Packers, Cowboys Wild Card Playoff Fantasy Football Takeaways: Jordan Love, Aaron Jones, Romeo Doubs, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and More

The Wild Card Round has delivered some shocking results through two days, so before we wrap up this round of the NFL playoffs, let’s take a look back at what’s transpired.

We already looked at the Houston Texans’ win over the Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Miami Dolphins, so now it’s time to get into Sunday’s games. The Green Bay Packers rolled to a 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the first game of the day.

Green Bay Dominates to Advance

The 48-32 finish makes it look like a shootout, but Green Bay was in control the entire way. Green Bay held leads of 27-0, 34-10 and 48-16 before two late Dallas touchdowns.

The 48 points suggest the Packers’ offense dominated, and that was absolutely true. Green Bay racked up 415 total yards - oddly enough, the Cowboys’ offense had 510 total yards, so this matchup was fantasy football heaven.

Packers’ quarterback Jordan Love completed 16 of his 21 passes for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a perfect passer rating until a dropped pass late in the contest.

Love has been red hot in the team’s win-or-go-home contests over the past month. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns and no picks over the past four games. He simply doesn’t look like a first-year starter.

Love was a top-five fantasy QB this season, so he was already trending toward being a top-10 QB in fantasy drafts next season. Performances like these will continue to vault Love up those rankings. Green Bay has another franchise quarterback, and you have a great fantasy option, not only for the rest of the postseason, but for years to come.

Aaron Jones continued his dominance over the Cowboys with a three-touchdown outing. He rushed for 118 yards on 21 carries and caught his lone target for 13 yards.

Jones has rushed for 100+ yards in four straight games, and should remain a focal point of the offense as long as the Packers are playing. He’s accomplished a few of those games against strong run defenses, so the matchup is starting to matter less and less.

AJ Dillon missed the game with an injury, so Emanuel Wilson and Patrick Taylor got all the backup touches. Neither was all that impressive, so they won’t be fantasy options going forward, even if Dillon remains out.

The Packers’ balanced group of pass catchers was led by Romeo Doubs this week. Doubs went off for 151 yards and a touchdown on six catches and targets. He was wide open all game long.

Dontayvion Wicks continued his late season surge with 25 yards and a score on two catches and targets. Tight end Luke Musgrave tallied 52 yards on three catches and targets, while catching Love’s other touchdown pass.

Fellow tight end Tucker Kraft was limited to 15 yards on two catches and three targets. Christian Watson returned from a multi-game absence, but had only one catch and target going for 9 yards. Bo Melton, another guy who had excelled recently, only had one catch for 7 yards on two targets. Jayden Reed, who led the team much of the season, didn’t have a reception on three targets.

The point I’m trying to get across with all those numbers is that any of those guys are capable of big games every week. There’s no go-to player, and you could have 150 yards one week before going without a target the next week. 

That makes it nearly impossible to pick out the best fantasy options. We’ll dive more into the best starting options for the upcoming round later in the week, so check back for that.

One last thing I want to note is the Packers’ defense. Sure, 32 points and 510 total yards allowed is not great, but a lot of the points and yards came in garbage time.

The Packers’ only points allowed in the first half were a touchdown as the second quarter clock expired, and the hosts wouldn’t have scored that if it weren’t for a defensive penalty. Green Bay’s defense also had a 64-yard interception return from Darnell Savage, so many people will probably consider the defense as a starting option against the loaded San Francisco 49ers in the next round. We’ll cover that more in detail later in the week, so again, be sure to check back.

Cowboys’ Get Hot Too Late

With some garbage time yards, many of the top fantasy options for the Cowboys delivered more than respectable numbers. It was great for fantasy owners, but pretty meaningless in the actual game.

Dak Prescott was 41-of-60 (yes, 60 passing attempts) for 403 yards and three touchdowns, but two interceptions cost the team dearly. Prescott also rushed six times for 45 yards.

Those are incredible numbers, especially in the playoffs, but his two first half picks allowed Green Bay to get out to a huge lead. Prescott was one of the better fantasy quarterbacks this season, but questions about his ability to lead the team to a Super Bowl are going to pop up now after another down playoff performance.

This Cowboys’ offense is loaded, so there’s no reason to think Prescott can’t have another monster fantasy season next year. He’ll be in the first tier of QBs selected in fantasy drafts.

The lopsided nature of the game forced the Cowboys to pass a bunch, but running back Tony Pollard still put up decent numbers. He rushed 15 times for 56 yards and a score, while hauling in 7-of-9 passes for an additional 29 yards. 

Pollard was pretty unspectacular this season, and is looked to as one of the bigger fantasy busts. He’s a free agent this offseason, so it’ll be interesting to see if he re-signs with Dallas, or latches on with another team. His fantasy outlook will be affected depending on where he lands.

CeeDee Lamb was the top Dallas pass catcher, finishing with 110 receiving yards, but he and Prescott didn’t get on the same page until the second half. Lamb made just nine grabs on 17 targets.

Lamb was a fantasy stud all season, so his slow first half was a big surprise to watch. His final numbers were good, but I’d think a lot of fantasy owners who started him this week are probably pretty unimpressed. 

Lamb will be one of the top fantasy receivers taken in drafts next season. He’d benefit from the same guys being back on offense, or adding a talented receiver or running back through the draft or free agency.

Michael Gallup totaled 103 yards on six catches and targets, while Brandin Cooks went for 47 yards on six grabs and eight targets. Those are both solid PPR fantasy outings, but without a touchdown, turned out to be just OK showings.

Both guys should be back in Dallas for next season, but again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team makes some moves to either move on from one of them, or simply bring in some more competition.

The fantasy star on Sunday was tight end Jake Ferguson. He caught 10 of his 12 targets for 93 yards and three touchdowns.

Ferguson capped the season with eight touchdown grabs. He was a big part of the Cowboys’ offense and should retain it for the foreseeable future. Ferguson definitely crept up fantasy draft boards this season, but he’ll still probably be a pretty solid value pick wherever he ends up going.

I want to hit on the defense before wrapping things up.

This was one of the most feared defenses in the league for much of the season, but down the stretch, opposing offenses were able to rack up a bunch of yards on them. I’d be shocked if the defense isn’t the focal point of the offseason for Dallas. They have some talent on that side of the ball, but definitely could benefit from a few more playmakers. That’s what makes Bill Belichick such a fascinating head coach option if the Cowboys decide to end things with Mike McCarthy.