We close out Week 9 with a matchup out of the NFC as the Arizona Cardinals visit the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys sit at 3-4-1 while the Cardinals are 2-5 and were riding a five-game losing streak prior to their Bye week. They also had to start backup quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, in Weeks 6 and 7 with Kyler Murray battling a foot injury. That’ll be the case once again for our Cardinals vs. Cowboys DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. But with two porous defenses in this matchup, we should see plenty of offensive output so let’s take a look at another NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook to finish off Week 9!

 

 

 

NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook; Cardinals vs. Cowboys Game Preview

Dare we say this game is potentially a playoff eliminator in Week 9? The Cardinals have lost five straight games and the Cowboys only have three wins on the year. Neither team has a memorable defense, but this game could be a goldmine for fantasy football production.

Entering Week 9, the Dallas Cowboys ranked 5th in offensive EPA/Play but dead last in EPA/Play allowed on defense. The Cardinals aren’t strongly on either end of the spectrum on offense or defense. They grade out as a middle-of-the-pack group. But fortunately, the matchup against the Dallas defense will make them look at superstars on offense.

The Cowboys have allowed five-of-eight opponents to score 30+ points and you’ll see shortly that they’re severely hurting on defense as well. The Cardinals defense hasn’t fared much better but they also aren’t bleeding points as badly as the Cowboys. But Arizona struggles to generate a pass rush with just a dozen sacks in seven games.

We’ve seen some explosive fantasy football performances in Week 9 and that trend can certainly continue for the latest NFL DFS Monday Night Football Playbook. The Cardinals have fresh legs coming off their Bye week and Dallas is coming off a loss against the brutal defense of the Denver Broncos. The sportsbooks are expecting fireworks in this matchup so let’s take a look at how we should construct our winning NFL DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel!

 

 

 

Cardinals vs. Cowboys Notable Injuries & Inactives

The Arizona Cardinals are going to start Jacoby Brissett for this matchup but on Sunday they said they may have a role for Kyler Murray. If you’re going to have a role for your franchise quarterback, wouldn’t that role be as the starter? It’s a giant smoke screen to probably throw their opponent off. It would be incredibly evil if they “started” Jacoby Brissett and then immediately pivoted to Kyler Murray. But given the recent punishment and monetary fine dealt to the Baltimore Ravens for their handling of the Week 8 injury report for Lamar Jackson, I don’t think the Cardinals want to risk misleading NFL officials especially since the league is now in bed with the sportsbooks.

The rest of the injury report for Arizona focuses on the defensive side of the ball. BJ Ojulari has been ruled out while Walter Nolen III, Garrett Williams, Will Johnson, and Kitan Crawford are all questionable for Week 9.

The hometown Dallas Cowboys have ruled out Alijah Clark, DeMarvion Overshown, Shavon Revel, Jack Sanborn, Donovan Wilson, and Perrion Winfrey. Those are all defensive pieces, and this comes on the heels of Trevon Diggs hitting IR. With both defenses dealing with heavy injuries ahead of this matchup, and with the implied total sitting at 53.5 points as of Sunday, I’m not inclined to play either D/ST as part of our Cardinals vs. Cowboys DFS picks.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Showdown MVP/Captain for Monday Night Football, 11/3

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys - DraftKings: $10,800 | FanDuel: $12,800

Lamb returned in Week 7 and has back-to-back games with at least eight targets and 70+ receiving yards. He gets the volume we like and is a threat to score any given week. Last week was unique because he had a tough matchup but still managed to catch 7-of-10 targets against a very tough defense.

This week is much easier for Lamb and basically everybody on the Dallas offense. Per Josh Larky, slot receivers score 6.5 more PPR points than expected against Arizona’s secondary. This game has a very high implied total (53.5 points as of Sunday afternoon) so we want as much exposure as we can get to the players with scoring equity and Lamb fits the bill and will likely be the highest-rostered player at Captain.

