Sunday Night Football delivers an outstanding NFC East matchup as the Philadelphia Eagles travel to North Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys. This game carries heavy implications for the division lead and they’re both two of the best teams in the conference. These two teams already met once before this year with the Eagles getting the victory 28-23. However, despite sitting at 10-2 there are some concerns following a brutal 42-19 loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers last week. Since October, they’ve beaten some quality teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins. But the loss to the 49ers looms large after they weren’t able to put up 20 points. Dallas is currently rocking a four-game winning streak and they’re reminiscent of the Tom Brady and Randy Moss offense from 2007 that would just run up the score on opponents and never let up. The Cowboys have won four straight games and put up 33+ points in each game, including 40+ in three of those performances. This is due to be an exciting game to close out the weekend so let’s take a look at Sunday night’s top NFL DFS lineup picks for our Showdown contests.

 

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

Spread: Dallas Cowboys (-3)

Over/Under: 51.5 Points

Weather: This game will be played in a controlled environment.

Notable Injuries

Philadelphia Eagles

Nobody on the Eagles carries an injury designation heading into this game. Anyone ruled out will be non-injury related.

Dallas Cowboys

NFL DFS MVP/Captain

I want to preface this section by acknowledging there are several players you could play at Captain. This game is not short of talent so while you may not see some high-upside plays in this section, that doesn’t mean they aren’t in consideration and that you can’t play them at Captain.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

He’s the most expensive player on the slate for DraftKings and rightfully so. He’s been a target hog and there’s no reason to expect he wouldn’t see at least 10 targets in this game. In seven straight games he’s posted at least 16 fantasy points on DraftKings. In five of those games he’s gone for over 20 points. And in four of those games he’s gone over 30 points. And while we’re at it, in two of those seven games he’s gone over 40 points. That kind of upside naturally puts anybody in play at Captain. Since the Cowboys’ bye week, he’s been getting about one-third of the Cowboys target share and he’s seeing an air yards share just over 42%. He caught 11-of-16 targets for 191 yards in this matchup just a few weeks ago so I’m going right back to the well here and expect him to find the end zone for the fifth straight game.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Hurts always comes into play as a Captain candidate on Showdown slates simply because of the rushing upside and the touchdown equity that comes from the Tush Push. He fell just shy of that 300-yard bonus last week, but he doesn’t really need it when the rushing upside compensates. He’s scored six rushing touchdowns on the ground in his last four games despite throwing for as many touchdowns in that span as well. He only had 23 pass attempts in the first matchup between these two teams but he offers a great floor and ceiling regardless.

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

Dak has been on an absolute tear since the team’s bye week. In six games since, he’s thrown 20 touchdowns, run for another, and he’s hit the 300-yard bonus four times while coming up one yard short last week otherwise he would’ve had it for a fifth time. He provided plenty of passing volume with 44 pass attempts the last time these two teams met which correlated to 374 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles can currently be thrown on. This defense isn’t the same as it was a year ago. Brock Purdy dropped 300+ yards and four touchdowns on this team last week. Granted, a lot of that production came from his pass catchers making plays. But Josh Allen had four total touchdowns on this defense two weeks ago. With a high total on the board, I’m expecting Dak to continue slinging it and maybe he’ll be the third straight quarterback to drop four touchdowns on this defense.

A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Brown cooled off for a few weeks after having six straight games with 125+ receiving yards. He returned to form last week against San Francisco catching 8-of-13 targets for 114 yards. On the season, the Cowboys have been a bad matchup for wide receivers. However, DK Metcalf dropped three touchdowns just 10 days ago and it was a game where the Seattle Seahawks had no trouble moving the ball through the air. The Eagles easily have a better offense than Seattle. Brown is still the WR1 in this offense as DeVonta Smith has largely benefitted from Dallas Goedert being out. Goedert will play in this game, but regardless Brown’s workload shouldn’t be impacted. So long as he isn’t completed shadowed and taken out of this game like what L’Jarius Sneed did to him a couple weeks ago, Brown should be fed targets. He’s a big, physical receiver that can bully defensive backs and make contested catches while also generating over 400 yards after the catch on the season.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Cooks qualifies as my slightly more contrarian Captain recommendation. I love the matchup for Jake Ferguson as well. However, I feel like he probably needs multiple touchdown receptions to be optimal. And in general, wide receivers have more “big play” upside. Cooks was kept in check with just one catch the first time these two teams met. Since that game, he’s scored in three of his last four games. Now the fantasy output has mostly been in the teens and we aren’t getting to the optimal lineup if he’s only going for 4-50-1. We’ll need the kind of performance he had against the New York Giants where he went for 9-173-1. The overall target share isn’t great but per Pro Football Focus, over his last four games he does have 17 first-read targets which are nearly 80% of his targets in that sample size. The matchup is a good one and after a slow start to the season he’s shown he still has big play upside like he did in previous seasons.

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays

DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Over his last five games he’s averaging 6.4 receptions, 90.2 yards, and 0.8 touchdowns. That’s been great especially in season-long fantasy and best ball formats. However, he’s benefitted greatly from the absence of Dallas Goedert. I’m still fine getting exposure to Smith, but I do wonder if he sees a slight dip in targets, but at the very least the touchdown equity takes a bit of a hit. But he’s still a reliable option with great hands that has seen at least seven targets in four of his last five games. The ceiling may be a bit capped in this particular game, but he did find the end zone against Dallas earlier this year.

Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Forewarning, I’m going to skip over D’Andre Swift. There are just so many options on the slate and while he’ll still get touches and provide a good floor, the ceiling comes into question especially since he gets tackled at the one-yard line so much and then Jalen Hurts gets the rushing touchdown. So I’ll give Tony Pollard the lean. Pollard has found the end zone in each of his last three games. With that said, the matchups have been against defenses you can run on. But for the purpose of this game, I’m mostly invested in the pass-catching upside. He has 13 catches over his last three performances and when you consider the touchdowns in that span, he’s been a reliable option after struggling for the first 10 weeks of the season. He’s only $8,000 for a Flex play and can easily be played at this price assuming he gets 18+ touches.

Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys

He’s found the end zone four times in his last six games. And remember, I did give him “Captain” consideration before ultimately settling on Brandin Cooks. The target volume has fluctuated this year so obviously there are some concerns, but he did go for 7-91-1 when these two teams met earlier in the year. Tight ends have had success against the Eagles this year even if they haven’t quite gone off in Philly’s last two games. But if there is a point of concern for Jake Ferguson it’s likely stemming from Peyton Hendershot coming off IR. Coop offers some food for thought on the matter…

Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

I’m hoping this is one of those spots where exposure is down on Goedert simply because he’s coming back from injury. It’s one-game slate so I doubt it. He had three catches on four targets for 50 yards when these two teams met earlier in the year when he got hurt. But we’ve also seen games where Hurts isn’t afraid to target him seven-to-nine times. The Cowboys have done well at defending the tight end position. There was that game where George Kittle dropped three touchdowns on them but in their last four games, opposing tight ends have been limited to three or fewer receptions. You can save some salary and find leverage going to Kenneth Gainwell ($4,600) as a Flex play. You’ll certainly need a touchdown and some receptions. Last week he had five catches but that was a little dependent on the game flow. Not a lot to love about this play but there’s some leverage here.

Defense/Special Teams and Kickers

I’m collectively lumping all aspects of special teams together. We’ll start with the kickers because they’re more expensive. I’ve written previously that I love correlating kickers in the Flex if their quarterback is at Captain. Obviously, since I recommended both Prescott and Hurts as Captain candidates, then I’m on board playing both Brandon Aubrey and Jake Elliott. We have an implied total over 50 points and it looks like it’ll be a close game. Kickers are very much in play. Now the Eagles haven’t seen many kickers attempt field goals against them, and the same is true for Dallas of late. I’m not going to focus on previous games too much. Focusing solely on this matchup I think both offenses move the ball and each kicker will see some opportunities to put points on the board. Does that mean I think they’re a lock for double-digit points? No. And compared to other players in this range, they don’t have as high of a ceiling. But there’s still the positive correlation to consider with either Dak Prescott or Jalen Hurts at Captain.

On the defensive side, we’re getting more of a discount on both teams. These two put up a total of 51 points a few weeks ago. The Cowboys returned just two fantasy points in that matchup while the Eagles returned seven points but still allowed over 400 yards of offense. If playing the D/ST’s you have to acknowledge that points will be scored and you’ll likely need a special teams touchdown to return value. Dak Prescott hasn’t turned the ball over in his last three games. Jalen Hurts has fumbled in six straight games which is obviously concerning, so you really need to nail a D/ST on an off night for one of these star quarterbacks. Our own NFL DFS Projections have the Cowboys going for seven-to-eight points with the Eagles returning seven. A pick six obviously changes things with these contests so tread a little carefully. I tend to go light on defenses when the implied total is this high.

NFL DFS Dart Throw Bargains

Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Dowdle could see anything from five touches to 10. So at $3,000 to at least have a player that’ll receive some semblance of production, which is a good thing. He has a reception in three straight games which compensates for him not being the most efficient runner. He won’t receive as many high value touches since that would require an injury to Tony Pollard.

Jalen Tolbert, WR, Dallas Cowboys

You could pay up a little more for Michael Gallup ($3,200) but even Gallup admitted in training camp that Tolbert would be coming for his job. Neither player will remain on the field in two-wide receiver sets. However, we take whatever production we can get in this price range. I prefer Tolbert slightly even though he had just one target against Seattle. In the last game against the Eagles, Tolbert had five targets and a touchdown. You’re kind of in need of a similar performance at this price.

KaVontae Turpin, WR, Dallas Cowboys

He has 10 targets over his last five games. That’s obviously not a lot but he’s put up at least two fantasy points in five straight games and he opens up salary for you. Additionally, you get exposure to the return game as well on kickoffs and punts. You could certainly stack him with the Cowboys D/ST but I’m also just fine playing him on his own as a value option.

Julio Jones, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Not a ton of upside here. But mind you, Julio Jones has been $2,000+ over his last six Showdown games. For this one he’s only $800 and if he can just get one or two catches then we’re getting our money’s worth. If he manages to get a touchdown then he’s likely in the optimal lineup.