Every NFL season delivers its share of disappointments.
The Dolphins can point to the latest Tua Tagovailoa concussion for their 2-6 start. The Browns can blame Deshaun Watson for being 2-7.
The Jaguars were supposed to compete for an AFC South division title. Instead, they are 2-7 — and Trevor Lawrence’s “bust” talk has never been louder.
Of course, Super Bowl aspirations have been quelled by the Jets’ 3-6 start.
Then, there are the 3-5 Cowboys. Granted, many people didn’t expect a ton out of Dallas. Only the most diehard supporters — basically the Cowboys cult followers — envisioned anything more than a borderline playoff team that would be ousted quickly in January.
But 3-5 is a surprise.
More startling is how noncompetitive the Cowboys have been in those losses — even the losses that were within one score were only that close thanks to garbage-time scores. Now, that struggling Dallas team is dealing with injuries to a pair of its most important players.
Dak Prescott left Sunday’s loss to the Falcons with a hamstring injury.
“It’s something I have never felt,” he said.
That should have been an omen because it is being reported he will miss several weeks.
It gets worse for America’s Team. The Cowboys’ one true offensive star, CeeDee Lamb, left late with a shoulder injury.
Lamb’s injury isn’t considered serious, and he reportedly could play in Week 10 against the Eagles. But even if he does play, how eager should you be to use him with Cooper Rush as the quarterback?
Prescott is no world-beater, but there is no reason to believe anything improves with Rush. Prescott missed Weeks 2-6 in 2022, during which time Rush was the starter.
It started fine, with Lamb posting back-to-back 20-plus weeks in PPR. But the last two weeks, he averaged 11.5 — and that was with a much better team than the one that will take the field the next few weeks.
If Lamb is sidelined, Jalen Tolbert would be the next-best Dallas option at WR. But if Lamb is getting a downgrade, Tolbert certainly isn’t the caliber of player to be expected to overcome QB shortcomings.
Not to mention that Dallas has little to nothing in the ground game. With Ezekiel Elliott out, Rico Dowdle did well Sunday — 21.7 in PPR — but that type of production shouldn’t be expected to remain consistent with a knee-capped passing game.
Betting on the NFL?
Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, Tagovailoa and even Lawrence are good replacements for a healthy Prescott, so of course they are better options than Rush.
Russell Wilson, Drake Maye, Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, use any of them before you land on Rush. In fact, Bryce Young might be the only NFL QB with a lower fantasy ceiling.
If Lamb is out, we would rather roll the dice with Cedric Tillman, Elijah Moore, Quentin Johnston or even Xavier Legette than any Dallas options.
The Cowboys have been a disappointment. But if you look to their roster for fantasy help now, your fantasy team is going to be a disappointment, too.