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $10,400 | FanDuel: $13,000

Entering Week 8, Prescott had thrown for at least three touchdowns in four straight games. It was a tough, ugly matchup for Prescott in Week 8 and he was a clear bust for fantasy football. But this game is a terrific “get right” opportunity for everybody on this offense. Dak’s propensity for throwing touchdown passes makes him worthy of rostering at Captain even if I would prefer his pass catchers instead.

He ranks 10th in EPA/Play among qualified quarterbacks (0.21), 9th in completion percentage over expected (4.1%), and he’s 7th in turnover-worthy play rate (2.1%) per Sam Hoppen. Prescott doesn’t really have to worry about Arizona getting too much pressure on him. The Cardinals rank 28th in blitz rate (19.3%), 27th in sack rate (4.2%), and 21st in pressure rate (28.1%). Prescott could very well toss three or four touchdowns Monday night and restart the streak.

Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $9,000 | FanDuel: $9,600

With Jacoby Brissett getting the start for the Arizona Cardinals once again, we can run it back with Trey McBride as a Captain candidate for our Cardinals vs. Cowboys DFS picks. Brissett got the start for Arizona in Weeks 6 and 7 and McBride totaled 18 receptions on 24 targets for 146 yards and three touchdowns in that span. In his last 21 games with Kyler Murray as the starter, he has three touchdowns. And yet he’s matched that total in two games with Brissett.

Touchdown equity was a concern a year ago for McBride but that hasn’t been the case of late. There’s a strong connection between him and Brissett so even if McBride isn’t likely to get the 100-yard bonus on DraftKings, this is still a great volume play. And remember, Arizona was on their Bye week for National Tight End Day. This is a nice opportunity for McBride to make up for not having a game last week.

George Pickens, WR, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $8,800 | FanDuel: $10,200

Pickens has six touchdowns on the season but none in the two games since Lamb returned from injury. However, we cannot downgrade him due to Lamb’s presence. We knew the targets would be re-distributed once Lamb returned but Pickens is still producing. He has 11 catches for 160 yards over his last two games and he’s on pace for over 1,400 yards this year. That’s something Lamb has only done once and Michael Irvin did twice.

With such a high total for this game you have to imagine there are some deep shots taken to Pickens and so there should be enough production to go around for the two big weapons on Dallas.

 

 

 

Mid-Tier & DFS Value Plays for Monday

Javonte Williams, RB, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $10,000 | FanDuel: $12,200

He’s certainly viable at Captain just given the touchdown equity. He’s scored six touchdowns in his last five games and has nine total on the year. There is some juice for the 100-yard bonus but it definitely feels more likely that he’ll score than get the bonus. The Cardinals aren’t anything special at defending the run. They’re 19th in rush success rate (41.7%), 16th in stuffed run rate (18.5%), and 16th in yards before contact per attempt (1.30). All of these are relatively middle-of-the-pack.

The Cardinals have given up three rushing touchdowns in their last two games to the likes of Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor. Williams is averaging nearly a touchdown every game so it’s likely he can find the end zone for the 10th time Monday night.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $8,600 | FanDuel: $11,400

Brissett has been surprisingly serviceable in his two starts for the Arizona Cardinals. The team is currently riding a five-game losing streak but Brissett has 599 passing yards with four touchdowns over his last two games. He easily gets the best possible matchup for an opposing quarterback as the Cowboys defense is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing QB’s, although the Cincinnati Bengals may have taken that title following their atrocious effort on Sunday.

Dallas is still surrendering 31.3 points per game (2nd most in the NFL) coming into this matchup in addition to 258.6 passing yards per game (3rd most). Brissett is also generating production through volume as well considering he averaged 40 pass attempts per game in Weeks 6 and 7. Dallas doesn’t play much man coverage and their defense ranks dead last in completion percentage over expected (8.1%). He’s not an option we feel great about but we’ve seen Brissett perform well in soft matchups prior the team’s Bye week.

Marvin Harrison, WR, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $8,400 | FanDuel: $8,200

This is a phenomenal matchup for every Arizona pass catcher. My one reservation is that Marv and Brissett just haven’t matched the chemistry that Brissett has with McBride. In Marv’s defense, he did sustain a concussion in Week 6 and was kept in check against the Green Bay Packers the following week. But in two games with Brissett under center, Harrison has four receptions on eight targets for 90 yards.

