Cowboys vs Redskins: Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 2

The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 2 Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins Sunday afternoon game on September 15, 2019 at 1:00 pm ET.
DallasRank@WashingtonRank
-4.5Spread4.5
25.5Implied Total21
354Points/Gm2714
1711Points All./Gm3227
6217Plays/Gm5824
6624Opp. Plays/Gm7128
48.4%8Rush%22.4%30
51.6%25Pass%77.6%3
25.8%7Opp. Rush %43.7%23
74.2%26Opp. Pass %56.3%10
  • The 494 offensive yards by the Cowboys last week were their most in a season opener since 1999 (541 yards).
  • Dak Prescott was pressured on just 12.5% of his dropbacks in Week 1, the lowest rate in the league.
  • In Week 1, Prescott threw off of play-action on 46.9 percent of his throws, which trailed only Lamar Jackson (50%). Prescott's rate in 2018 was 24.9 percent (16th).
  • Since Prescott has been the Dallas starting quarterback, they have a 14-5 record versus divisional opponents, fourth in the league over that span. 
  • Terry McLaurin's 125 receiving yards this past week were the most by a Washington wide receiver ever in his first career game. 
  • McLaurin's 143 air yards ranked seventh in the league in Week 1 while his 20.4 average depth of target ranked sixth among all players with more than two targets.

Trust (spike production for that player)

  • Dak Prescott: In an offense that finally has caught up with the times, Prescott runs into another exploitable matchup in Week 2 against a Washington defense that allowed the QB8 a week ago and allowed a 71.8% completion rate and three touchdown passes.
  • Amari Cooper: With his foot not being an issue, Cooper caught six passes for 106 yards and a score. He had a massive 8-180-2 line when these teams met last Thanksgiving in Dallas. In four games on the road with the Cowboys, Cooper has yet to top 75 yards with zero touchdowns and has been held to 36 or fewer yards in three of those games. Washington allowed Eagles wideouts to catch 15-of-21 targets for 214 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1.
  • Ezekiel Elliott: Getting his legs under him and taking a back seat to the air show, Elliott handled just 14 touches on 27 snaps before taking the entire fourth quarter off. The new Cowboys offense may not allow Elliott to have the receiving numbers he amassed over the back half of 2018, but it’s going to generate a plethora of scoring opportunities. 

On the Cusp (proxy of a player’s average)

  • Terry McLaurin: He played 93% of the team snaps and truly functioned as their lead wideout. He even just missed another deep overthrow for a second score on Sunday. If Dallas is able to turn the game script into a pass-heavy script for Washington like they did a week ago against the Giants, there are plenty of opportunities for McLaurin to run into another bevy of targets. Dallas faced 48 pass attempts a week ago, the third-most in the league.
  • Michael Gallup: His strong rookie season finish and preseason carried over into Week 1 where he caught all seven of his targets for 158 yards. With big-play upside and Washington allowing multiple touchdowns of 40-plus yards in Week 1, Gallup should be handled somewhere similar to where Will Fuller is on a weekly level. 
  • Chris Thompson: With Washington playing so one-dimensionally last week, Thompson played 43 snaps and ran 33 pass routes as he accrued seven catches for 68 yards on 10 targets. Keep in mind that Thompson had four catches (on six targets) for 40 yards on the game's final drive last week, but with a similar game script as a probable outcome, he is in play as a PPR floor-FLEX option.

Bust (down-week production for that player’s standards)

  • DAL TEs: We got our Jason Witten touchdown last week and even Blake Jarwin found the paint in Week 1, but both tight ends combined for just 54 yards on six receptions and seven targets.
  • Adrian Peterson: He’s back to being in the fold with Derrius Guice sidelined. Peterson averaged 40.2 rushing yards per game in the nine Washington losses a year ago. 
  • Trey Quinn: A late touchdown made his day, but Quinn played 97% of the snaps and had just 33 yards on four receptions. 

If You Must (intriguing bench option or deeper league play) 

  • Randall Cobb: The ghost of Cobb reemerged in Week 1 with four catches for 69 yards and a score on five targets. That 15.6% target share is merely modest and low-end FLEX worthy in games that don’t come along with a touchdown. 
  • Case Keenum: One of the surprises of Week 1, Keenum was dropped back 44 times in Week 1 and didn’t junk his way to 380 passing yards, completing 68.2% of his passes on the road in Philadelphia. The Cowboys were able to force the Giants into a pass-heavy script a week ago and in the process allowed 323 passing yards. Keenum is still just a QB2 option, but will once again have odds at flirting with 300-yards passing.
  • Vernon Davis: Davis caught 4-of-7 targets for 59 yards and a score in Week 1 with nearly all of his fantasy production coming on a 48-yard catch and run for a touchdown. Dallas allowed a gaudy 12 receptions on 16 targets to Giants tight ends a week ago. With Jordan Reed out once again, Davis is a mid-TE2 streaming option.

More Week 2 Fantasy breakdowns from The Worksheet:

TB at CAR | SF at CIN | LAC at DET | MIN at GB | IND at TEN | NE at MIA | BUF at NYG | SEA at PIT | DAL at WAS | ARI at BAL | JAX at HOU | KC at OAK | CHI at DEN | NO at LAR | PHI at ATL | CLE at NYJ

 

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