“Things couldn’t possibly get worse for the Cowboys” vs. “Things always get worse for the Cowboys.” Sunday, the latter won out. 3-4 with only wins over only Deshaun Watson, Daniel Jones and Justin Fields was bad. 3-5 with a now-injured Dak Prescott is infinitely worse. Just ask the man himself. Prescott was caught on camera saying “we suck.”
It’s impossible to disagree, though then again, we don’t even care about that in fantasy football. The Cowboys’ defense has imploded sans ex-DC Dan Quinn. Surely a team with Prescott and CeeDee Lamb is at least finding itself in weekly shootouts. But there you quickly notice what I didn’t say: Anyone else’s name. A skill corps that was once the envy of the league has become Dak, CeeDee, a tight end and as many also-rans as you could ever hope to find on a supposedly good roster.
Now Dak is hurt and CeeDee (shoulder) has joined him. The QB14 by average fantasy points, Prescott is set to either miss time or play multiple games with limited mobility. That’s a little hard to believe since Prescott has already barely been moving, taking off on only 13 rushes all season. There were warning signs on the Cowboys’ offense heading into the season. All-out collapse still seemed unlikely. It’s here, and only a banged up Lamb, Jake Ferguson and maybe Rico Dowdle belong in fantasy lineups for the time being.
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Five Week 9 Storylines
Rico Dowdle has best game by any Cowboys running back all year. So I guess we might as well at least talk about Dowdle. Although he’s been clearly the best back on the roster all season, the Cowboys could never get Ezekiel Elliott out of his way. Zeke finally took care of that by skipping one too many meetings and getting himself suspended for Week 9. Enter Dowdle’s second 100-yard effort in three weeks, The first was a grind-it-out affair with the Steelers. This was a trail-mode contest where Dowdle needed long gains to make the most of only 17 touches, including 12 carries. Dowdle had five totes of at least nine yards. He has put to bed any claim Zeke might have to a potential 1B role, but this being the Cowboys, they’ll probably treat Prescott’s injury as an excuse to feature Zeke anew. If they don’t, Dowdle will finally find himself inside the top 24 on a weekly basis.
A.J. Brown suffers knee injury vs. Jaguars. As the Cowboys have gone south in the NFC East, the Eagles have stabilized. That’s despite a steady diet of skill-player injuries, including AJB’s early-season hamstring woes. Recently back and dominating, he departed in the third quarter Sunday with a knee issue. He’s believed to have avoided serious injury, but just ask DK Metcalf: Even a minor knee ailment could turn into a multi-week absence. The Eagles visit … the Cowboys this week ahead of a short-week Commanders date on Week 11 Thursday Night Football. Considering that quick turnaround and the sorry state of Big D, Brown could be held out Sunday with an eye toward playing next Thursday.
Drake London injures hip and oblique vs. Cowboys. If the Cowboys are where hope goes to die, it was feeling contagious on Sunday. Kyle Pitts turned back into a pumpkin and London injured two separate body parts. If there’s good news, it’s that he spent almost as much time riding the exercise bike on the sideline as he did playing. It appears he could have maybe returned had this been, say, a playoff game. He also could have been merely benefitting from adrenaline, and the reality of the issues might not set in until Monday. For now, fantasy managers simply need to wait for Wednesday’s injury report, and to keep someone like Ray-Ray McCloud on speed dial as an emergency waiver wire fill-in.
Chris Olave suffers yet another concussion vs. Panthers. On a grim day for injuries, none was more bleak than Olave’s latest head issue, which required a backboard stretchering and trip to the local hospital. Olave was quickly discharged and allowed to travel back to New Orleans, but his second confirmed concussion of 2024 and fifth of his career suddenly has him in the Tua Tagovailoa zone. Even if he’s “fine” this week, he probably needs some time on injured reserve to think things over. Being brutally honest, we also know the Saints’ 2-7 record will play a part there. A team that just fired its head coach is more likely to be philosophical about Olave’s head issues than if they were 7-2. At the absolute least, fantasy managers need to count on Olave missing a game. Don’t be surprised if it ends up a minimum of four.
Raiders keep benching Gardner Minshew, fire OC Luke Getsy. Although the Saints fired the head coach, it’s the Raiders’ coordinator change that will have a bigger fantasy impact. At least as much as you can make an impact on a roster currently rotating Minshew and Desmond Ridder at quarterback. My theory? Coach Antonio Pierce, perhaps the most conservative in the league, wants a greater-ground commitment. That will be difficult to pull off when Alexander Mattison and Zamir White are the backs, but I digress. That would be concerning, though ultimately not as big of a concern as who is under center. No matter how conservative this offense gets, there will be enough looks for target magnets Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers — if it’s Minshew. If it’s Ridder? Good luck earning yards of any kind.
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Five More Week 9 Storylines
Reality check for Browns’ offense. Anyone who has been around the fantasy block knew not to count their Jameis Winston eggs before they hatched. There’s a reason he has become the emblem of volatile quarterback play. Still, it was a bit painful for the regression to hit all at once. The three picks the Ravens dropped in Week 8? The Chargers caught them. A Bolts pass defense that’s far better than the Ravens’ on the page? It mattered, a lot. The good news is, as fiery as the flames Winston went down in were, it still only impacted his numbers. He managed to supply useful box scores for his emerging “big three” of Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku. On the whole, we basically got confirmation of what we expected. The opponents are going to matter bigly when it comes to Winston’s own efficiency and production, but he should still keep the ball spread around. He comes off Week 10 bye to a mouthwatering matchup with the Saints.
