NFL Player News

There’s no cause for concern for Pitts’ absence at this time, as beat writer Michael Rothstein notes his absence is for personal/family reasons. Coming off a bye week, the Falcons won’t begin ramping things up for Week 12 until Wednesday. Pitts is expected to return when practice for this week’s matchup against the Saints gets underway.

Cooks was one of five Dallas pass-catchers to see five or more targets against the Eagles which contributed to his depressed box score numbers. He’ll face another difficult test in Week 15 when the Cowboys travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills.

Dowdle mixed in with lead back Tony Pollard throughout, meaning the increased usage was likely by design and not a function of the positive game environment. Furthering that notion was the timing of his touchdown plunge, which came with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. In other words, Dowdle appears to have forced a strict timeshare with Pollard for the time being and could prove useful as a fantasy asset for managers needing an RB3 with RB2 upside.

Dak Prescott connected with Gallup on a rub-screen from one-yard out to end the first half. He would later add a 39-yard grab down the sideline on the team’s final possession to pad his counting stats. Gallup remains behind wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks and tight end Jake Ferguson in the target pecking order in Dallas but should return sporadic fantasy utility down the stretch.

Lamb was understandably emphasized early against the Eagles, reaching pay dirt just five minutes into the game on Dallas’ first possession. The volume slowed down from there as quarterback Dak Prescott fed five or more targets to five different pass-catchers, but the fantasy returns remained elite for one of the league’s most consistent wide receivers. Up next is a difficult test against a Bills team holding opponents to just 18.8 points per game in Week 15.

Ferguson narrowly edged alpha wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in yardage but failed to corral his only end zone target. Even so, Ferguson’s robust red zone role continues to give him immense weekly upside on the offense averaging the most points per game through 14 weeks. Up next for Ferguson is a difficult test against the Bills on the road in Week 15.

The 24 opportunities undoubtedly helped to buoy his box score numbers while he managed just 4.17 yards per touch. Even so, the yardage and touch totals were a welcome sight to fantasy managers that have struggled through his roller coaster performances this season as we head into the fantasy playoffs. Up next for Pollard and the Cowboys is a trip to Buffalo to take on the surging Bills in Week 15.

The Dallas offense was humming throughout, scoring on seven of nine possessions including their first four in the first half. Rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey became the first kicker in NFL history to connect on two field goals of 59 yards or longer in the same game, two of four total he hit on the evening. The Cowboys defense also flexed their prowess while generating three turnovers, two of which came in the red zone. While the overall efficiency was not among his best games this year, Prescott was able to keep the sticks moving throughout while feeding five or more targets to five different pass-catchers. Dallas overtook Philadelphia in the NFC standings with the win but don’t get long to celebrate the accomplishment before traveling to Buffalo to take on the Bills in Week 15.

The four targets pale in comparison to the 13 for A.J. Brown and 10 for DeVonta Smith but is made more palatable under the context of only 27 Jalen Hurts pass attempts. Furthermore, Hurts targeted only three pass-catchers on the evening, with the only other player to catch a pass being Olamide Zaccheaus on a fake punt in the second half. Goedert gets a difficult matchup against the zone-heavy Seahawks in Week 15.

Smith also lost one of three fumbles for the Eagles, which came with under five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter in the red zone following his longest gain of the evening. Jalen Hurts narrowly missed on a would-be touchdown pass to Smith in the third quarter after the springy wide receiver couldn’t stretch to corral a ball in the right corner of the end zone. Smith and the Eagles go back to the drawing board after losing the number one seed in the NFC before facing the Seahawks on the road in Week 15.

Brown looked lethargic and disinterested in the first half before turning things around in the second frame, notably failing to come up with two deep passes that hit him in the hands before the break. After the half, Nick Sirianni dialed up more intermediate looks for Brown after the veteran alpha wide receiver ran primarily deep routes to little success. Even so, the 13 targets came on only 27 Jalen Hurts pass attempts on a night the Eagles struggled with turnovers and were kept out of the end zone for the first time since their Wild Card loss in 2019. Brown will get the zone-heavy Seahawks in Week 15.