But the matchup couldn’t possibly be better for him and he’s worth playing at Captain in some builds. Per Mike Clay of ESPN, the Dallas Cowboys have yielded 15 touchdowns to opposing receivers so far this year and they’re dead last in defensive EPA against the pass and they’re allowing 9.9 yards per target to the position. Harrison is frustrating and tough to trust but this is potentially the best matchup he could possibly ask for.

Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $8,000 | FanDuel: $8,800

Ferguson had a bad game last week. It was a tough matchup for everybody at the end of the day and Ferguson only received one target against a very tough Denver Broncos defense. We just have to turn the page and move on. The Arizona Cardinals are a much better matchup for Ferguson. From Weeks 2-7, Ferguson had five games with at least seven receptions and he scored six touchdowns in that span.

The Arizona Cardinals have surrendered a touchdown to an opposing tight end in three of their last four games. And even in the game they didn’t give up a touchdown, Chig Okonkwo and Gunnar Helm still combined for eight receptions for 82 yards on 10 targets. There are a lot of mouths to feed in this offense but it’s a great spot for him to bounce back after a goose egg in Week 8.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Dart Throw Bargains

Michael Carter, RB, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $4,400 | FanDuel: $7,000

Emari Demercado, RB, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $3,000 | FanDuel: $4,000

For what it’s worth, Zonovan Knight is definitely in play. I see no issue playing him at $7,000 on DraftKings especially after he was named the “starting” running back for this game. But that label means very little to me. It just means he’ll definitely get the first reps. My concern is that in Weeks 5-7 he was only averaging 3.52 yards per carry, but he at least found the end zone twice.

So I tend to operate as if Arizona could ride the hot hand so I want exposure to the cheaper running backs as well. And Carter has not been a model of efficiency either and we need to make sure he’s elevated to the active roster. But from Weeks 5-7 he at least had nine receptions.

The matchup is great for the entire running back room for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys are allowing 167.8 rushing yards per game over their last five games and they have absolutely no defensive answer to the most pedestrian running backs in the NFL. Again, all three are in play, but Knight has some appealing competition in his price range. 

Zay Jones, WR, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $4,000 | FanDuel: $5,000

Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $5,600

We’ve already touched on how bad the Dallas Cowboys are at defending opposing receivers in the Marvin Harrison section. Go ahead and re-read that if you need to. And we also know that Jacoby Brissett has been a volume machine in his two games. Both Zay Jones and Michael Wilson are affordable and only need a few targets fed their way to pay off these cheap tags.

Jones doesn’t carry an injury designation for this game, and he popped for 146 receiving yards in Weeks 6 and 7 with Brissett under center. Wilson wasn’t as explosive in that two-game sample size but he had at least three receptions and 40+ yards in both games. Arizona’s offering some intriguing value options for our MNF DFS picks so spread exposure around evenly. The receivers get a bit of a bump in a trailing game script.

Jaydon Blue, RB, Dallas Cowboys – DraftKings: $1,400 | FanDuel: $4,200

Trendy and popular lineup constructions will likely center around the studs on Dallas that can break the slate and then you can build with the value options we just mentioned from Arizona. It’s just a theory but Blue could go overlooked if DFS players look to the Cardinals for value assuming they are playing from behind later on.

However, in that same game script where it’s a blowout in Dallas’s favor, Jaydon Blue could get some late run so this is definitely a game script play. Blue hasn’t done anything the last two weeks, but he’s seen back-to-back games with exactly eight touches. He hasn’t been efficient but in a blowout win against the Washington Commanders he received work. And in a blowout loss to the Denver Broncos, he got some run as well. Dallas seems like they want to get him going more and he could get some cheap touches for our NFL DFS Showdown lineups for Monday Night Football.

 

 

 

Cardinals vs. Cowboys DFS Player Pool, 11/3

Player Pool

$ Tier {{pos.alias}}

Stacks

{{stack.team.name}} {{player.name}}
DraftKings {{player.fantasy.price.value[8]}}-
Fanduel {{player.fantasy.price.value[6]}}-