DALLAS (at G.B.) The shocking loss to the winless Bucs is a reminder that little can be taken for granted in the NFL. It should, at least, ensure that there's no lack of focus from the Cowboys this week. The over-under of 52.5 suggests a higher-scoring affair, which makes sense. These teams hooked up for a wild shootout in Dallas early last season, which ended in a 40-40 tie.
Dak Prescott threw 2 critical interceptions last week, but neither
was really his fault, with both bouncing off receivers' hands. He didn't play
well, bothered by an aggressive pass rush, but threw for 316 yards -- his
second straight week over 300 -- and a score. Prescott had a huge game in last
year's encounter, passing for 319 yards and 3 TDs and scoring another one his
own. This Green Bay defense is currently 5th against the pass, allowing just
199 yards per game, but facing three backup quarterbacks (Wentz, Jalon Daniels,
Bagent) in five games will do that; Penix and Geno Smith were the best they've
faced and those guys averaged 252. With Dallas's own defense probably serving
up some points and with the passing game looking better than the running game at the moment, should be a strong week for Prescott.
Javonte Williams has been a better fantasy back than running back this
season. He's averaging just 3.7 per attempt and has rushed for even 50 yards
twice in five games, particularly disappointing since he's the only player
running it at all. (Backup Tyler Goodson has 9 carries.) Efficiency
aside, though, Williams has scored 7 touchdowns and caught 17 passes (Goodson
has 1); he's a workhorse. The Packers have a bottom-10 ranking against the run
(24th), allowing an average of 128 yards and 8 touchdowns. Williams had one of
his better games running it against Green Bay a year ago, carrying it 20 times
for 85 yards and a score while catching 3 passes for 15 more.
CeeDee Lamb left the last game with a quad injury. It was called a bruise and believed
to be minor, and Lamb has had a few extra days to recover, so the belief is
he'll be fine. Maybe the injury factored into his poor game against Tampa Bay,
but he played about 60 percent of the snaps and caught only 2 passes, so things
were going poorly anyway. The Packers have allowed big games to other top
wideouts (Justin Jefferson, Drake London) so Lamb should bounce back assuming
good health. George Pickens had been fairly quiet
to start the season, but he was involved from the get-go last week (even before
Lamb left), catching 9 for 130 and a score on 13 targets. If it looks like Lamb
will miss time he'll move up even more on Friday, but even as a 2 (or 1B) he
looks pretty good. He blew up when Lamb missed last year's game, catching 8 for
134 with 2 TDs. Ryan Flournoy caught 3 for 90 last week, with a 48-yard
grab, but Lamb's injury factored into that, and a missed connection was a ball
that bounced off his hands in the red zone for an interception. As a No. 3,
he's unlikely to pay off in a lineup.
Jake Ferguson was the other receiver who helped Prescott throw an
interception last week. He's been a low-impact choice thus far, scoring 3 TDs
but averaging just 3 receptions and 20 yards, more than 15 below his past three
seasons. Ferguson caught 7 passes and a touchdown in the game last year, but looks like more of an afterthought in the offense
right now.
Brandon Aubrey has missed 3 field goals, but
cut him some slack; they were from 59, 62 and 65 yards. He's great, and he'll
hit some of those longer ones. The Packers have allowed just 4 field goals, but
as noted they've faced a lot of lesser quarterbacks.
The Cowboys Defense has tried to add some talent through free agency, trades and the draft, but so far it's just not working. Dallas has only 5 sacks and 2 takeaways; the only team still looking for its first interception. They've got a former All-Pro kick returner in KaVontae Turpin, but that's about it right now. Unlikely they get much off Jordan Love.
This report is just a small snippet of the Week 6 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly, part of the In-Season Analyst & Super Fanatic Packages. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 20-plus pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
Haven't ordered yet? BUY IT NOW! Already a subscriber? VIEW IT NOW!
