Week 14 Monday Football brings us the 5-7 Cincinnati Bengals heading to Dallas to take on the 5-7 Cowboys. Both of these teams are having disappointing seasons as they were expected to compete for potential Super Bowl berths. With their loss at home to the Steelers last week, the Bengals have lost three straight and four of five. Dallas has won two straight games to keep their slim playoff hope somewhat alive.
Our DFS write-ups are designed to spotlight some core plays to help you build a unique DFS lineup within your single game or main slate entries. In creating a successful lineup, we research and find positional values to see where you can save money and players with projected low ownership who can pay 2x-2.5x of their listed DFS salary. Finally, with this being a stand-alone slate for most contestants, we will try to find a combination of players that will fit within the salary cap. Additional note: FanDuel pricing for the Monday Night single slate is not available as of this write-up.
Bengals vs. Cowboys DFS Start ‘Ems
Here are a few of the players we are leaning on in this game. These players are in a good spot to put together a solid performance and have a favorable DFS matchup.
Chase Brown ($9.8k DraftKings)
Rostering Chase Brown gives you a piece of both the Bengal’s passing and running game. Brown is the overall PPR RB14 so far this season, but as we narrow it down, in his last four games, he is averaging 19.1 fantasy points per game. That would be the RB3 right now behind only Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. A potential stack of Chase Brown with Chase or Higgins would be a great DFS option. Your lineup would give you exposure to Joe Burrow through that stack without having to roster his high salary.
Cooper Rush ($8.8k DraftKings)
If you want to roster Chase or Higgins, slotting in Cooper Rush is a viable DFS option. Rush has been just the QB24 since he took over as the Dallas starting quarterback but gets a decent matchup versus the Bengals’ defense. Cincinnati, in the last five weeks, has been bottom 8 in success rate per dropback, passer rating allowed, and yards per attempt. In addition, rostering Cooper Rush affords you the option to stack him with CeeDee Lamb if you so choose.
Bengals vs. Cowboys DFS Sit ‘Ems
On the flip side, here are a few players we recommend sitting in this one.
Mike Gesicki ($5.6k DraftKings)
Mike Gesicki’s fantasy relevance has been tied to Tee Higgins’s availability for the Bengals. When Higgins plays, Gesicki has a target share under 7% and has averaged less than 18 yards receiving per game. Since Higgins returned in week 11, Gesicki is at 3.9 fantasy points per game, 5 catches for 53 yards, and played just 53% of the snaps.
Jake Ferguson ($5.4k DraftKings)
I just have a gut feeling on this one, with the return of Brandin Cooks and the recent usage of KaVontae Turpin, we are not sure about using Ferguson. First, he has to clear concussion protocol and then what will his usage look like. Last week, Cooks had a 19.4% target share, and his route rate was over 50%. Turpin saw another five targets and produced a 4-53 stat line.
Ferguson’s direct replacement Luke Schoonmaker saw 6 targets, which is promising, but produced just 33 receiving yards. So it comes down to how many receiving options can Rush support in the passing game? We just do not see the upside and at that price point, Turpin at $3k is a better DFS punt play.
Total Apex Lock of the Game
Joe Burrow ($10.2k DraftKings)
Forget the awful won-loss record the Bengals have; Joe Burrow is statistically having a tremendous season. Burrow is the overall fantasy QB3 and leads the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns. In his last three games, Burrow is averaging 26.67 fantasy points and has passed for 3 touchdowns and passed for at least 300 yards. Lastly, by using Burrow, we get exposure to all of the Bengal’s offensive weapons and can save on salary for the rest of our DFS build. Burrow was an easy choice for our DFS lock in this one from the Bengals side.
Total Apex Fade of the Game
CeeDee Lamb ($10.6k DraftKings)
A couple of reasons for placing CeeDee Lamb in this spot. The first one is the lingering shoulder injury, and the second is his price point. Since week 9, Lamb is averaging just 9.8 fantasy points, has zero touchdowns, and topped 75 yards receiving once. The one positive is that the target volume is there, with Lamb getting over 10 per game. However, based on his DFS salary, we will need a touchdown to pay off rostering him. We always preface this selection by saying we are not saying Lamb is a sit but temper expectations based on his fantasy situation.
Conclusion
These recommendations are designed to give you players we feel will be low-owned and good value and help you create a unique DFS build. We want a DFS lineup different from the masses and most likely made with an optimizer. Each week in DFS, your pay line for FanDuel is approximately 125 points, which equates to 2x per player. For example, a player with a $4500 salary needs 9 points. DraftKings pay line is approximately 134 points, which is 2.5x per player. So, for a $4500 salary, that player would need 9.9 points.
Besides the obvious Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins recommendations from the Bengals, consider Rico Dowdle and Brandin Cooks in your builds from the Cowboys’ side. Both have favorable matchups and their lower salaries provide flexibility within your DFS builds.
