Recapping the fantasy impact of Cowboys 45-10 win against Commanders

Which Cowboys did you start in your fantasy league this week?

The Dallas Cowboys are showing off at this point. Facing a lowly Washington Commanders team, the Cowboys throttled their divisional rivals in front of a raucous home crowd and 41 million viewers. The Cowboys obliterated a 12.5-point spread and stuffed the Commanders’ offense while feasting (literally) at Washington’s expense. For some fantasy leagues, this marks the beginning of a three-game stretch to end the regular season. Hopefully, the Cowboys got you off to a fast start in your fantasy matchups.

Here is your recap of Thursday’s game.

QB – Dak Prescott, 45 Yahoo fantasy points

Entering the Thanksgiving matchup versus the Commanders, Dak Prescott was in a prime position to have an excellent fantasy performance. The Commanders have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season, mainly due to an ineffective secondary. Last week, the Commanders yielded three touchdowns and 246 yards to New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito. Prescott took full advantage of the Commanders on Thursday.

Prescott finished his day with 331 yards passing, completing 22 of his 32 passes for four touchdowns and a QB rating of 142. Prescott is averaging 324 yards over his last four weeks. He’s been outstanding in the last month of the season. It’s a significant surge for a player with an ADP of the consensus ninth quarterback to possible fantasy league winner, if not NFL league MVP.

Entering the weekend, Prescott will likely have another top QB finish in fantasy. Prescott should have much more fantasy relevance to close the season with likely shootouts ahead against the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins.

RB – Tony Pollard, 20 Yahoo fantasy points

Tony Pollard has stacked together two productive fantasy weeks. Pollard looked more explosive than last week, and the Dallas offensive line is making strides in their run blocking. Pollard surpassed 100 yards from scrimmage for the first time since Week 6 and maintained a substantial involvement in the passing game. Pollard caught all six of his targets and scored a touchdown in a second straight week.

It’s also noteworthy that Pollard played 76% of the offensive snaps versus just 22% for Rico Dowdle. Pollard also had 13 carries juxtaposed to only three carries for Rico Dowdle. Pollard has surpassed his projected points in consecutive weeks, and things are looking good for Pollard fantasy managers.

WR – CeeDee Lamb, 17 Yahoo fantasy points & Brandin Cooks, 17 Yahoo fantasy points

Thanks to missed opportunities, CeeDee Lamb had a modest game against the Commanders in terms of yards. Lamb had a few good chances for huge gains, but Dak Prescott had a few missed throws to Lamb he would like to have back. Prescott couldn’t connect with Lamb on what would’ve been a long touchdown on the first drive of the game and later on a deep throw down the sideline.

Despite not posting the gaudy numbers he has as of late, Lamb still managed to find the end zone and added to an excellent effort to haul in a pass for a two-point conversion. Additionally, Lamb’s volume was still high as Dak Prescott targeted him nine times.

The components are there for Lamb to be a viable option weekly, with high usage of red zone targets and a steady target share, giving Lamb a much higher fantasy floor. Meanwhile, Brandin Cooks also scored another touchdown and led the Cowboys in receiving yards for a second week in a row, matching Lamb with 17 fantasy points.

TE – Jake Ferguson, 4 Yahoo fantasy points

Jake Ferguson had a rough day on the fantasy scoreboard through no fault of his own. Entering Week 12, the Commanders are in the top third of fewest yards allowed to tight ends per game, and on Thursday, the trend held. Ferguson’s meager day can be attributed to a lack of targets as the Commanders’ secondary is susceptible to sizeable gains against their secondary.

Ferguson was held to a single reception for 35 yards. While impactful to the game, it didn’t assist fantasy managers in the grander scheme. Ferguson’s tight end counterpart, Luke Schoonmaker, didn’t fare much better, catching one pass for 12 yards. Combined, both tight ends totaled two catches for 47 yards on five targets. It won’t get much easier for Ferguson as he faces a Seattle Seahawks defense that held George Kittle to just four fantasy points.

DEF/ST – 21 Yahoo fantasy points

The Dallas Cowboys defense surrendered 376 yards to the Commanders’ offense, including 300 passing yards to Sam Howell. However, the Cowboys limited the Commanders to 10 points in their 35-point blowout thanks to three stops on fourth down. Howell has been sacked a league-most 55 times, and Dallas took him down four times. The Cowboys’ pass rush, specifically Micah Parsons, was tremendous.

Per Pro Football Focus, Parsons recorded nine quarterback pressures, six quarterback hurries, a 20.9% pass-rush win rate, and 1.5 sacks. The crown jewel of another terrific defensive performance was DaRon Bland’s historic pick-six. Bland’s fifth interception return for a touchdown is a new season NFL record for return scores.