Sunday Night Football delivers an interconference matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. These two organizations met way back in Super Bowl XXX before most of these players were likely even born!

Both teams come into this game with playoffs aspirations. The Dallas Cowboys are favorites in the NFC while the Pittsburgh Steelers started 3-0 but took their first loss of the season last week to fall to 3-1. These two storied franchises are off to respectable starts, albeit, with some holes. Here are this week’s Sunday Night Football strategies and top plays for our Cowboys vs. Steelers DFS picks.

 

 

 

Cowboys vs. Steelers DFS Picks & Preview: Sunday Night Football, 10/6

We get two teams with a lot of NFL lore as the Cowboys visit the Steelers for this matchup. Dallas is coming off a much-needed win over their division rivals, the New York Giants. But they are beat up as we’ll touch upon in the injury report section.

Things haven’t gone as smoothly for Dallas as they have in recent years. For starters, the offensive line isn’t nearly as good as we’ve seen in the past. But the running game is struggling. Two years ago it was a strong one-two punch with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Pollard left in free agency after last year, and while Zeke is back with the team, he’s lacking explosiveness and looks sluggish at times.

But the offense still runs through CeeDee Lamb. Even with his holdout in training camp, that hasn’t kept him from high volume. In addition to Lamb, the Cowboys extended Dak Prescott as well and they made plenty of big plays in Week 4 against the G-Men.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their first loss of the season to the Indianapolis Colts. On that note, the Steelers have finally committed to Justin Fields as their starting quarterback. However, despite the second half rally against the Colts last week, he largely played poorly in the first half. But he is making a strong case for himself to be the future quarterback of the team as the Steelers sit atop the AFC North. But if they lose this game, does that open the door for more Russell Wilson discussions? Let’s take a look at the top NFL DFS Showdown picks for Week 5 Sunday Night Football!

 

 

 

Cowboys vs. Steelers SNF Odds at DraftKings & FanDuel

DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Spread: Steelers -3 (-105)
  • Money Line:
    • Cowboys (+124)
    • Steelers (-148)
  • Game Total: Over 44 (-108) / Under 44 (-112)

FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Spread: Steelers -2.5 (-115)
  • Money Line:
    • Cowboys (+126)
    • Steelers (-148)
  • Game Total: Over 43.5 (-115) / Under 43.5 (-105)

 

 

 

NFL Weather: Cowboys vs. Steelers SNF, October 6th

We are not without a significant weather threat for this game. As of this writing (Friday evening), there will be rather clear weather during the day. However, that changes in the evening. Temperatures during the day are expected to be in the high 70’s, low 80’s. But by the evening it will be in the high 50’s with an 80% chance of rain. So while this article is published on Saturday, be mindful of the weather and how it trends heading into this matchup.

 

Cowboys vs. Steelers Injuries: Sunday Night Football Week 5

Two key pieces are going to be out for this game as the Dallas Cowboys have already ruled out Brandin Cooks, so there’s a great opportunity for someone to step into the WR2 in this offense. On defense the Cowboys won’t have All-Pro linebacker, Micah Parsons. The hits keep coming for Dallas as Trevon Diggs was a limited participant on Thursday and then he did not practice on Friday. His status is up in the air as of Saturday morning.

The hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be without running backs Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson, so that certainly elevates a value backup running back that’ll get a few touches behind Najee Harris. On the defensive side of the ball, the Steelers will unfortunately be without linebacker Alex Highsmith for the second consecutive game. 

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: MVP/Captain

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $11,800 | FanDuel: $17,000

After a somewhat sluggish start through the first three weeks, that arguably served as his “ramp up” period similar to training camp, Lamb had a solid game in Week 4 against the New York Giants to the tune of seven receptions on eight targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. A lot of that production was in the first half.

The Steelers are a tough matchup for opposing wide receivers. Truth be told, they allow the ninth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. But there’s optimism for Lamb. He’ll see some coverage from Joey Porter, however, not all night. Per Mike Clay of ESPN, Lamb lines up in the slot on over half his routes so he’ll potentially line up against Beanie Bishop Jr. a good bit.

Regardless of the coverage, Lamb can beat most defensive personnel. Specifically against man coverage, he still has a 36.2% target per route run rate against man coverage dating back to the start of 2023 with 4.58 yards per route run. He’s still Dak Prescott’s favorite target and like most weeks, Lamb can go off in any matchup.

George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $9,600 | FanDuel: $12,500

We actually get a really nice discount off Lamb for the WR1 in the Steelers offense. We all waited (impatiently) for Pickens’ first big game of the 2024 NFL season and we got it last week. Now to be fair, most of his production came in the second half as the team was down two possessions at halftime to the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s hard to gauge what to make of Pickens’ matchup this week. If Diggs is active, Pickens will see a good amount of him. But while Diggs is a highlight reel for his timely interceptions, he is prone to giving up big plays. Pickens is one of the best receivers in the game against press coverage with a 27% target per route run rate and 3.26 yards per route run since the start of 2023.

