WASHINGTON (vs. Dall.)
Washington underachieved against Pittsburgh, but the offense still has plenty of weapons and will come around. That process could begin Sunday against a Dallas defense that's woefully undermanned up front. This is, however, a divisional game, with both teams familiar with each other. Washington smoked a going-thru-the-motions Dallas team in Week 17 last year but otherwise hasn't scored more than 20 points in any of its last three games in this series. ... Matt Jones looks like the weak link in this offense right now. They have to get him going to get some balance -- set up play-action and slow down pass rushers. Jones looked like another Marshawn Lynch in his initial preseason as a rookie, and had a big game early that year, but he's been a non-factor since. He averaged 2.8 yards per attempt in his final 11 games last year, and he carried 7 times for 24 yards against Pittsburgh. He will be a lot better this week, running against ...
This report is taken from today's Week 2 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 18 pages of camp reports, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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a defensive front that's short a couple of big bodies. Rashad Jennings was a disaster in the preseason but looked palatable last week in Dallas, running for 75 yards on 18 carries. The Cowboys ranked 21st in run defense last year, and they have some history of allowing touchdowns on the run. This hasn't held in their last two games, with Washington and New York combining for 7 TD passes and no touchdown runs, but Dallas in its other 15 games last year allowed more touchdowns rushing (16) than passing (15). Good chance for Jones to punch one in. If they can't get him on track, the Chris Thompson should take on a busier role, utilized like a Sproles or Woodhead. ... Kirk Cousins flopped in the opener, throwing for 329 yards but failing to throw any touchdowns. He'll get that fixed. He's got the weapons, and this is a pass-heavy offense (with the running game struggling). Setting aside the Pittsburgh debacle (which could have been different with a couple of plays here and there), we still expect Cousins will have plenty of games with 300-plus yards and multiple touchdowns. He threw 3 TDs in less than a half in his last game against this opponent. We're putting a modest grade on him this week because they haven't shown they've got everyone on the same page. And while the Cowboys have some personnel shortcomings on that side of the ball, they played good pass defense last year. Other than that Week 17 game, in fact, no quarterback really shredded them last year. We're looking for about 270 yards and 2 TDs, but probably not more.
| Dallas vs. good QBs in 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Yards | TD |
| E.Manning | 193 | 0 |
| Ryan | 285 | 2 |
| Brees | 359 | 2 |
| Brady | 275 | 2 |
| E.Manning | 170 | 0 |
| Wilson | 210 | 1 |
| Winston | 264 | 0 |
| Tannehill | 188 | 2 |
| Newton | 183 | 0 |
| Cousins | 219 | 1 |
| Rodgers | 218 | 2 |
| Fitzpatrick | 299 | 1 |
| T.Taylor | 179 | 0 |
With the pass catchers, DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed are just great players <\a> guys you start every week. In a contract year, Jackson seems to be in career-best type of shape. He went over 100 yards in the opener, and he'll catch a lot of long touchdowns. Working the shorter routes, Reed will catch more passes. He's caught 103 passes and 12 TDs in his last 16 games. Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder play lesser roles, catching a lot of passes that don't do much damage. They each caught 6 passes against the Steelers, but both finished just under 60 yards. ... Washington apparently wants to get Josh Doctson involved, presumably working him in to make a few impact plays. Even though he essentially didn't practice all of August, he was active for the opener (catching 1 pass for 9 yards), while Rashad Ross was not. Ross has speed and was a standout in the preseason, and they also have Ryan Grant, but Doctson is the guy they want to get up and running. ... Dustin Hopkins looks like a reasonable enough option at kicker. Washington probably will win this game, and he kicked 3 field goals last week. ... We'll pass on the Washington Defense. It needs to get everyone on the same page, and while Dak Prescott is just a rookie, he hasn't been making many mistakes. Including the preseason, he's attempted 95 passes, with only 2 sacks and no turnovers. Prescott was saved from 2 interceptions in the preseason by a drop and a roughing-the-passer penalty, but he's not a typical rookie quarterback.