Reality check for Colts’ offense. The truth nuke hit a little harder in Indianapolis than Cleveland. Whereas the Browns were under no illusions about Winston’s play, the Colts still seemed to harbor a few about Flacco’s. Brian Flores took care of that. Painful. In the opinion of many observers, stupid. In the opinion of this writer, it’s probably not really about Flacco. Maybe the Colts really do want to embark on a quixotic campaign to compete down the stretch, but I believe Anthony Richardon’s benching remains more about Richardson than any misguided playoff aspirations. The Colts believed he was developing bad habits. Perhaps they think he needed a reality check of his own. Maybe it was as simple as they didn’t want a struggling young QB to get devoured by the Vikings, Bills, Jets and Lions. We are going to see Richardson again this season, but maybe not until after Flacco survives — or doesn’t — that gauntlet.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba erupts for biggest game of his career. With DK Metcalf missing his second consecutive contest, it was time for the Seahawks to try something different. Featured infamously close to the line of scrimmage, former first-rounder JSN had never really been given an opportunity down the field. Sunday he was and the result was was a new career high for yardage by 63 and just his second 100-yard game. Blowing holes in the Rams’ defense all afternoon, JSN was one of the only things keeping Seattle in the game as endless pressure wrecked Geno Smith’s program. The obvious question now becomes if JSN will continue to get these big-play opportunities once Metcalf is back in the fold, almost certainly against the 49ers post-bye in Week 11. As we await that answer, we can take comfort in the fact we at least have confirmation this is not a player who should fall outside the top 30 at wideout.
Mike Gesicki leads Bengals’ Tee Higgins-less offense. Higgins has missed four games this season. Gesicki has averaged six catches for 71 yards on seven targets in those contests. That’s compared to eight total catches in his other five games. Compelling data, especially since Higgins has yet to resume practicing since injuring his quad in Week 8 practice. It seems absurd that Gesicki would be running neck and neck with Ja’Marr Chase, but there’s not anything fantasy managers can do about it other than treat Gesicki as a legitimate TE1 if Higgins remains sidelined for Thursday evening’s short-week contest with the Ravens’ horrid pass defense.
Bryce Young has first decent start all season. Listen, we start small with Young, but: Sunday was only the fourth time in his entire career he took one or zero sacks. His 6.6 yards per attempt? Not great. Also the fifth best mark of his career. It should have been a zero-turnover outing, but Xavier Legette let a pretty deep completion turn into a stolen-ball interception. Writ large, Young avoided the negative plays that seem to ruin all his drives and kept the chains moving frequently enough for the Panthers to actually win a football game. Again, all of this is the faintest praise possible, but perhaps Young actually learned something during his time on the bench. We’ll find out in a hurry when he faces the Giants’ imposing pass rush in Germany next Sunday morning.
Questions
1. Has Matt Eberflus considered getting another glowup?
2. AP, my dude, have you ever seen Desmond Ridder play before?
3. Can the Jags and Eagles agree to never play again?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Justin Herbert (vs. TEN), Aaron Rodgers (@AZ), Daniel Jones (CAR), Bo Nix (@KC), Joe Flacco (vs. BUF)
RB: Jaylen Warren, Zamir White (coach firing), Ray Davis, Cam Akers, Audric Estime
WR: Jerry Jeudy, Quentin Johnston, Xavier Legette, Jalen McMillan, Pop Douglas, Adam Thielen, Jalen Tolbert
TE: Taysom Hill, Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki, Jonnu Smith, Ja’Tavion Sanders
DEF: Lions (@HOU), Falcons (@NO), Giants (CAR), Panthers (NYG)
Stats of the Week
23. That’s how many “receiving yards” Jaylen Waddle lost on the Dolphins’ ill-fated final lateral play, bringing him to -4 for the week.
De’Von Achane is now up to 268 yards from scrimmage on 36 touches in two games since Tua Tagovailoa’s return.
Via Sarah York, this one is difficult to believe … yet all too believable: “The Chiefs won two super bowls between Daniel Jones’ most recent two passing touchdowns at MetLife stadium.”
Giants pain of the week II, via Rich Hribar: “Number of weeks Saquon Barkley was the RB1 in PPR weekly scoring over the 2018-2023 seasons: Five. Number of weeks Saquon Barkley has been the RB1 in PPR weekly scoring in his first season with the Eagles: Three.”
John Keim on the Commanders’ stunning dominance: “According to Elias Sports: Washington’s three turnovers are the fewest by a team in the first nine games of a season since 1933 (first year turnovers were tracked).”
Derek Carr has been the quarterback for three different mid-season firings, including twice for Dennis Allen.
Josh Allen’s three highest pass attempt totals have all come in the past three weeks. He’s handled just 12 carries in that timeframe. It’s a clear different approach by the Bills, albeit one that will be tested by their receiver injuries.
How to get a coach fired, by Bill Barnwell: “Saints outgained the Panthers by 150+ yards, ran for 150+ yards, and won the turnover battle. Over the last 20 years, teams had gone 275-0 with that formula. Now 275-1.”
Awards Section
Week 9 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Joe Burrow, RB Saquon Barkley, RB De’Von Achane, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR Garrett Wilson, WR Zay Flowers, TE Mike Gesicki
Week 9 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Kyler Murray, RB Jonathan Taylor, RB Tyrone Tracy, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., WR Puka Nacua, WR DJ Moore, TE Kyle Pitts