Through four games this year, Pickens has a 28% target share which is top 10 at the wide receiver position so if Justin Fields is airing it out, there’s a good chance it’s going to Pickens and he’s coming off a week where he accounted for 67% of the team’s air yards. I’m just hoping they don’t wait until the second half of this game to get Pickens going again.

Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $9,800 | FanDuel: $15,000

Fields was actually pretty horrendous in the first half of last week’s game, but to his credit, the team made adjustments at halftime and he popped off for a big game. He collected the always-valuable 300-yard bonus on DraftKings and he rushed for two touchdowns which gives him three in his last two games.

Ball security is a mild concern though. He’s fumbled four times in as many games, but only lost one so far. The Cowboys struggled two weeks ago to contain Lamar Jackson, a quarterback with rushing upside. The Ravens only attempted 15 passes in that game, but Lamar racked up 182 yards and a touchdown and then added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

My concern with Fields lies mostly with reading a defense. There are some weeks he looks competent looking at the defensive formation and scheme, and then there are weeks where he looks lost. However, if he’s on his game then he’ll know when to scramble and get out of the pocket. Without Micah Parsons for this matchup, that’s one less defensive juggernaut he has to worry about.

Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $12,000

Volume is the name of the game here and Harris will likely get plenty of it. Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson are both out for this game, so this is potentially a spot where Harris can get 20+ touches including some involvement in the passing game.

He’s caught 8-of-11 targets in his last two games and he’s touched the ball at least 18 times in every game this year. The volume is easy to project. The touchdowns, however, are not. He hasn’t scored yet this year, so if you buy into the “he’s due” narrative, then this is a spot you have to love.

He had a 63% route participation rate last week in a game that required some catching up, but without Pittsburgh’s other two running backs, this is a spot for him to be even more involved.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Core Play

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $15,500

Prescott provides a good enough floor to qualify as a core play. And if you’re going with Lamb at Captain, which I anticipate about 20-25% of the field doing, then Dak can be locked at in the flex.

Prescott doesn’t possess the rushing upside he used to ever since he broke his ankle about four years ago. But he secured his big contract about a month ago and has the Cowboys at 2-2 and in position to once again win the NFC East. Passing volume has been sporadic at times and this isn’t one of the better offensive lines he’s ever had protecting him. But he’s thrown for 600 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games, but most of that was against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.

Jake Ferguson, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $7,600 | FanDuel: $10,500

Tight end can be an annoying position in fantasy football. Fortunately, Ferguson gets plenty of volume. Ferguson missed Week 2, but he’s been active in each of the team’s last two games and he had an 86% route participation rate last week.

Ferguson has caught 13-of-18 targets over the last two weeks with 144 total yards but he’s yet to find the end zone this year. Because of the volume coming his way, and possibly a little more with Brandin Cooks out, I do like this spot for Ferguson to once again see ample targets and it’s because of said targets that I feel better about him as a core play than I do for this next player…

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Mid-Tier Plays

Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $8,200 | FanDuel: $11,500

Dowdle is a fine play, and I like that he’s slowly surpassing Ezekiel Elliott. He’s had at least 11 touches in three straight games and he finally found the end zone last week. Moreover, this is an absolutely brutal matchup as well as the Steelers defend the run very well. 

Jonathan Taylor had a productive game last week, but he’s one of the premiere running backs in the game with a good offensive line. Dowdle still has plenty to prove. But even last week, the Steelers held the Colts running backs to 96 rushing yards and on the year, the Steelers are only allowing about 86 rushing yards per game.

Dowdle’s efficiency isn’t even all that noteworthy so with that said, I’m fine playing him as a mid-range play because the workload and opportunities are trending in his direction. But at the end of the day this doesn’t seem like a game where he’s breaking the slate.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $6,600 | FanDuel: $8,500

I’m non-committal on putting Freiermuth in the core plays. He’s only averaging five targets per game and could easily go out and just catch four passes for 35 yards. But last week he had a strong performance as he found the end zone. That’s generally the case with tight ends as the production is usually predicated on finding the end zone.

He had an 83% route participation rate last week and with Micah Parsons out, that does help him possibly get a little more open across the middle.

Jalen Tolbert, WR, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $5,600 | FanDuel: $10,000

With Brandin Cooks out, it appears Tolbert is next in line for those precious reps during two-wide receivers sets. I won’t say they’ll all go to him, but it’s within reason that he’ll get a nice amount. Even Mike McCarthy indicated on Wednesday he expects Tolbert to see a larger role in the offense for this game and in the future.

Tolbert does have 17 targets in his last three games, and they’ve taken some shots on him deeper down field. The WR2 in this offense could have a nice game assuming the Steelers give more attention to Lamb and Ferguson.

