The Atlanta Falcons will face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Darnell Mooney.
Is Darnell Mooney Playing in Week 9?
Mooney 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 Falcons’ 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 Darnell Mooney in Week 9?
Mooney’s value given his summer ADP has been nothing short of special, as he has a 25-yard catch or a touchdown in five of his past seven games. He’s been a reliable WR2 for the Falcons and a viable Flex play for fantasy managers this season, though I worry about his status as such this weekend.
Target rate when Kirk Cousins is blitzed, 2024:
- Drake London: 33.9%
- Mooney: 21.3%
Target rate when Cousins is not blitzed, 2024:
- London: 22.3%
- Mooney: 21.6%
With the Cowboys blitzing at the seventh-highest rate this season (30%), I fear that a low-volume day could result in a single-digit performance. I do think this game sees plenty of points put on the board, so getting a piece of the action isn’t an awful idea. However, if you have a few similar options (Keon Coleman and Ladd McConkey types), I’d go in the other direction.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Darnell Mooney’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Mooney is projected to score 14 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 5.1 receptions for 66.8 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.
PFN Insights: Dallas Cowboys Defense
When you watch the Dallas Cowboys, you can see straight away how bad they are against the run without any statistics to back that up. Teams just seem to be able to move the ball at will at times, and the holes are gaping. They have been roasted by some of the better offenses in the league this year and have salvaged some respectability against the worse teams.
The problem is that this schedule is brutal going forward, and the Cowboys do not get much respite. The biggest issue of all is allowing touchdowns on 73.9% of red-zone trips, which has seen them rank fourth from bottom in terms of points per drive (2.57). Being bad against the run wouldn’t be so detrimental if you were good against the pass, but the Cowboys have a susceptibility to the big play there as well.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Darnell Mooney’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons Insights
Dallas Cowboys
Team: Strong second half? The on-field product is struggling right now, but this franchise does have back-to-back-to-back seasons with a four-game win streak in the second half of the season.
QB: Dak Prescott has been intercepted multiple times in three straight games, a first for him and the 11th time in the franchise has seen a QB do that. Only twice in their long history has it happened in four straight (Danny White in 1983 and Craig Morton in 1972).
Offense: In Weeks 1-4, Dallas allowed pressure 25.8% of the time, a rate that has spiked in their three games since (37.3%).
Defense: The Cowboys are 2-3 over their past five games. In three games against teams favored to make the playoffs over that stretch, they’ve allowed 105 points (35 points per game). In the other two games, there were 32 points total. They face playoff hopefuls in each of the next four weeks (Falcons, Eagles, Texans, and Commanders).
Fantasy: Jake Ferguson had zero air yards in Week 8 despite eight targets and has been held under 30 air yards in four straight. He’s an asset in PPR leagues, but the per-catch ceiling is low (zero touchdowns this season, nine catches for 34 yards over his past two games).
Betting: Dallas has covered each of their past five road dome games, as well as the past three cashing under tickets.
Atlanta Falcons
Team: In Week 8, the Falcons improved to 3-0 following a loss this season, winning those games by five points.
QB: Kirk Cousins’ 62.4% quick pass rate is his highest since 2018, his first season with the Vikings.
Offense: Atlanta converted 3-8 third-and-long situations (seven-plus yards) in Week 5 against the Bucs; since then, they are just 2-15 in such spots.
Defense: The Falcons have the lowest sack rate in the NFL (2.2%), and it isn’t close (Carolina ranks 31st at 3.6%). We’ve only had two sub-3% sack teams over the past decade (the 2018 Raiders and the 2020 Titans).
Fantasy: I’m not overreacting, but Drake London posted the lowest aDOT of his season on Sunday (6.7 yards) with his second-lowest on-field target share (18.8%). Shorter routes typically correlate with more volume, not less, so this is at least something to monitor.
Betting: The Falcons are just 1-4 ATS at home this season, and they were fortunate to get that one (Week 5’s comeback win over the Bucs in overtime as a 2.5-point favorite).
