Week 16 ends with an NFC East showdown with the Washington Football Team (WFT) traveling to Jerry World to face the Dallas Cowboys. These teams met a couple of weeks ago in Washington, and the Cowboys were able to win by a touchdown, 27-20. WFT is coming off a COIVD-19 outbreak and a short week, playing on Tuesday. We’ll see if they have what it takes to face a Cowboys team who has quite a bit of momentum heading into the playoffs.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.2M Sunday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (WAS vs DAL)
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Picks
Dak Prescott ($17,100 CP) - Dak’s injuries have capped his upside this season, but he and the Cowboys are at home against a division rival who is coming off a short week. COVID-19 decimated Washington last week. Their defensive line got some reinforcements off the COVID-19 list, but WFT is giving up the most DKFP per game to opposing quarterbacks. The Cowboys have an implied team total of 28.5, which means touchdowns should come at a high clip, most likely from the hands of their quarterback.
Dalton Schultz ($9,300 CP) - Linebackers Cole Holcomb and Landon Collins are out for this matchup, leaving Schultz in a good spot with his one-on-one matchups. He didn’t do anything the last time these teams met, but he’s still very active in the red zone, seeing four targets total over the previous three weeks and scoring twice in the past four games. Schultz has four top-five finishes at the tight end position and won’t receive a ton of roster percentage in this offense with other marquee names available, especially in the Captain’s spot. He’s my favorite GPP Captain.
FLEX Plays
Antonio Gibson ($8,400) - With J.D. McKissic on IR, Gibson should retain high utilization with Jaret Patterson ($6,600) backing him up this week. If Ron Riviera and the Football Team have any chance, featuring Gibson is necessary. In WFT’s four-game winning streak, Gibson averaged 23.75 rush attempts, 24 total red-zone rushes and 14 total catches. His workload gives him top-five upside, but he’s dealing with a toe injury that could cap his touches. Still, he’s one of the best options Washington has at their disposal in this crucial division matchup.
Amari Cooper ($7,800) - Most will be gravitating toward Ceedee Lamb ($15,000 CP; $10,000) given how well he did in their last matchup, but Cooper ran 36 routes, saw seven targets (two in the red zone) and scored. Lamb ran six fewer routes and didn’t score but saw 10 targets. Lamb is still a solid play, but saving over $2,000 with the market usually underweight on Cooper, gives you a lot of flexibility with roster construction.
Fades
Taylor Heinicke ($15,600 CP; $10,400) - He and Kyle Allen ($9,000 CP; $6.000) have been activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list, and Heinicke should start Sunday night. How well he will play is the question, and with the second-highest salary on the slate, it’s not an investment we should be willing to make. In Week 14 against Dallas, Heinicke’s performance was poor, totaling 9.68 DKFP with only one touchdown and one interception.
THE OUTCOME
This one seems relatively straightforward. Washington’s defensive line can get to Prescott, but the Cowboys’ offensive line is relatively healthy (Tyron Smith is out) and should be able to keep Prescott off the turf for most of the game, ranking eighth-best in adjusted sack rate. The Cowboys sport two of the top seven running backs per DVOA, have explosive pass-catchers, have the sixth-best defensive pressure rating and rank first in takeaways (31) this season. Even though there’s a coaching advantage on Washington’s side, that’s where it ends.
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 30, Washington Football Team 16
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.2M Sunday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (WAS vs DAL)
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