Week 12 brings us an NFC East clash between the 3-7 Dallas Cowboys and the 7-4 Washington Commanders. The Cowboys are reeling, having not only lost Dak Prescott but five straight games. CeeDee Lamb is dealing with a back injury, was limited on Wednesday, and a DNP on Thursday. His playing status is iffy and if Dallas decides to go into ‘tank’ mode, they may decide to sit Lamb.
The Commandeers are on the other end of the spectrum. Washington sits just one game back of the first-place Eagles and will need a victory to keep pace and keep division-winning hopes alive. CeeDee Lamb and Terry McLaurin are not in this write-up but are recommended starts.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders DFS Start ‘Ems
Here are a few of the players that we are leaning on heavily in this game. These players are in a good spot to put together a solid performance and have a favorable DFS matchup.
Jayden Daniels ($7k DraftKings and $9k Fanduel)
Daniels has cooled off some, with just 23.02 fantasy points over his last two starts. A big factor is the sharp decline in his rushing stats. Daniels has only 58 rushing yards in the last three outings and zero touchdowns. All that being said. he is still the overall fantasy QB6 and this week faces the Dallas defense ranked 28th in fantasy points allowed to the position. Daniels is also the second highest-priced quarterback on the FanDuel main slate for week 12, and the Cowboy’s defense ranks 31st in passer rating allowed. This should be the week that Daniels returns to QB1 numbers.
Luke Schoonmaker ($2.5k DraftKings and $4.5k Fanduel)
The Cowboys starting tight-end Jake Ferguson, is trending towards not playing week 12 with a concussion. So we pivot to Schoonmaker and save some serious salary with our DFS builds. Schoonmaker stepped in last week and garnered 10 targets for 6 catches and 56 yards. Now we know there is risk in using any piece of the Dallas passing game, but at this price, there is almost we will take our chances. Secondly, if Schoonmaker were to score a touchdown he would smash his DFS salary.
Washington Commander vs. Dallas Cowboys DFS Sit ‘Ems
On the flip side of things, here are a few of the players we recommend sitting in this one.
Ezekiel Elliott ($4.6k DraftKings and $5.8k Fanduel)
Normally we balance out the start-sits in our single game write-ups, but this game is one-sided. Elliott has been replaced by Dowdle as the Dallas RB1 and is an easy sit-across-all fantasy formats. Zeke is at 4.8 fantasy points per game, one touchdown, and 21 touches. Last week against the Texans, he had a 5% rushing share and we saw him lose backup snaps to Deuce Vaughn. You would have to be desperate and in an extremely deep league to use Elliott in week 12.
Cooper Rush ($5k DraftKings and $6.4k Fanduel)
Cooper Rush is a no-go for us this week. The Commander’s secondary was much maligned in the first part of the season, but after week six, they are in the top 10 in passing touchdowns, passer rating allowed, and passing yards per game. Rush did well last week with 20.36 fantasy points, but in his three games of action, he is averaging 9.79 points. It is just hard to trust the Dallas offense, and there is always a threat that Rush could be pulled for Trey Lance if they fall behind.
Total Apex Lock of the Game
Brian Robinson Jr. ($5.6k DraftKings and $7.9k Fanduel)
The NFL is a week-to-week league, and nothing is a sure lock. However, you have a double-digit favorite, one of the best offensive lines in football, and a running back facing a 31st-ranked rushed defense. That is a recipe for our DFS lock selection in the Commandeer’s Brian Robinson Jr. Robinson is now healthy as evidenced by last week’s highest snap share since week four. The Cowboys also rank 30th in fantasy points allowed to the running back position. And lastly, Robinson is in the top 20 in red zone touches, so there is no need for us to get fancy with this recommendation.
Total Apex Fade of the Game
Rico Dowdle ($5.5k DraftKings and $6.3k Fanduel)
Rico Dowdle could end up okay this week because a negative game script for Dallas will boost his receiving numbers, but we are fading his production. However, the recent output tells us otherwise, Dowdle has single-digit fantasy numbers in three of his last four outings. In his last two outings, he is averaging just 5.75 fantasy points per game, and by no coincidence that after Prescott went down. Dowdle also has only one touchdown in his last four games, making him our DFS fade of the game.
Conclusion
Dallas-Washington has a respectable 45.5 implied game total but the concern is the big point spread that could turn this into a non-competitive game. The Commanders are favored by 10.5 points which tied for the highest spread in week 12. Keep an eye on CeeDee Lamb’s game status, if he is active you are starting him. However, if he is inactive, you can pivot to Jalen Tolbert or Brandin Cooks, who is possibly set to return this week. Two other potential DFS options on the Washington side include Noah Brown and Zach Ertz.
