Fantasy Football Thursday Night Takeaways | Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Zach Charbonnet Shine, but Cowboys Prevail Behind Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb

I take a lot of pride in all the articles I write for FantasySP, so it hurts to say I was way off line when it came to projecting how the week 13 Thursday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks would go.

While most of the Cowboys’ projections I made were solid, I told everyone to try to avoid all of the Seahawks’ options. I couldn’t have been more wrong, as the Seattle offense turned in a great performance against the usually elite Dallas defense.

Let’s dive into the game a bit and discuss what some players’ performances mean from a fantasy perspective.

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Cowboys Win a Shootout

I expected an ugly, low-scoring contest, with Dallas prevailing. Instead, the team’s combined for over 800 total yards and 76 points.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott continued to produce, finishing the contest with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns. He completed 29-of-41 passes and also attempted seven runs, tallying 23 more yards.

Prescott’s top target was again CeeDee Lamb. The fantasy star went for 116 yards and a touchdown while catching 12 of his 17 targets.

Jake Ferguson and Brandin Cooks also had strong fantasy outings. Ferguson caught 6-of-8 targets for 77 yards and a score. Cooks caught all four of his targets for 45 yards, but also scored.

Running back Tony Pollard was solid as well, rushing 20 times for 68 yards and a score. He caught three of his four targets for 15 more yards.

While Seattle quarterback Geno Smith only completed 23 of his 41 attempts, the completions went for 334 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw one interception. Smith also rushed for a touchdown.

DK Metcalf was the Seahawks’ top pass catcher, hauling in 6-of-8 targets for 134 yards and three scores. He’s probably going to finish as WR1 in week 13, and I was leaning toward benching him this week. Gotta love it.

Running back Zach Charbonnet is another guy I wasn’t a fan of this week. All he did was rush for 60 yards and a score and catch a 39-yard pass. 

Tyler Lockett only finished with 47 receiving yards on five catches and eight targets. Not a horrible day, but I’d count that as a rare win for my projections this week. Jaxon Smith-Njigba outplayed Lockett, catching 7-of-11 targets for 62 yards. 

Dallas Fantasy Football Outlook

This section will be pretty cut and dry. All of the Cowboys I mentioned earlier are guys that you probably should be starting going forward, at least for the team’s next contest or two.

If Prescott has a couple more good showings and avoids a disastrous week, he just might be QB1 by the end of the season. Heck, he might win MVP if the Cowboys win the NFC East and the team gets the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The best part with Prescott is that he’s got some favorable matchups ahead. He’s got an A in the new FantasySP strength of schedule page.

Pollard hasn’t lived up to lofty expectations this season, but he’s the workhorse on a great offense, and that means you should be starting him every week. He’s got some tougher matchups going forward, but if he can continue to add some value as a pass catcher, I’ll remain confident in starting him.

Lamb is a must-start receiver for the rest of the season, even if he were to put up a down showing. Cooks has been a borderline starter for several weeks now, but keeps producing, so I’d start him until his production says not to. The matchups for the Cowboys’ wideouts are favorable moving forward.

Ferguson has been a red zone machine this season, and at the weak tight end position, he is one of the better options. Unless you have a guy like Travis Kelce or T.J. Hockenson, Ferguson should be your starting TE. He’s got a favorable schedule ahead too.

Michael Gallup is probably droppable after getting blanked on Thursday. He’s struggled three straight weeks now. Hold him in deeper leagues, as an injury to a pass catcher could increase his role.

Rico Dowdle has been getting a lot of love on the waiver wire these past few weeks. He only had six touches and 22 yards on Thursday. I wouldn’t drop him, simply because he’s the clear No. 2 guy and could be a fantasy star if Pollard ever misses time.

Seattle Fantasy Football Outlook

Things were trending in the wrong direction for the Seahawks’ offense, but Thursday’s contest should give fantasy owners who roster any players much more confidence for the rest of the season.

Smith looked more like the QB he was last year then the mediocre one he’d been to this point of the season. His schedule is pretty average moving forward.

Charbonnet’s outing wasn’t anything super special, but it should give the Seahawks some confidence to roll with him again if Kenneth Walker isn’t ready for week 14. It’s a tougher schedule for the Seattle backs moving forward.

Metcalf’s outing was easily his best of the season and maybe it helped him separate from Lockett and JSN. Now fantasy owners just have to wonder if Smith-Njigba or Lockett is the better starting option moving forward. Seattle’s wideouts have a very favorable schedule on paper moving forward.

Tight end Noah Fant was decent on Thursday, catching 3-of-4 targets for 43 yards. It’s not enough to add and start him in standard leagues, but he might be worth a start in deeper leagues. His schedule is tough moving forward though.