Cowboys vs. Giants TNF Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Rico Dowdle, Devin Singletary, Wan'Dale Robinson, Dak Prescott, Daniel Jones, Jake Ferguson, Brandin Cooks

We had our first Thursday Night Football dud last week for fantasy football when the Jets blew out the Patriots, and only a few players mattered with fantasy relevance. There is a potential for that in Week 4 Thursday Night Football as we have one team (the Dallas Cowboys) with several fantasy starters and one team (the New York Giants) with a no-doubt-about-it stud and then several borderline plays.

Fortunately, Malik Nabers has almost single-handedly kept the Giants competitive in games. With the Cowboys coming to town, can the Daniel Jones-Nabers combo continue to produce and keep up with the high-powered Cowboys offense? Thursday night will be a great test for the stud rookie.

I will bring you Thursday Night Football analysis all year, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Let's dive into this next awesome Thursday night matchup for Week 4 of the 2024 season. Good luck, RotoBallers!

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Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants - 8:20 p.m. EDT

Notable Injuries:

• Darius Slayton (WR, NYG) - Thumb - Questionable

Cowboys at Giants Matchup Breakdown

Both of these NFC East teams are 1-2 through three weeks, which wouldn't surprise you about the New York Giants, but the Cowboys have looked bad in both losses since their Week 1 win against the Cleveland Browns. After being blown out at home by the New Orleans Saints, the Cowboys had to mount a furious fourth-quarter comeback to lose by three points to Baltimore on Sunday.

coming 🔜 to the concrete jungle

🔗: https://t.co/3i7IHpeM5W #DALvsNYG | @Specs1962 pic.twitter.com/aIuJZ9UjGK

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 25, 2024

Dallas has yet to show that it is the powerhouse offense of last year. It ranks 17th in yards per play (5.3) and is tied for 29th in red-zone scoring attempts per game (2.7). It is still sixth in points per game (25.7), but much of that was in the first half against Cleveland and in garbage time against Baltimore last week.

On defense, it's a much bleaker story. Dallas allows the most rushing yards per game in the NFL (185.7) and the most yards per rush attempt (5.4). Its pass defense has been better, but still not elite. It ranks 14th in passing yards allowed per game and 29th in yards per pass attempt allowed. Combine that with just 2.3 sacks per game (19th in the NFL), and it has not looked like an elite unit.

The Giants are currently a one-man show on offense. Nabers is fifth in receiving yards and first in air yards, target share, and air yards share. The Giants are testing the theory that one uber-elite player can raise Daniel Jones' game, and so far, it's worked, even if it hasn't translated to wins.

New York also beat the Cleveland Browns, but have losses to the suddenly hot Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Commanders. Its defense has been admirable, ranking 11th with 2.0 opponent touchdowns per game and 10th in opponent's red-zone trips per game (3.0).

Must-Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Dak Prescott (QB, DAL)

The New York Giants have faced Sam Darnold, the corpse of Deshaun Watson, and Jayden Daniels so far. Only Darnold has been respectable with 208 yards and two scores, but Dak and company are on a mission this week. Considering the woes in the Dallas run game right now, I think the Cowboys lean heavily on Dak, and he puts up fantasy points good enough for the top eight at the position this week.

Passing yards leaders through Week 3 🔥

(by @FedEx) pic.twitter.com/0mdCNVWbUm

— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024

CeeDee Lamb (WR, DAL)

I'm not sure CeeDee Lamb is the squeaky wheel type of player, but he has a right to be demanding the ball more after the past two losses. After 10 targets in Week 1, he has only 14 targets and eight catches in the next two games. After just four catches in Week 3, when the Cowboys fell behind the Ravens by two touchdowns, I expect Lamb to get force-fed the ball in Week 4.

Malik Nabers (WR, NYG)

As stated above, Nabers is already top-5 in every meaningful wide receiver category in the NFL. Using that Duke University education, Daniel Jones at least knows enough that if he can get the ball anywhere near Nabers, there is a chance it becomes a catch. Nabers is already showing catch ability and body control that is reminiscent of peak Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss.

Malik Nabers. My God. pic.twitter.com/CrIP42y4Vw

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2024

Solid Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Jake Ferguson (TE, DAL)

After missing Week 2 with an injury, Jake Ferguson was back playing more than two-thirds of the Cowboys' snaps and pulled down six catches for 95 yards, proving he is the No. 2 option in this offense. The Giants have only allowed 138 yards to tight ends this season, but they haven't played anyone with near the skill of Ferguson yet.

