The New York Giants‘ preview searches for fantasy football value in the backup-QB-turned-starter Tommy DeVito-led offense, while the Dallas Cowboys‘ outlook dives into the struggles of RB Tony Pollard.
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
- Spread: Cowboys -16
- Total: 38.5
- Giants implied points: 11.3
- Cowboys implied points: 27.3
Quarterbacks
Dak Prescott: He wasn’t needed in the Week 1 dismantling of the Giants (13 of 24 for 143 yards) and may not be this week either, given the spread, but no one can deny the form Prescott enters this matchup with. In the last three games, he has tallied 950 pass yards, eight pass TDs, 73 rush yards, and a rushing TD.
In a tough week at the position, Prescott is a must-start. I understand the game flow concerns, and they are valid, but would you prefer a fringe QB in a tough matchup over him based on that game being competitive for a longer period of time?
If this game isn’t close, Dallas has put points on the board, and if that is the case, odds are good that Prescott had a hand in things.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley: Dallas held Barkley in check during the Week 1 blowout (13 touches for 63 yards), and I’d expect the sledding to be similarly difficult this weekend.
That said, the floor is still that of a fantasy starter for Barkley, thanks to his absurd role (27.5 touches per game in the month since he returned to action, per the Week 10 Cheat Sheet). With volume like that for a talent like Barkley, the odds of him breaking one significant run (25+ yard run in three of those four games) and/or scoring are in your favor.
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You can downgrade him further than I have if you like (RB8), but he’s not slipping outside of your starting tier.
Tony Pollard: Could this be the matchup it takes to right the Pollard ship? He scored twice in the Week 1 meeting (16 touches for 82 yards), and since then, he and the end zone have been on a break — not a Ross and Rachel type of break where it’s an off-and-on thing, a full break. A borderline divorce.
Pollard and the end zone have not crossed paths in two months and aren’t on speaking terms.
That has a real chance of changing this weekend. The Giants rank 20th in red-zone defense and 29th in yards per carry. Prescott is playing at a high level (three straight games with a passer rating north of 105), and that should open up plenty of rushing lanes.
If not now, when? Pollard (3+ catches in six of his past seven) is my RB7.
Wide Receivers
Wan’Dale Robinson: He pulled in his first touchdown of the season last week and has at least four catches in five of seven games this season. That’s the good. The bad? He ranked fifth on the Giants in routes run.
Betting on this Giants passing game is a risk I’m not willing to take, but if I was going to go down that road, it would be Robinson’s low-aDOT, higher-floor role.
Darius Slayton: New York’s primary deep threat led the team in targets (seven), catches (four), and receiving yards (59) last week, seemingly optimistic trends. But with Daniel Jones out for the year, this is Tommy DeVito’s show, and that makes the deep passing game even more risky than it was with the inconsistent Jones.
You can go this route if and only if you are in a YOLO spot — and even then, you can likely do better. Worth tracking is Parris Campbell, who ran a route 85.7% of his snaps. There is no actionable right now, and I’m not betting on it, but it has my attention.
CeeDee Lamb: With Prescott playing well, Lamb is very much along for the ride. Over the past two weeks, he has caught 23 of 30 targets of 349 yards and two touchdowns. Not that you needed a reason to be confident in Lamb, but he did account for 53.8% of Dallas’ receiving yards in the first meeting with the Giants.
The league doesn’t have an answer for Lamb, and the Giants are no exception.
Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks: This offense doesn’t function in a way that provides value to a second receiver. Don’t overthink it. Gallup has just 39 yards on six targets during this Prescott heater, while Cooks has been held under five targets in five straight games.
Neither of these receivers is worth rostering in anything but the deepest of formats — it’s Lamb and Jake Ferguson in this passing game, nothing more.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller: Daniel Bellinger ran a route on 76.2% of New York dropbacks last week, with Waller (hamstring) being placed on IR. You can safely cut ties with Waller at this point and look elsewhere for a replacement.
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Jake Ferguson: He has scored in consecutive weeks and has hauled in 22 of 25 targets (88%) since the beginning of October. The yardage floor is low due to the nature of this offense (four games under 30 yards), but every TE outside of the elite comes with concerns.
Ferguson is safely ahead of the TE blob, and that means he’s weekly locked into my top 10.
Should You Start Dak Prescott or Justin Herbert?
These are two of my top five quarterbacks for the week, so there is no wrong answer. That said, I do prefer Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert due to the structure of his offense. Of course, LA OC Kellen Moore is going to dial up some shot plays, but with RB Austin Ekeler in this backfield, the short pass game is something of a cheat code.
While Prescott is handing the ball to Pollard and picking up no fantasy points in the process, Herbert is flaring out passes to Ekeler and letting his star do the heavy lifting. It’s not easy to bench Prescott, given his current form, but I do prefer Herbert’s outlook in Week 10.
Should You Start Tony Pollard or Derrick Henry?
I don’t think it’s overly dramatic to call this a hinge spot for Pollard managers — it’s now or never. He’s in a great spot, and I’ll trust his over 19 touches per game in wins this season to land him among the 10 most productive backs this week.
Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry offers a higher floor than Pollard at this point in time, but we haven’t seen the explosive upside of years past. Tennessee’s matchup with Tampa Bay is more friendly through the air than on the ground — just ask C.J. Stroud — and if that is the path they take, Henry’s floor outcome comes into play.
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