Your NFL Week 3 DFS contests come to a conclusion tonight with a storied NFC East rivalry on Monday Night Football. Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys head into MetLife Stadium to take on Daniel Jones and the 2-0 New York Giants in what should prove to be a hard-fought battle by both organizations. If you are looking at the Vegas totals, you probably aren’t expecting a world of scoring, but as is always the case with winning DFS Showdown lineups, it’s not about how much scoring there is in the game. It’s about whether you have the ones who do. We’ve got the full breakdown for you here, so let’s get ready to cap off one seriously weird fantasy football week with a big win.

Now before we begin, please take a moment to understand what exactly you are getting yourself into by playing single-game Showdown Slates. We love to have some skin in the game, for sure, but these slates are, for all intents and purposes, a lottery ticket. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits and everyone shares in the prizes, but, more often than not, you need to hit on that random dart-throw that differentiates your lineup from that of the herd in order to claim the top prize. As a result, we encourage you to play responsibly and not over-invest. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll, and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

OK. Lecture over. Let’s get to tonight’s action.

 

 

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

Spread: Giants -1

O/U: 39

Weather: Clear skies with temperatures in the mid-60s w/ winds blowing WSW at 7-8mph

Notable Injuries:

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

2022 DVOA Defensive Rankings

Dallas Cowboys

  • vs Pass: 5th 
  • vs Run: 12th 

New York Giants

  • vs Pass: 21st 
  • vs Run: 22nd 

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

MVP/Captain

Saquon Barkley, RB NYG – The most important thing to focus on is the touches as head coach Brian Daboll is making sure he is putting the ball into the hands of his playmakers. Barkley saw 18 carries and seven targets in Week 1 and then 21 carries and four targets against Carolina last week. Expect him to dominate in touches again as the Cowboys may not have allowed a rushing touchdown yet this season, but they’ve allowed 120.5 rushing yards per game and rank 16th in DVOA against running back pass-plays. Look for a lot of TE-shifts to the weakside as New York looks to neutralize the speed of DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB DAL – The running room has been tough to come by with the early issues on the offensive line, but we can probably expect another lean on the ground game and maybe even another 15 touches for Zeke with some of the injuries the Giants have on the weakside. Like the Cowboys, the Giants have yet to allow a rushing touchdown, but based off their DVOA ranking against the run and the 119.5 rushing yards per game allowed, this could be the game Zeke gets into the end zone.

Tony Pollard, RB DAL – While the Cowboys are getting a big boost tonight with the return of Michael Gallup, let’s not forget it’s still Cooper Rush and the short-passing to Pollard, both out of the backfield and the slot, should be where Dallas lives tonight. The Giants rank 30th in DVOA against running back pass-plays and the opposition, through two games, has averaged 51.5 yards per game on them.

Mid-Tier

Daniel Jones, QB NYG – Don’t look now, but guess who has a completion percentage north of 70-percent right now! Jones may not have 200 passing yards in a game yet, but these short, high-percentage passes are working for him and allowing the Giants to get into a better rhythm as they methodically march down the field. You’re not going to see crazy yardage, but you will see an efficient passer who will likely get you a touchdown or two and maybe he even gets to run one in himself tonight.

Cooper Rush, QB DAL The Giants have been stingy with the passing yards, but they’ve allowed three touchdowns through the air and opposing quarterbacks have compiled a respectable 91.5 passer-rating against them. The return of Gallup adds a little oomph to this passing attack, but expect a low-yardage output as he’ll live off the short-passing most of the time. 

CeeDee Lamb, WR DAL – The return of Gallup should have a positive impact on Lamb who has, for all intents and purposes, been a man alone on an island in this passing attack. Obviously limited by the skills of his quarterback, Lamb should be able to work a little more freely out of the slot where he’s lined up 60-percent of the time, and has a very strong mismatch against CB Darnay Holmes. 

Sterling Shepard, WR NYG – Despite the lack of production for Shepard in Week 2, you have to be encouraged by the fact that he saw 10 targets during the Giants win over the Panthers last week. Daboll has publicly announced that he is only going to focus on the players he deems worthy – guys who give it their all each and every time they step out onto the field. That should keep the targets coming Shepard’s way tonight.

Richie James, WR NYG – He’s taken over as the No. 2 receiver in this offense and has averaged six targets per game through the first two weeks. He probably plays on Draft Kings a little better given the full-point PPR format as his work has been primarily between the 20s thus far. That’s not to say he won’t see any red zone looks, but he is likely to see a lot of Trevon Diggs in coverage. Diggs has been known to give up the big play when he’s ball-hawking, but that would require more shots downfield from Jones than we will likely see.

Noah Brown, WR DAL – He’s been Rush’s favorite target so far with 10 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown off 14 targets. They’ve moved him all around the field to take advantage of his speed, but he should spend most of his time on the outside against Cor’Dale Flott. There is a definite speed advantage here for Brown, so look for Rush to try taking a few shots to him downfield.

David Sills, WR NYG – He’s put himself into a nice position with his level of hustle and Daboll is all about that from his players. Hence, Sills is getting the work ahead of veteran Kenny Golladay who is apparently now getting ready to seek a trade out of the Big Apple. While Sills isn’t the fastest guy on the field, he’s a decent route-runner and his size gives him an advantage over Anthony Brown, against whome he should see plenty of in coverage. We haven’t seen too much of him, but we can expect an increase in snaps and targets in this game.

Michael Gallup, WR DAL – Welcome back to the NFL, Mr. Gallup. Your table is right this way…next to Adoreee Jackson. It’s a tough match-up for his first game back, but certainly not insurmountable. The fact that Rush is under center makes me wonder if he will garner enough attention to be fantasy relevant, but this offense has been a little stuck in the mud, so maybe he gets a few extra looks.

Dalton Schultz, TE DAL – If he’s on the field, we can expect some targets come his way as the Giants rank 21st in DVOA against the tight end position. He is considered a true game-time decision, so if he is active, he will be an intriguing contrarian play. If you’re a multi-lineup player, then it has some minor appeal. 

Dart Throws

Daniel Bellinger, TE NYG – The Giants haven’t sent much action the tight end’s way and considering Dallas ranks sixth in DVOA against the position, we probably won’t see much come his way again. But maybe, just maybe, we get another red zone target go his way while the rest of the Dallas defense is paying attention to the receivers.

Peyton Hendershot, TE DAL – This is probably the biggest dart-throw of all dart-throws, but if Schultz is out, Jake Ferguson doesn’t necessarily step in as the next pass-catching tight end. We saw Hendershot get some passing work during the preseason, so if the Cowboys keep Ferguson on the line to help protect Rush, Hendershot could be that random red zone dart-throw you never knew you needed.