Cowboys @ Panthers Week 11 Game Preview
Jonathan Fuller breaks down the Week 11 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers from a fantasy football and betting perspective.
Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers
One of the more lopsided matchups of the weekend will see the Dallas Cowboys visit the Carolina Panthers for a Sunday showdown.
The Panthers have the fourth-lowest-scoring offense in the NFL, while the Cowboys' defense is giving up the fourth-fewest points per game. This has all the makings of a blowout.
In fact, Dallas has been specializing in blowouts this season, with six of their nine games being decided by at least 20 points. They have been on the winning side in five of those six contests and will be looking to add another 20+ point victory to their resume in Week 11.
Although the game itself isn’t expected to be competitive, it may not be a total loss for fantasy managers. Interestingly, these two teams are both top-5 in situation-neutral pass rate over the past four weeks, which gives the game a better chance of producing plenty of points.
The main beneficiary of the Cowboys’ pass-heavy approach has been CeeDee Lamb, as he has put up historic numbers over their last three games.
Both Lamb and Dak Prescott are elite fantasy options this week, and rank as top-5 options at their position in the Fantasy Life consensus ranks.
Both Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks scored last week, but neither guy has earned consistent volume this season and should be viewed as nothing more than a desperation flex play for this week.
The most interesting conundrum for fantasy managers is what to do with Tony Pollard, who continues to be wildly inefficient. He has another soft matchup this week against one of the league’s worst run defenses and should still be in lineups despite his disappointing run of games.
I still have some hope that we’ll see a breakthrough game for Pollard, but it is getting to be that point in the season where it will be too late for fantasy managers if it doesn’t happen soon.
For the Panthers, Bryce Young will have his work cut out for him against a Cowboys defense, allowing just 166 passing yards per game this season, the second-best mark in the NFL.
Young has just one game this season with multiple passing TDs and hasn’t topped 200 passing yards in either of his last two games. The expectation should be another rough outing for the rookie this weekend.
The Panthers' offensive struggles have finally begun to impact Adam Thielen, who has logged three straight games as the WR23 or worse. He is still a startable fantasy asset thanks to his high target floor, but the big games.
Chuba Hubbard has taken over the Carolina backfield in recent weeks and should be a high-priority waiver add in leagues where he is still available, but I would really try to avoid starting him in this matchup.
The same goes for Jonathan Mingo, who has seen his role grow in recent weeks, which could make him a valuable player to stash, but not someone I would want to trust in my lineup for Week 11.