The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 9 matchup between the Falcons and Cowboys.
Find a breakdown of every Week 9 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Dallas | Rank | @ | Atlanta | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 | Spread | -2.5 | ||
| 24.75 | Implied Total | 27.25 | ||
| 21.4 | 22 | Points/Gm | 24.3 | 12 |
| 28.3 | 31 | Points All./Gm | 24.4 | 19 |
| 63.7 | 9 | Plays/Gm | 61.9 | 16 |
| 62.6 | 19 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 64.6 | 27 |
| 5.2 | 21 | Off. Yards/Play | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | 30 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 17 |
| 34.08% | 31 | Rush% | 41.82% | 22 |
| 65.92% | 2 | Pass% | 58.18% | 11 |
| 51.37% | 31 | Opp. Rush % | 46.81% | 20 |
| 48.63% | 2 | Opp. Pass % | 53.19% | 13 |
- The Falcons have trailed at some point in every game this season.
- The Cowboys have also trailed at some point in every game this season.
- The only other teams to trail in every game are the Raiders, Bears, and Rams.
- The Cowboys have now trailed by double-digits for 39.5% of their offensive snaps. The only team worse is the Panthers (51.3%).
- The Cowboys have turned the ball over on 17.1% of their possessions, ahead of only the Raiders (18.3%) and Titans (18.8%).
- The Cowboys are the only remaining team in the league without a running play of 20 or more yards this season.
- Dallas has the worst rushing EPA on defense (-17.2).
- 43.7% of the Atlanta running plays have gained 5 or more yards, the highest rate in the league.
- After averaging 1.79 points per drive over their opening four games (20th), Atlanta has averaged 2.77 points per drive over their past four games (3rd).
- Atlanta converted 49.1% (26-of-53) of their third downs in October (3rd in the league) after a 26.3% (10-of-38) rate in September.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Dak Prescott: Seven games into the season, Prescott has logged only two QB1 scoring weeks. He has closed the week in the bottom half of scoring four times.
Dak has thrown multiple interceptions in three straight games for the first time in his career.
He has 8 interceptions after throwing 9 all of last season.
The Cowboys are third in the NFL in dropback rate (66.6%) while a league-high 77.5% of their yardage has come via passing.
We knew that Prescott was due for touchdown regression entering this season, and that has overcorrected to this point.
If it holds, his 3.8% touchdown rate would be the lowest rate of his career.
Prescott can be a volume-based producer if he can clean up the turnovers.
But with no rushing component to his game anymore, he is best used as a QB2 where we pick our spots for upside, which this spot has the potential to be.
There is DFS appeal here regarding this game.
Prescott has had a tough run of opponents to open the season, which has not helped.
The Cowboys have already played games against the Browns, Steelers, Lions, and 49ers.
Things get lighter here in a potential shootout environment.
The Falcons are 29th in the NFL in pressure rate (27.2% of dropbacks) and last in sack rate (2.2%).
Atlanta has allowed a league-high 72.4% completion rate paired with a 4.9% touchdown rate (22nd).
The Falcons have allowed QB1 scoring weeks in three of their past four games while allowing multiple touchdown passes in four straight.
Kirk Cousins: If we could build the entire season for Cousins around facing the Buccaneers, he would win MVP.
Cousins lit up the Bucs again on Sunday, ending the week as QB3 (28.6 points).
In two games against Tampa Bay, Cousins has completed 74.7% of his passes for 9.0 yards per attempt with 8 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Against everyone else, Cousins is 24th in rating (83.6), completing 65.2% of his passes for 7.2 Y/A with 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
There is still upside here if you use Cousins as a floor-based QB2.
Atlanta has one of the highest team totals on the week, and the Dallas defense may still be missing key pieces.
They could get Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland this week, but we must follow the practice reports.
Both are big for the Cowboys, but this defense has been exposed without a pass rush.
The Cowboys allow a league-high 9.2 yards per pass attempt when they fail to pressure the quarterback compared to 5.8 yards per attempt when they create pressure (15th).
Cousins has been one of the most sensitive quarterbacks to pressure this season.
When kept clean, Cousins has a 110.3 rating (6th), completing 72% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and 1 interception.
When pressured, Cousins has a 70.4 rating (18th), completing 60% of his throws with 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Running Back
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More Week 9 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Texans @ Jets -- FREE | Thursday Night Football |
| Cowboys @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Dolphins @ Bills | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Chargers @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Patriots @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Commanders @ Giants | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Eagles | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ Cardinals | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Lions @ Packers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Vikings | Sunday Night Football |
| Bucs @ Chiefs -- FREE | Monday Night Football |
