Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 16: Cowboys vs. Redskins
Two disappointing teams with bad defenses face off in a late-season division matchup. Points galore!
The Dallas Cowboys come into Sunday desperately needing a win to keep their playoff hopes holding strong. The Washington Redskins come into Sunday desperately needing a win to avoid an offseason of "RG3-13" jokes. One of those situations is a bigger deal than the other. The two face off at 1 p.m. ET Sunday in Washington, and there is the potential for a lot of offensive firepower, and as such, a lot of fantasy productivity.
Cowboys
Start in every league: Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Dan Bailey
Start if you’re desperate: Defense/special teams
Bench: Terrance Williams
Take out his enormous Week 5 performance against the Denver Broncos, and Romo is averaging only 15.2 points per game - 14th among quarterbacks - and he hasn't topped 20 in a game even once. Still, he's the No. 7 fantasy quarterback, and he gets a nice matchup. He's a solid play. ... Murray has missed two games, barely played in another, and yet still comes in as fantasy's No. 8 running back on the season. The Redskins are the worst defense against opposing running backs other than Murray's own team. Expect a huge game from him. ... It was nice to see Bryant return to big production in Week 15 after averaging only 56.5 yards per game over the previous six. He's still scored 11 touchdowns this season, and this is a fine matchup. ... Witten has become a real boom-or-bust tight end, but he's been booming more often as the season has gone on. ... Bailey has been a top-flight kicker this year, coming in at No. 6 at the position.
The Cowboys’ defense has been historically awful of late. There’s no sugar-coating that; the unit has put up a total of negative-five points in its last five games. Sunday, though, it should be able to stumble in to an interception or two without much worry, and from there it’s only a bit of luck to accrue big value. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone starting them, but it’s not as outlandish as it seems this week.
Williams' promising season has fallen apart since the return of Miles Austin; he's averaged only 28.8 yards and two fantasy points in his last four games, and has only topped 71 yards once all season.
Redskins
Start in every league: Alfred Morris, Pierre Garcon
Start if you’re desperate: ...
Bench: Kirk Cousins, Santana Moss, Aldrick Robinson, Logan Paulsen, Fred Davis, Kai Forbath, Defense/special teams
With only one touchdown and 6.4 fantasy points per game in his last five, not to mention only 60 yards a game, it’s been a disappointing stretch for Morris. Still, against the Cowboys’ colander of a defense, he’ll be fine. ... The team is pretty clearly trying to let Cousins throw as much as he can, which bodes well for the team’s top receiver, Garcon.
That’s pretty much it as far as who fantasy owners should consider using. There’s some groundswell for Cousins, under the argument that the team will have him throw a lot and the Cowboys have a bad defense, but it’ll be a tough match between touchdowns and interceptions in the game, and the interceptions could easily win out. Don’t do it. ... Moss, Robinson, Paulsen, and Davis have all been to erratic and disappointing to use, even against a bad defense. ... Forbath has only converted more than two field goals in a game once all season, and has made one or zero in six of his last nine. ... The Redskins’ defense is so very very bad.
