When the Cowboys travel to face the Titans to open Week 17 on “Thursday Night Football” (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video), they will be looking to stay alive in the NFC East title race while. Meanwhile, host Tennessee knows it will be playing for the AFC South title no matter what in Week 18 in Jacksonville, which raises some concerns for fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em decisions. The Cowboys might ease on the gas pedal as nearly double-digit favorites, while the Titans might rest key players with injury issues, including running back Derrick Henry (hip), who’s “doubtful.”
The Cowboys’ main injury concern has been their Pro Bowl running back, Tony Pollard (thigh), but he should be good to go after being kept out of practice early in the short week. (Update: Pollard is now not expected to play.)
Dallas faces a tough Tennessee run defense but a very weak pass defense. The Titans will once again have a compressed, run-heavy attack with Josh Dobbs starting at QB opposite Dak Prescott.
With all that in mind, here’s breaking down the week’s opening matchup in full fantasy detail:
WEEK 17 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start ’em, sit ’em
Cowboys: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Dak Prescott
Rayne Dakota still had more interception issues in Week 16, throwing an early pick-six against the Eagles, but then Dak went on a tear for his best fantasy performance of the season with 347 passing yards, three TDs, and 41 rushing yards. He won’t be in another shootout here, but he will need to pass well again to move the ball effectively against the NFL’s second-worst pass defense.
MORE TNF: DK lineup | FD lineup | Henry update | Pollard update
WEEK 17 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Sit: RB Ezekiel Elliott
Elliott has been feasting as a scorer, as he’s found the end zone in his past eight healthy games for a total of 10 TDs. That’s helped him finish as a low-end RB1 in most of those weeks. The Titans, however, have allowed just five rushing TDs all season, and two of those came in Week 15 against the Chargers. Here’s calling that he won’t score, and you’ll have to settle for something like 60 catch-less yards from scrimmage. The Titans also can focus on stopping him first inside with no threat of Pollard.
Start: WR CeeDee Lamb
Lamb has crushed it since Week 10 with four high-volume, 100-yard games and five TDs in the past seven outings. He can rip this secondary inside and outside.
WEEK 17 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Start: WR Michael Gallup
Gallup got back on the radar as a key playmaker with four catches for 36 yards and a TD against the Eagles. This is a game to try to push the ball vertically to him, as he needs to establish himself more over Noah Brown and newcomer T.Y. Hilton. He’s a good bet for a long scoring play outside.
Start: TE Dalton Schultz
Schultz has needed to deal with competition from Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot, which might suggest he won’t be re-signed to a long-term deal. That should only motivate him to shine so he can cash in elsewhere, and the Titans cannot cover him well.
Week 17 DFS: Best values
Start: K Brett Maher
It’s politically and fantastically correct to keep Maher as your kicker in the fantasy playoffs.
Start: Cowboys D/ST
How ’bout them Cowboys? Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs should be busy making plays.
WEEK 17 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Titans: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Sit: QB Josh Dobbs
As they were doing with Malik Willis, the Titans will likely try to hide Dobbs with a run-heavy game plan and will be reluctant to let him loose passing for fear of big mistakes.
Start: RB Hassan Haskins
Haskins will need to carry a big load with Derrick Henry (hip) “doubtful”, Dontrell Hilliard (neck) on IR, and Julius “Not Joey or Morris” Chestnut “roasting on an open fire” as the other option. Haskins can put up decent digits with a good shot to score in Henry’s stead.
Sit: WRs Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Robert Woods
Burks had some buzz when healthy with Ryan Tannehill, but the switch to fellow rookie Willis and now Dobbs wasn’t good for him. NWI also can go AWOL, while Woods can get lost in the trees. Unfortunately, these guys are unusable with Willis starting.
Sit: TEs Chigoziem Okonkwo and Austin Hooper
Dobbs, in theory, should lean a lot on Okonkwo, but that didn’t happen with Willis, and the Cowboys are typically tough on tight ends.
Sit: K Randy Bullock
“Never Mind the Bullock, Here Comes The Kicker You Won’t Play.”
Sit: Titans D/ST
Take me to another defense, take me to another D … but he won’t be guiding me to Tennessee.
Cowboys vs. Titans: FanDuel single-game lineup
- MVP (1.5X): QB Dak Prescott $17,500
- AnyFLEX: WR CeeDee Lamb $15,000
- AnyFLEX: Cowboys D/ST $10,000
- AnyFLEX: WR Michael Gallup $9,000
- AnyFLEX: RB Hassan Haskins $6,000
Here’s attaching ourselves to a big game from Prescott and his primary wide receivers, plus the savings on a potential fill-in workhorse and the Cowboys’ defense to clean up.
Cowboys vs. Titans: DraftKings Showdown lineup
- Captain (1.5X): WR CeeDee Lamb $17,100
- FLEX: QB Dak Prescott $10,600
- FLEX: WR Michael Gallup $7,000
- FLEX: Cowboys D/ST $5,800
- FLEX: K Brett Maher $4,200
- FLEX: RB Hassan Haskins $3,000
Here’s covering all the Cowboys’ receiving principals plus getting attached to Haskins in the Titans’ run-first offense should Henry be rested.
