The bye week gave the Dallas Cowboys a week of much needed rest. However, this week of rest should have a lot more impact on the NFC East race rather than fantasy owners. The offense will see a boost with the return of a finally healthy Miles Austin.
At this point Miles Austin may be worth an add if you have some room on your bench, but he’s not quite starter materiel. Even before getting hurt Miles Austin failed to get over ten points even once. Nevertheless, there’s still hope that Austin could return to form and become the reliable receiver he used to be. Dez Bryant draws the top coverage and double teams from the defense, leaving Austin with a potential miss match on every play. It’s still too early to trust Miles Austin, but with the Cowboys schedule and a struggling defense Miles Austin may prove to be a formidable weapon for both the Dallas Cowboys and your fantasy roster heading into the playoffs.
Very little needs to be said about Dez Bryant. He has yet to find the end zone in the past three meetings against the Giants, but there is absolutely no way you can bench him. He should be starting in every fantasy lineup and in a divisional game with that struggling defense Tony Romo is going to need to use his most talented weapon against a Giants team that has won four in a row. The only player who may suffer with the return of Miles Austin is Terrance Williams. Having scored a touchdown in five of the last six games, Williams has been a productive flex option. Miles Austin is sure to take away some of his targets and is yet another target in the red zone for Tony Romo.
Jason Witten has been inconsistent this year putting up under 5 points on six difference occasions and over 16 on two other occasions. Witten is still a top 10 fantasy tight end as is facing a Giants defense that has given up the 19th most points to tight ends. Unless you have another great option Witten should be starting in your lineup
The bye week changes very little for Tony Romo and should be starting in almost every single fantasy lineup. The Giants defense has been one of the most improved units over the past four weeks. However, they’ve had the luxury of playing low end and back up quarterbacks. Tony Romo may actually be the toughest test the Giants defense has had since Peyton Manning in week two. Even with the defense seeing many defensive players return, Sean Lee is expected to be sidelined against the Giants and that means Tony Romo knows that he won’t be able to depend on his defense to come out with a win as they did in week 1. The offense is going to have to carry this team and that’s the best thing for Tony Romo owners.
DeMarco Murray is going up against a Giants defense that has given up the 4th fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. One of the only bright spots in the disaster that was the game against the Saints, was that Murray had 89 yards and a touchdown in 16 carries. In a game that is going to be closer than the one against the Saints Murray should see an increase in carries and therefore he should also be seen in your fantasy starting lineup. If Murray is on your team he’s not a player that you can afford to bench. When given the chance he’s produced this year and after the defensive performance against the Saints one of the most important things for this team is going to be ball control and that means a lot of DeMarco Murray.
Dan Bailey has been reliable as usual and is against a team that is giving up the 5th most points to kickers. If Bailey is available on your waiver wire he’s definitely worth an add as a helpful schedule could make him one of the better fantasy kickers going into the playoffs. Last time the Cowboys played the Giants the defense put up a season high 26 points. the Giants have actually given up the most points to opposing defense this season making the Cowboys defense a tempting option. Many defensive players are returning from injury and they will definitely see a boost from the embarrassing display against the Saints. The absence of Sean Lee and the improved play of the Giants offense makes the Cowboys defense far from a must start. they’ve been able to produce turnovers and the defensive line, with the return of both Ware and Hatcher is going to be the healthiest it’s been all season. Taking all this into account the Cowboys defense is a high risk high reward play this week.
