).
Betting: The Cowboys are 16-3 ATS (84.2%) in their past 19 home divisional games (four straight covers).