Fantasy football advice, Week 12: who to start/sit for Washington vs. Dallas Cowboys

Fantasy owners already have enough to deal with on Thanksgiving, whether it’s awful side dishes, cliché racist uncles, or scalding themselves in the kitchen. So no one wants to add “being served a slice of awful fantasy lineup” to their list of gripes, which is completely understandable. So when Washington takes on the Cowboys for the first slate of football games, it’s best to at least attempt to avoid that outcome.

Kirk Cousins has been one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in recent memory, but fantasy owners have to be sold on him after recording his seventh game with 296 yards or more on Sunday night, as well as finding the end zone three more times. The Cowboys defense will provide more of a challenge for Cousins than the porous Packers defense, but Cousins has had a high floor against every opponent he has faced in 2016. He remains a QB1 for Thursday and beyond, and Jordan Reed and Robert Kelley can remain in fantasy lineups. Kelley has brought Washington a balance that it simply didn’t have with Matt Jones, and it looks as if the undrafted rookie will be a big part of the game plan for the foreseeable future.

Pierre Garcon recorded his first 100-yard performance since 2014 on Sunday, and led the team with seven targets in that game. It’s a feat that shouldn’t be understated given the plethora of weapons on Washington’s offense, but the fact that there’s such a high level of competition for targets makes taking a chance on this receiving corps risky. Jamison Crowder leads the team in receiving yards and has had either a touchdown or 100 yards in each of his last five games. He can be considered a worthy flex option against the Cowboys’ middling defense.

Though DeSean Jackson and Vernon Davis have important roles, fantasy owners can probably find safer options at each position for Week 12. Chris Thompson and Matt Jones can also remain on benches with Kelley firmly entrenched as the workhorse.

Ezekiel Elliott faced the No. 1 run defense in the NFL in Week 11 and still totaled 127 yards from scrimmage. Not that fantasy owners are laboring over the decision to start him, but he’ll be an elite RB1 option as usual. Dak Prescott can also safely be deployed as a QB1 and joins Jason Witten and Dez Bryant as mainstays in fantasy lineups for Week 12 and beyond. Bryant will face a lot of Josh Norman in coverage, but still managed a 7-102-0 line against his divisional rivals in Week 2.

Cole Beasley may have more of a role with Norman occupying Bryant, but presents a low ceiling with no teams on bye. He can join Alfred Morris, Terrance Williams and Brice Butler on benches of all formats.