NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Recap: Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears

• Tony Pollard: 14 carries, 131 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 reception, 16 receiving yards

• CeeDee Lamb: 5 receptions, 77 yards, 1 touchdown

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Tony Pollard starts: The Cowboys didn’t have Ezekiel Elliott due to injury, allowing Pollard a chance to shine.

His playing time didn’t increase as much as some might expect. Undrafted rookie Malik Davis saw significant playing time in the backfield, typically in normal early-down situations.
CeeDee Lamb lined up in the backfield for five snaps, something he hadn’t done since 2021.
Pollard scored three rushing touchdowns, something Elliott has never done in a game in his career.
Ideally, this excellent performance would lead to more playing time, but owner Jerry Jones already said this remains Elliott’s backfield.
This makes Pollard a sell-high candidate. The Cowboys have the fifth-worst schedule for running backs during the fantasy playoffs.

Jalen Tolbert’s missed opportunity: Noah Brown missed this game due to injury, allowing Tolbert to move up to third on the team’s depth chart.

Tolbert was consistently playing in three-receiver sets but never saw a target in the game.
He will likely go back to barely seeing playing time, assuming Brown is ready to go after the Cowboys' bye week next week.

Monitor Dalton Schultz: The Cowboys tight end played for the second straight week.

He was limited in practice all week with his knee injury and was questionable coming into the game.
He played his highest percentage of snaps in nearly a month, but it still wasn’t near how much he played during his peak last season.
Schultz still received enough playing time to be the Cowboys’ second-leading receiver, catching six passes for 74 yards.
Ideally, he sees more playing time as he gets healthier. The Cowboys’ rookie tight ends have still been playing well, so there is a chance Schultz never reaches his peak playing time.

Add Khalil Herbert: Herbert continues to be the Bears' most productive running back on the ground, which is earning him more carries.

Herbert isn’t seeing nearly as much playing time as David Montgomery, but he’s typically touching the ball whenever he’s on the field.
The Bears continued their tradition of using Montgomery exclusively over their first two drives.
Herbert ran the ball 16 times compared to nine for Montgomery after that point.
He has 564 rushing yards compared to 361 for Montgomery this season, despite Montgomery having 92 carries compared to 91 by Herbert.
Herbert has reached the point where he could be considered for fantasy starting lineups in games Chicago can stay competitive in.
The Bears’ schedule has been more difficult than average over the first half of the season but will be easier than average over the second half. This will lead to more rushing.

The Bears' new No. 2 wide receiver: N’Keal Harry caught a touchdown at the end of the first half, leading to more playing time in the second half.

Harry played 33 of a possible 42 plays in the second half, making him a clear second in offensive snaps at the position.
His snaps came at the expense of Equanimeous St. Brown. Dante Pettis remained the typical third wide receiver.
The Bears' passing game hasn’t been very friendly to fantasy managers, but Harry can be picked up in very deep leagues in case he continues to turn his career around.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.