The Week 9 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys features division rivals looking to kick things into high gear to start the second half of the season. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Eagles-Cowboys featuring Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant
We break down the Week 9 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.
Philadelphia Eagles
It’s a good thing the Eagles are coming off of a bye week, because quarterback Sam Bradford needs to rework his game plan. Bradford threw for just 205 yards against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 and he walked away with no touchdowns and an interception to show for it. At times he’s made it seem as if not agreeing to a contract extension prior to the start of the season was a good move, but it doesn’t seem now that he belongs in the elite class of quarterbacks either in reality or fantasy football. Bradford is going to have to be solid the rest of the way and the Cowboys represent a tough but necessary test. It’ll be interesting to see if he answers the bell.
Bradford can only hope DeMarco Murray does the same. After rushing for touchdowns in back-to-back games, Murray ran for just 65 yards against the Panthers and was held out of the end zone. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, his stat line in Carolina was a more accurate reflection of what he’s producing on a consistent basis now in comparison to what he was doing last year. Maybe a matchup against his ex-teammates on his former home field will spark an added sense of inspiration in Murray that leads to bigger fantasy statistics this time.
Dallas Cowboys
Dez Bryant made his return to the Cowboys’ lineup against the Seattle Seahawks last week and he didn’t exactly look like the Dez Bryant of old. He’s admittedly playing at less than 100 percent and the current quarterback calling the shots is Matt Cassel, who got cut by the Buffalo Bills just before the start of the regular season. Bryant caught just two passes on seven targets against the Seahawks, but the good news is he’s up against the generous Eagles defense and he did play 51 out of 60 offensive snaps last week. Bryant’s upside is limited right now but he should be good as new when Tony Romo gets back under center, hopefully in time for the fantasy playoffs.
Another Cowboy looking good as new lately is running back Darren McFadden. He’s officially the No. 1 rusher in Dallas given that the team cut Joseph Randle during the week. Christine Michael should almost certainly see added touches given he’s now the No. 2 guy, but barring injury, it’s obvious McFadden will carry the load the rest of the way. He’ll be in for a lot of touches on Sunday given the wonky nature of the Cowboys passing game.
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