 

 

 

NFL Sunday Night Football DFS Picks: Value Plays

Van Jefferson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $6,500

I’m going to include Calvin Austin in the table below but downgrading him slightly. Volume is hard to project with him and he runs a lot of his routes from the slot (66%) and Dallas, for all their flaws, does defend slot receivers well.

And that’s not to say Jefferson is a great play by any means. His volume is similarly low compared to Austin. This is an absolute gut call because Jefferson doesn’t command many targets. He sports a first-read target share under 10% and doesn’t create much separation. That likely explains why he has just eight targets through four games. But there is big-play upside here if he can get his hands on the ball. But he’s far from my favorite value play.

KaVontae Turpin, WR, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $7,000

Basically every value wide receiver from the Cowboys is in play for our SNF DFS picks. It’s hard to gauge who will have the big game here, so spread the exposure around amongst them all.

Turpin didn’t register a target last week. If memory serves correct, he had a couple catches waived off due to penalties against the Giants, but I could be wrong. Turpin found the end zone in Week 3 and he also gets work in the return game. But if you want some additional punts, including Ryan Fluornoy, then check out the table below for some salary savers.

Aaron Shampklin, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers - DraftKings: $2,000 | FanDuel: $5,000

If we’re being honest, this is an aggressive price tag for a player who has just one career carry, which came last week by the way. Shampklin played his college ball at Harvard and was an undrafted free agent back in 2022. He’s bounced around quite a bit on a few different practice squads and had a stint in the USFL.

Overall, this is simply a value play because he’s the backup running back on a team that likes to run the ball plenty. We love the volume headed to Najee Harris in this matchup, but we have to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge he can’t handle every carry in this game. I won’t predict double-digit touches, but I think six-to-eight is within reason. And who knows, maybe they find a way to get him a touchdown since he likely won’t get another opportunity like this.

Hunter Luepke, RB, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $1,000 | FanDuel: $6,500

The Cowboys backfield is a mess and we punted to Luepke for the Thursday Night Football Showdown Playbook in Week 4. As expected, the volume wasn’t great but he caught both his targets and he’s averaging about five fantasy points per game on DraftKings over his last two performances.

That’s far from a slate-breaking performance but mind you, he’s incredibly cheap so if you can get any semblance of production, you’ll take it.

 

 

 

SNF DFS Picks: Kickers & D/ST

The defenses/special teams in this matchup obviously garner high praise. They do give me some pause because of the injuries mounting up. Both are in play, but I do prefer the Pittsburgh Steelers because they’re in slightly better shape, the Cowboys offensive line isn’t what it used to be, and the Dallas running game is struggling to find its identity.

The Steelers are also dominating time of possession through four games. They rank second in average time of possession with 33:13 which is over 55% of the game. By comparison, the Cowboys are 29th in time of possession holding the ball, on average, for 27:03 which is just barely over 45% of the game. This can help the Steelers defense but also keep it from maximizing its ceiling. It’s great that Pittsburgh can keep their offense on the field for sustained drives, but we also want those big plays from the D/ST. It hasn’t hurt the Steelers too much as they returned at least nine fantasy points in their first three games. Last week was a dud but I’m not overreacting to one game.

The good news for Dallas is that, while they are injured, they’re also well rested. It will have been 10 days since their last game by the time kickoff rolls around. But over their last three games they’ve returned a total of four fantasy points on DraftKings. They dominated Week 1 against Cleveland, but that’s just the current state of the Browns. They’ve struggled defensively since. If Trevon Diggs is out, in addition to Parsons, perhaps we take a lighter stand since they haven’t showcased much of a ceiling. In their last three games they’ve surrendered 87 total points and 1,193 yards of offense. Now we segue to the kickers where the pricing is even more aggressive this for Sunday Night Football.

The kickers, as always, make for great correlative plays and often go under-owned on Showdown slates. If you can afford them, then great. Plug them in. Brandon Aubrey has been outstanding this year for the Cowboys and fantasy football managers. Dallas is only scoring a touchdown on about 55.6% of their red zone drives. Moreover, they’re also averaging just 2.3 red zone scoring drives per game. That may seem like a knock on Aubrey in terms of potential volume. However, that helps him register longer field goals. He’s 12-for-13 on the year so far and he’s made all seven of his extra point attempts. He’s returned double-digit fantasy points in every game so far this season.

Chris Boswell is a fine play but he doesn’t see the volume as regularly as Aubrey does. Boswell kicked six field goals in Week 1 against Atlanta but has gone 5-for-6 in his last three games with six extra points. The floor is actually still decent. He’s averaging 8.3 fantasy points per game over his last three games. But we do prefer double-digit points from our kickers. Boswell has kicked at least one 50-yard field goal in three of four games this year.

 

 

 

Cowboys vs. Steelers DFS Player Pool: SNF, 10/6

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-