Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was added to the injury report on Saturday with an ankle and is now questionable for Sunday's game vs. the Panthers. Despite his 79-yard, one-TD effort in last week's blowout win over the Giants, Dowdle should not have been in your Week 11 fantasy plans. His absence tomorrow would be a slight boost to RB Tony Pollard's fantasy outlook.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that LB Leighton Vander Esch will miss the rest of the season with the neck injury that landed him on IR. Jones declined to say whether it might end the LB's career. Vander Esch has dealt with neck issues since college and sustained multiple injuries during his Dallas run. We'd bet that he's seriously considering whether to shut it down, at 27 and after six years in the league. We'll watch for further updates on that. For this year's Cowboys, the news means Damone Clark should lead the LB playing time the rest of the way. S/LB Markquese Bell has been running as the second LB since LVE went down. Bell's playing time appeared to decline sharply in Sunday's win over the Giants, though. We'll have to see this week how much of that came from the odd game script of the completely one-sided victory. For now, Bell is best left out of most IDP lineups. Clark looks like a weekly LB3 with upside into LB2 territory.
Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks exploded in Week 10, hauling in 9 of 10 targets for 173 receiving yards and a TD vs. the Giants. Sunday saw several Cowboys pass-catchers post great numbers, including WR CeeDee Lamb (11-151-1) and TE Jake Ferguson (4-26-1), but Cooks is the one that fantasy managers should be wary of chasing in the future. The 10 targets he saw on Sunday were his highest by far this season and mark only the second time in 2023 that Cooks has seen more than 4 in a single game. He and teammate Michael Gallup have essentially taken turns as the Cowboys' WR2 in terms of snap rate and route participation this year. It’s best to avoid chasing this performance if you’re looking for help on the waiver wire this week.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed 26 of 35 passes for 404 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT in Week 10 vs. the Giants. He also added 17 rushing yards and a TD on the ground in the contest. This man has been on an absolute tear of late. Over his past four games, Prescott is now averaging 338.5 passing yards and 3 TDs per game. Sunday’s performance is also notable as it marks the first time that the veteran signal-caller has thrown for over 400 yards in a game since 2021 Week 6. There’s good reason for fantasy managers to expect continued success from him moving forward as the Cowboys’ remaining schedule ranks fourth-easiest for QBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.
Chargers LBs Eric Kendricks (ribs) and Kenneth Murray (shoulder) are active for tonight's game against the Jets. You can use either as planned in IDP lineups.
Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson set season highs Sunday in targets (10), receptions (7), and receiving yards (91) in the loss to the Eagles. He also scored his third TD of the season, from 4 yards out. Ferguson has seen his usage increase vs. the beginning of the year, including running a route on 88.7% of QB Dak Prescott's dropbacks in Philly. He trailed only WR CeeDee Lamb in routes among Cowboys on Sunday. Ferguson took advantage of a positive matchup with the Eagles defense. Week 10 holds the Giants, who have been sixth-toughest on TE scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed and rank ninth in TE-coverage DVOA. Carolina in Week 11 looks similar by fantasy scoring but sits just 22nd in TE coverage. Ferguson totaled 7 receptions over the previous three games -- before Sunday -- so he's not quite in every-week starter territory for fantasy teams yet.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb racked up 191 yards on 11 receptions among 16 targets in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He drew 36.4% of Prescott's total pass attempts in the game, tallied 37.9% of the team's receptions, and collected 51.1% of the receiving yards. That followed a 12-158-2 receiving line coming out of the Week 7 bye and gives Lamb three straight games with at least 117 receiving yards. If you were worried about Lamb at all after three straight outings of limited production weeks 3-5, he has clearly put that to rest.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott threw for 374 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. He nearly added another TD pass to rookie TE Luke Schoonmaker in the fourth quarter, but Schoonmaker's knee came down just before the ball reached the goal line on a fourth-and-goal play. That makes two straight games of 300+ yards and 3+ TD passes for Prescott coming out of the bye. Week 10 holds a Giants defense that has been fifth-toughest on QB scoring by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. But the Giants also allowed an Aidan O'Connell led Raiders offense to tally 334 yards and 30 points Sunday. Expect to find Prescott comfortably inside starter territory in our Week 10 QB rankings.