Rico Dowdle (RB, DAL)

Rico Dowdle saw his highest snap count of the season on Sunday and touched the ball 11 times for 56 yards in the comeback attempt. He has overtaken Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield but is more of a flex play this week against the Giants. New York has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards to opposing running backs this season.

Rico Dowdle was started in 0.1% of leagues… if you were one of them please tell us how you knew pic.twitter.com/54vcCxYKJ3

— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) November 23, 2023

Brandin Cooks (WR, DAL)

Brandin Cooks looks like he is going to be more of a boom-or-bust play for fantasy than we originally hoped for, but this looks like a week where he can be heavily involved. Cooks' targets from week to week are 7-2-6. That's problematic, but he can still get a score this week. The Giants have allowed the 10th-fewest receiving yards to wide receivers but somehow allowed the fifth-most touchdowns.

Wan'Dale Robinson (WR, NYG)

Wan'Dale Robinson can be a flex play in PPR leagues in this game, assuming the game script holds where Dallas is up by around a touchdown or more. Even with Nabers demanding every target in site, Robinson is averaging eight targets per game. That has only added up to 123 receiving yards, but he could easily get six catches for 60 yards against the Cowboys.

Devin Singletary (RB, NYG)

Considering the sorry state of the rush defense for Dallas, Singletary is a fantasy start this week as an RB2 or flex option.

Singletary ranks within the top 20 running backs through three weeks and now gets a Dallas defense that has been the worst against the run to start the year. It is fourth in rush yards allowed, first in rushing touchdowns allowed, and has given up 32.2 fantasy points per game to the position, a full eight points more than any other team in the league.

Consider Sitting for Fantasy Football Lineups

Ezekiel Elliott (RB, DAL)

Ezekiel Elliott is old, inefficient, and in the process of losing his job to Rico Dowdle. Elliott played only 19% of snaps against Baltimore and won't be in on any third down, two-minute, or hurry-up plays in this game.

Jalen Tolbert (WR, DAL)

Jalen Tolbert is certainly more boom-bust than Brandin Cooks, and you have to show some nerves of steel to start him with confidence. He had six catches for 82 yards in Week 2 but has just four catches for 54 yards in his other games this season.

If Jalen Tolbert could finally become something, that would be HUGE for this Cowboys team.

Helluva catch. pic.twitter.com/v56WI92Bxy

— Mike Kennedy (@MikeKennedyNFL) September 15, 2024

Daniel Jones (QB, NYG)

The awesome power of Nabers has elevated Daniel Jones to be a top-12 quarterback each of the last two weeks. He has been QB11 and QB6 against the Commanders and the Browns but should face a slightly stiffer test this week. The Cowboys are 13th in fewest passing yards allowed and have allowed just 1.3 receiving touchdowns per game.

Part of that is because teams are running all over them, but if the Cowboys can get the Giants in a game where they are forced to pass a lot, that's when we could see the Daniel Jones mistakes start to pile up.

Darius Slayton (WR, NYG)

Darius Slayton left the Giants' last game with a thumb injury. While he should be fine to play on Thursday, Slayton is so far removed from consistent usage in this offense that he doesn't belong near our fantasy rosters. Slayton has a 9.5% target share and seven receptions through three games.

Theo Johnson (TE, NYG)

Theo Johnson, despite a strong college pedigree and a lot of training-camp hype, is even less involved in this offense. Johnson has a 6% target share and just two catches despite running 66% of the Giants' routes through three games. He is a sit in all formats.

Kirksey’s Thursday Night Football Picks

Current Spread: DAL -5.5, Total: 45.5

We aren't quite at Defcon 1 for the Dallas Cowboys, but if they lose to the New York Giants on national television, we are going to start seeing smoke come out of Jerry Jones' old head, and changes might be next. I do think they will be able to do enough to manage a big game from Nabers and can keep Devin Singletary from running all over them.

The X factor here is Daniel Jones. On a short week against a talented pass rush, there is potential here for him to have a couple of patented bone-headed plays. I like Dallas to cover but its defense is just leaky enough to allow New York to score 17 points. Dallas wins 27-17 and just misses the over.

The Pick: Dallas -5.5, UNDER 45.5

2024 Record:
Spread (3-0), Over/Under (1-2)

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