The Dallas Cowboys were hoping to earn their seventh win of the season when they hosted the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. A difficult matchup became that much harder when quarterback Tony Romo was declared out for Sunday, still dealing with a back injury from the Monday night loss to Washington. The Cowboys got on the board early, going up 10-0 in the first quarter, but they quickly fell behind and lost, 28-17.
Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray fantasy owners miss Tony Romo in Cowboys’ loss
Brandon Weeden started in place of an injured Tony Romo, and fantasy football owners suffered in the Cowboys’ loss to the Cardinals.
Wesley Hitt
Brandon Weeden was given the start, and despite showing promise in relief of Romo Monday night, it was not a successful game for the former Browns quarterback. He ended up with 183 passing yards, two interceptions and one garbage-time touchdown.
A few Dallas players somehow emerged from the rubble, and we’re here to break down the individual fantasy performers.
Dez Bryant: Bryant seemingly suffered the most in Romo's absence. He was targeted 10 times by Weeden, but only finished with two catches for 15 yards and one touchdown. Bryant had zero catches up until less than two minutes remained in the game. Although he made a few mistakes, most of the ineptitude stemmed from Weeden. Bryant will be a risky option if Romo doesn't play in Week 10, but the targets are certainly there to warrant a start as a low-end WR2 if Weeden plays again.
Terrance Williams: Williams caught two of his seven targets for 19 yards and no scores. If not Bryant, then Williams suffered the most from Weeden's presence. It didn't help that Williams' numbers were declining leading up to Sunday's game, but Weeden under center was the final nail in the coffin. If Romo doesn't start in Week 10, Williams is barely worth starting and is more of a WR4.
Jason Witten: Witten had one of the more notable performances of the day despite not reaching the end zone. He caught six of his seven targets for 62 yards. With Weeden "attacking" on shorter completions, Witten gained the most. He'll still be a low-end TE1 moving forward.
DeMarco Murray: Even Murray couldn't put up his usual numbers. With the passing game failing to pose any sort of threat, the Cardinals had the luxury of focusing completely on Murray for the afternoon. He rushed 19 times for 79 yards and caught four passes for 11 yards as well. While it wasn't a completely dismal performance, it's not what Murray owners have come to expect from their stud running back, who fell short of 100 yards rushing in a game for the first time this season. He'll likely get back on track as soon as Romo returns and is still a must-start regardless of which quarterback is on the field.