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb went off for 12 grabs, 158 yards, and 2 scores in Sunday’s win over the Rams. The first two figures set career highs. Lamb actually entered halftime with nearly 35 PPR points, as he overmatched a young LA secondary. Look for Lamb to continue rolling next Sunday at Philly.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb secured all 7 of his targets for 117 receiving yards in Week 6’s victory vs. the Chargers. After a pair of sub-50-yard performances, the talented wideout finished as the WR10 on the week in PPR with 18.7 points. His teammate Brandin Cooks also made good on his opportunities, catching 4 passes on as many targets with 36 yards and a TD in the contest. Not all was good for these Cowboys’ wideouts, however. Michael Gallup saw a team-leading 10 targets but only converted 3 receptions for 24 yards on Monday night. This is a player who’d led the team in receiving yards (167) and receptions (13) over the past three games entering Week 6, so Gallup’s flop was assuredly disappointing for fantasy managers who opted to stream him this week. Following their Week 7 bye, the Cowboys will take on the Rams.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed 21 of 30 passes for 272 yards with 1 TD in Monday night’s win vs. the Chargers. The veteran also added some value with his legs in Week 6, tallying 40 rushing yards (including an 18-yard TD run) on 7 carries. Prescott’s 24.8 fantasy points were enough for him to finish as the QB1 overall on the week. Dallas will head into their bye in Week 7, but this is certainly a great way to leave off after a dreadful showing in primetime last week vs. the 49ers.
The Cowboys will be placing LB Leighton Vander Esch on IR for the neck injury that knocked him out in Week 5. He's expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. We'll see Monday night just how Dallas plans to fill in for LVE. Damone Clark is an obvious candidate for more playing time. Micah Parsons has also been mentioned as a potential part of the plan, which would mean more snaps in a standup position off the D-line. S Markquese Bell also figures to see added playing time.
Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch suffered a neck injury late in Sunday night's loss to the 49ers. X-rays at the stadium came back negative, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. Vander Esch will have an MRI Monday to assess the injury further. It's a particularly touchy situation because LVE has a history of neck issues dating back to college. We'll watch for more on his outlook for Week 6 and beyond.
Cowboys S Donovan Wilson suffered an injury to his right leg in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's loss to the 49ers. Former NFL team doctor David Chao says there's "some hope by video the injury is not significant." We'll watch for the diagnosis. Wilson played a season-high 77% of Dallas snaps in his third game back from a calf injury before leaving. If he misses further time, Markquese Bell would get some extra snaps. Bell hasn't played more than 45% of defensive snaps in any game yet this year, though.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb posted a team-leading 49 receiving yards on 4 catches in Week 5’s loss vs. the 49ers. TE Jake Ferguson posted a respectable 3-catch, 28-yard performance that’s passable in PPR scoring, but these Dallas pass-catchers were otherwise underwhelming on Sunday night. The errors forced by QB Dak Prescott (3 INTs) had a tangible impact on the outcome of this contest. Hopefully, this offense will collectively bounce back in Week 6 vs. the Chargers.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott completed 14 of 24 attempts for 153 yards with 1 TDs and 3 INTs in Week 5’s loss vs. the 49ers. It sure seems like this guy has a bad case of the whoopsies. Since returning from a thumb injury in Week 7 of last season, Prescott has thrown 15 INTs in 16 regular season games. He’s going to remain off the fantasy radar in 1QB leagues until there’s some demonstrative improvement. Next week, he’ll face off against the Chargers.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (hip) put in full practices on Thursday and Friday and isn’t listed on the final Week 5 injury report. He’s ready to serve as Dallas’ No. 2 RB behind Tony Pollard vs. the 49ers on Sunday night.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb (rest, knee) returned to a full practice on Thursday. It's confirmation that he's good to go for Sunday night's showdown with the 49ers.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (hip) put in a full practice on Thursday. He looks set to resume No. 2 RB duties behind Tony Pollard vs. the 49ers on Sunday night.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb did not practice on Wednesday. The team lists his official designation as "Not Injury Related - Rest" and "knee." We'll see whether this was more of a rest day or if the knee is really a concern heading into Sunday night's game vs. the 49ers. Check back tomorrow for an update on Lamb.
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