INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ DALLAS COWBOYS

Good afternoon, Family! Are you ready for some Sunday Night Football? What better way to end your week than an NFL DFS Showdown on DraftKings and FanDuel? Tonight, we have the 4-7-1 Indianapolis Colts traveling to Dallas to take on one of the best defenses in the NFL (and a not too shabby offense)- the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys.  The Vegas game total sits at 44.5 and the Cowboys have a healthy implied team total of 27.25 while the Colts are just sitting at 16.75.  Dak Prescott and his Cowboys have won two of their last three games and four of its last five while  the Colts have lost two straight. For tonight’s matchup there is a full rundown of players and suggestions below and you can always take a look at our Weekly Match-Up Report and use NFL DFS Tools like our DFS Lineup Generator (a.k.a. the DFS lineup optimizer). 

First, from the words of our fearless leader at Fantasy Alarm, Howard Bender:

Now before we begin, for those who are new to the process, please take a moment to understand what exactly you are getting yourself into by playing single-game Showdown Slates. We love to have some skin in the game, for sure, but these slates are, for all intents and purposes, a lottery ticket. Sure, there are times when the chalk hits, and everyone shares in the prizes, but, often, you need to hit on that random dart throw that differentiates your lineup from that of the herd in order to claim the top prize. As a result, we encourage you to play responsibly and not over-invest. Stick to the GPP contests (single-entry preferred), don’t blow your whole bankroll, and understand that, unless you are a max-entry player, you should prioritize having fun.

OK, now let’s get to tonight’s action.

 

 

Spread: Cowboys -8.0

O/U:

Open- 44.5

Live- 44.0

Colts- 16.75

Cowboys- 27.25

 

Weather: AT&T Stadium

Temp: 52 degrees

Humidity: 81%

Precipitation: 32%

 

Notable DFS Injuries:

Colts

Keke Coutee- WR- Illness (P)

Kylen Granson-TE- Illness (P)

Cowboys

Michael Gallup- WR- Illness (Q)

 

2022 DVOA Defensive Rankings:

Colts

Vs Pass: 14th

Vs Run: 6th

Cowboys

Vs. Pass: 2nd

Vs. Run: 10th

 

**Please note that players not listed below are not necessarily a complete fade and any player listed can certainly be used as the MVP/Captain. These are merely suggestions for players to use when setting Showdown lineups.

TOP CAPTAIN/MVP

CeeDee Lamb- Dallas Cowboys WR

Lamb boasts a 31.4% target share and more importantly he should be avoiding Colts CB Stephon Gilmore who will be lined up against WR Michael Gallup on the outside for most of the game. Last week against the Giants was Lamb’s second 100-yard game of the season – both of which have come in the last three weeks. 

Dak Prescott- Dallas Cowboys QB

This may be a run first offense Prescott still comes in as a solid Cash play.  He is averaging 17.1 DK fantasy points on the season but has topped the 20-point mark in three of his last four and starting to get all his offensive pieces back healthy. Prescott is also the top FanDuel MVP tonight.

Jonathan Taylor- Indianapolis Colts RB

Taylor has touched the ball at least 23 times, and ran for 84 ground yards, and a touchdown in each of his last three games. The Cowboys have allowed the 10th-most rushing yards and eight-highest opposing yards per carry average in the NFL while Taylor is the engine that moves the Colts offense. Even as a big underdog it is tough to fade Taylor tonight.

Tony Pollard- Dallas Cowboys RB

Pollard has out-snapped Ezekiel Elliott in each of the last two games and has seen 41 running back opportunities compared to 33 for Elliot. He has also had more carries than Zeke (33 to 31) and at very similar prices, Pollard is the better all-around play and can be used as a Captain in GPPs.

Michael Pittman- Indianapolis Colts WR

Pittman has the highest floor out of all the Colts receivers and is due for a multi-touchdown game. He is the alpha of the Colts receivers’ room and can get there on volume alone tonight as the Colts play catch up. Pittman is my leverage Captain GPP play. 

 

UTILITY/VALUE

Cowboys DST

The Colts have one of the worst offenses in the NFL and now the Cowboys No. 1 pass-rush gets to set its sights on veteran Matt Ryan and the most-heavily sacked offense in the NFL. The Cowboys lead the NFL in sacks and are second in DVOA versus the pass so they will be putting up fantasy points one way or another. 

Brett Maher- Dallas Cowboys K

Skill position value is scarce tonight so that’s when a player like Maher becomes a solid play for cash. He is in the dome with a 27.25 team implied total and that means guaranteed points with a $4.4K DK piece tag.

Chase McLaughlin – Indianapolis Colts K

If the Colts get near the end zone and the offense sputters, we could see a few field goals from McLaughlin tonight. More of a GPP play but at this price he is viable in your lineups. 

Dalton Schultz- Dallas Cowboys TE

We all know how comfortable Prescott is with Schultz, as we saw on Thanksgiving Day with two scores. Indy has surrendered the eighth-most TDs to the tight end position in the NFL and Schultz is one of those players that will not drop balls and is a big-time red zone threat on a big-time offense. 

Alec Pierce- Indianapolis Colts WR

Pierce has been one of Matt Ryan's favorite targets this season and with Matty Ice back as the leader of the offense we should see more looks to the rookie from Cincinnati again. The Colts will be playing from behind so we can expect a nice number of passes to come Pierce’s way.