Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week – Week 5

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Last week’s Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week was arguably the week’s biggest storyline. Riding the high of a dominant victory in Week 4, the Miami Dolphins took their high-wire act to Buffalo, only to have their world come crashing back to Earth. The Bills stomped the Dolphins in a 48-20 statement game, pronouncing that they are the leaders of the AFC East. The chips sometimes fall that way though, as we are all too familiar with as fantasy football managers.

Looking ahead, this week I’m featuring an NFC clash between two juggernauts, both with their eyes set on hoisting the Lombardi Trophy come February. The Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week is none other than the Cowboys vs. the 49ers.

Week 5 Teams on Bye Weeks

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers

Both of these powerhouses are more identifiable by their defenses over their offenses. However, that doesn’t mean we won’t have fantasy football points to go around. FanDuel Sportsbook has this game at a 45-point over/under, indicating that it may not be a barn-burner, but when you have two of the best teams in the league going head-to-head, they’re certainly going to play their hearts out to send a message to the league in the same manner that Buffalo just did. Luckily, this is a primetime game so it’ll be easy to catch the action.

Quarterbacks

To say Dak Prescott has been a fantasy football disappointment is an understatement. When Mac Jones, Baker Mayfield, and Joshua Dobbs are scoring more points than you, you know it’s been a rough month in the streets. Prescott has only four touchdowns through four weeks, and he’s not likely to surpass his single-TD average against the 8th-ranked defense against quarterbacks. DO NOT PLAY PRESCOTT! There are plenty of streaming options I like better this week, such as Jared Goff, Jordan Love, and even Matthew Stafford in a bad matchup against Philadelphia.

Brock Purdy, on the other hand, has been quite serviceable. In fact, outside of Week 2 of this year, Purdy has scored at least two touchdowns in every regular season game he’s started. Now, it should be said that Purdy has already played against (and defeated) Dallas. In the Divisional Round of last year’s playoffs, he led the 49ers to a 19-12 victory, but he himself wasn’t particularly effective, completing 65% of his passes for 214 yards and no touchdowns.  It’s anyone’s guess if he’ll fair better this time around, but I know that I would much rather start him over the quarterback on the other side of the field.

Running Backs

Tony Pollard has been good to start the year, posting double-digit fantasy performances in three of the four games this year. He found running room tougher to come by against New England’s defensive front last week, and while this week’s matchup might not look great on paper, he’s still a solid RB option to deploy. The 49ers rank 11th against the run so far, meaning that all hope is not lost for running back production. I’d still play Pollard confidently over other RB options like Travis Etienne Jr., Joe Mixon, and Kyren Williams. 

What else is there to say about Christian McCaffrey other than he is the best in the game? Any casual viewer of the sport can see that whenever he gets the ball, he’s just stronger, quicker, and better than everyone else. Outside of his bye week and injury, there is no reason to ever be worried about McCaffrey and his elite production. Fire him up without hesitation, even against Dallas’ number-one-ranked rushing defense.

In deep leagues or dynasty leagues, occasionally McCaffrey’s backup can be desperation-streamed in good matchups, but this is not one of those. Keep Elijah Mitchell (if he plays) and Jordan Mason out of starting lineups.

Wide Receivers

Dallas

The Cowboys really only have two bright spots on offense: Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb. Despite his high fantasy football draft capital and his perennial WR1 status, he’s been inconsistent at best as he is unfortunately tied to an underwhelming Prescott. Even still, I like Lamb in this game. If the Cowboys are going to have any chance at winning this game or covering the 3.5-point spread, Lamb will need to be involved to a high degree. The other passing options have not provided much support or confidence. You weren’t sitting Lamb in this game anyway, but you may have been weary. Consider this a vote of confidence that Lamb should be fine this weekend.

There was a lot of hope coming into the season for Brandin Cooks. Whether with the Saints, the Rams, or the Texans, Cooks was consistently performing well, posting six 1,000-yard seasons in his nine years in the league. However, if we took his yardage totals for his first month in Dallas and projected that out for the remainder of the season, he’d finish with 34 receptions for 280 yards! He’s been that bad! This is not the week that he’ll turn it around. Don’t play Cooks. Don’t even roster him.

If you’re looking for a desperation wide receiver play, Michael Gallup is more likely to satisfy than Cooks. Gallup actually has fantasy-relevant games, going 6-92 in Week 3, and 5-60 in Week 4. I wouldn’t be excited to play him, but he could provide a safe enough floor with the 49ers’ secondary likely to key in on Lamb.

San Francisco

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are the stars of San Francisco’s passing attack, and both are solid plays in this game. Despite the difficult matchup where the Cowboys rank 3rd overall against fantasy wideouts, both Samuel and Aiyuk have one-play-magic potential, and both will be needed in this game to take down Dallas.

Samuel certainly disappointed owners last week by laying a goose egg, but I guarantee that Samuel will be used early and often in this one; HC Kyle Shanahan designs plays for his playmakers, and they’ll need Samuel to go to work in this one. Samuel profiles as a WR2 in this matchup, and I’d start him over players like Michael Pittman Jr., Garrett Wilson, and Calvin Ridley.

Aiyuk put up big numbers last week (6 rec, 148 yds) after returning from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss Week 3. He’s been showcasing his route-running and hands lately, and he is their dominant passing option when they need chunk yardage. Dallas’ secondary lost a major piece when Trevon Diggs tore his ACL a few weeks ago, so there will be room for Aiyuk to operate and get open in the intermediate area. I could see Aiyuk catching a handful of passes for over a hundred yards on Sunday Night Football. He’s easily a backend WR1.

Tight Ends

Peyton Hendershot missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury and is questionable to play Sunday, and Luke Schoonmaker only has one reception on the year. Jake Ferguson is the Dallas tight-end play if you’re looking for one. Ferguson has had seven targets in three of the four games this season, and he’s a safer play than Gallup and Cooks. Prescott has always had a connection with his tight ends, and Ferguson is his primary target after Lamb. I’d play Ferguson over Tyler Higbee, Dalton Kincaid, and counterpart, George Kittle.

George Kittle is like car insurance. It’s there when you need it, but you rarely do. That’s how he feels on the field. He can be the guy when the 49ers need him to be, but when they have other productive options with McCaffrey, Samuel, and Aiyuk, they simply don’t need Kittle to have a game.

An argument can certainly be made that the 49ers will need him in this one which is one reason why managers may feel compelled to roll him out, but any Kittle owner will tell you that it’s always a high-risk proposition anytime you cement him into your lineup; he’s posted three games of 30 yards or less this season. The streaming tight-end landscape isn’t very encouraging, so I get it if you don’t have a choice but to play Kittle. If I was in that position though, I would expect to get next to nothing and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

The defenses may be at the heart of this matchup, but there will be fantasy value to be had. If you need help finding fantasy value in other games this weekend, check us out @FFFaceoff on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We have all the news coverage, player rankings, and valuable tools you need to help you win your matchups. Good luck and high scoring!

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