The Dallas Cowboys will face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Rico Dowdle.
Is Rico Dowdle Playing in Week 8?
Dowdle is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Cowboys’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Rico Dowdle in Week 8?
Don’t look now, but the Cowboys have a lead back who you can trust. Yes, I’m well aware that Dowdle doesn’t have a 15-yard carry or a rushing touchdown this season — numbers that I don’t exactly make a habit of targeting.
Thanks to his versatility, however, Dowdle has produced 27.1% more fantasy points over his past three games than expected (eight catches on nine targets for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns helps).
Defenses are daring the Cowboys to run with one of the lowest loaded box rates against in the league, opting to send as much coverage in CeeDee Lamb’s direction as humanly possible, and who can blame them?
Dallas continues to operate as a top-10 offense in terms of pass rate over expectation, which helps give Dowdle weekly RB2 potential (80% catch rate this season, and his pace from the past month is that of a 51-catch season). With him seemingly having iced Ezekiel Elliott in this RB competition (Elliott had 10 carries in Week 1 and hasn’t cleared eight since), Dowdle doesn’t have a direct line to failure.
This isn’t a great matchup by any means, and that has Dowdle down in my rankings from where he will land most weeks. Nevertheless, his role should have him locked into lineups across the board.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Rico Dowdle’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Dowdle is projected to score 11.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 10.7 rushing attempts for 44.2 yards and 0.1 touchdowns. It also includes 2.6 receptions for 21.4 yards and 0.3 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Rico Dowdle’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 6:00 AM ET on Thursday, January 2. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. SEA)
12) Tyjae Spears | TEN (vs. HOU)
13) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
15) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
16) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
17) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
20) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
21) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
22) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
23) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
24) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
25) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
26) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
27) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
28) Ameer Abdullah | LV (vs. LAC)
29) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
30) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
31) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
32) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
33) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
34) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
35) Jerome Ford | CLE (at BAL)
36) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
37) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
38) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
40) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
41) Justice Hill | BAL (vs. CLE)
42) Trey Benson | ARI (vs. SF)
43) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
44) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
45) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
46) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
47) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
48) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at DEN)
49) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
50) Kareem Hunt | KC (at DEN)
51) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
52) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
53) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
54) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
55) Kendre Miller | NO (at TB)
56) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
57) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
58) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
59) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
60) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
61) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
62) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
63) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
64) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
65) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
66) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
67) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
68) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
69) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
70) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
71) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
72) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
74) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
75) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
77) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
78) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
79) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
81) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
82) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
83) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
84) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
85) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
86) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
87) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
88) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
89) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
90) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
92) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
93) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
94) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
95) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
96) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
97) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
98) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
99) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
100) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
101) James Conner | ARI (vs. SF)
102) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers Insights
Dallas Cowboys
Team: Dallas beat Cleveland by 16 points in Week 1. Since then, they have a 2-3 record with a -58 point differential.
QB: Brock Purdy threw 17 passes on Sunday with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings all off the field. He only had 14 career pass attempts with his top 3 WRs off the field before that, including playoffs.
Offense: Dallas has converted just 37.5% of its red zone trips into touchdowns, putting it on pace to be the worst Cowboys team of the 2000s (current low: 38.5% in 2002).
Defense: The Cowboys have the worst run defense in the league by EPA this season.
Fantasy: Rico Dowdle has taken over this backfield, and with the Cowboys owning the lowest opposed loaded box rate, we should have running lanes moving forward.
Betting: Since the beginning of last season, the Cowboys are 5-0 ATS on extended rest (Week 7: bye), covering three of their last four games by at least 15 points.
San Francisco 49ers
Team: Don’t forget that it took a little time for this team to get into form last season – they opened 5-3 before rattling off six straight wins after their Week 9 bye. After this game, San Francisco takes their bye.
QB: Brock Purdy’s yards per pressured pass attempt are down 18.3% from a season ago, and he faces off against a defense this week that ranks fifth in pressure rate.
Offense: The 49ers have converted just 45.2% of their red zone trips into touchdowns this season, their lowest rate since 2018 (41.2%).
Defense: The 49ers allow a league-high 9.5 yards per pass to the slow this season largely because those slot routes are extending down the field (11.1 aDOT, fourth highest).
Fantasy: Brandon Aiyuk (46.9%) is easily the team leader in target rate on the perimeter. If we view Deebo Samuel and George Kittle as the primary targets with Aiyuk now done for the season, it’ll be the receiver who assumes that usage. This season, Samuel has been targeted on 38.9% of his perimeter routes, while Kittle’s rate sits at a predictably low 2.5%.
Betting: The 49ers have covered six straight games against the NFC East (Week 5, 2023 vs. DAL: 42-10 win as a 3.5-point favorite).