• The elite wide receivers put on a show: Ja’Marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb each scored touchdowns and combined for 63.9 PPR points.
• Young running backs continue to impress: Chase Brown and Rico Dowdle are two of the best surprise running backs of the season, and both gave reason for optimism during the fantasy playoffs.
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Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Dallas Cowboys
- Ja’Marr Chase: 14 receptions, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns
- Chase Brown: 14 carries, 58 yards, 6 receptions, 65 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Rico Dowdle remains on the rise: While Dowdle became the Cowboys’ clear lead back weeks ago, his role has continued to grow.
Dowdle started the season rotating by drive with Ezekiel Elliott, while Hunter Luepke played in clear passing situations. Since Week 10, when Dowdle returned after missing a game, Elliott’s playing time has nose-dived. Instead of rotating by drive like in the first nine weeks of the season, Elliott entered the game only when Dowdle needed a break. As the weeks went on, Dowdle needed less time off.
This helped Dowdle achieve his first 100-career rushing game last week and his second one this week. This week wasn’t just a good game for Dowdle’s rushing production, but also his playing time. For the first time since Week 2, Luepke didn’t dominate third-down snaps. Dowdle took some of those plays, including runs on third-and-3 and third-and-24. It’s possible he saw more snaps because the Cowboys just wanted to run the ball, but he also ran a route on a third-and-5. Dowdle was also on the field in the last minute of the game while the Cowboys attempted a comeback.
If Dowdle continues to take significant third-down snaps in games where the Cowboys are in more third-down situations, he will have one of the best roles during the fantasy playoffs. Dallas has a strong schedule for running backs the next two weeks against the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jake Ferguson returns for the Cowboys: The Cowboys’ leading tight end missed the past two weeks with a concussion.
Ferguson has shown some sparks this season but has disappointed more weeks than not. He’s gained at least 70 receiving yards in three games but was held to less than 25 yards in five games before this week and hasn’t scored a touchdown this season.
Luke Schoonmaker has been Dallas' primary receiving tight end for the past three weeks. He’s gained at least 30 receiving yards in all three games and added one touchdown. It was reasonable to think Schoonmaker would see more playing time than he did earlier in the season.
With Ferguson back, Schoonmaker played more than usual, but it was largely in the form of two-tight end sets rather than taking playing time from Ferguson. This was partially because the game remained close. Ferguson was still consistently on the field in clear passing situations.
Despite Ferguson taking most of the routes, Schoonmaker was nearly as productive, with two receptions for 22 yards compared to three for 32 by Ferguson. It will be hard to trust either tight end over the rest of the season, as there is still a possibility Schoonmaker will earn more playing time than Ferguson. Both players will be on their rookie contract in 2025, so this potential playing time competition could continue throughout next season.
Mike Gesicki’s quiet game: Gesicki’s playing time has recently declined.
He had one of the most talked-about splits in the fantasy football community, with all his best games coming when Tee Higgins was inactive. He’s been inconsistent outside of those weeks, but there has been a recent trend of him not playing as much.
Over the first 45 minutes of the game, Gesicki caught one pass for 5 yards. In the fourth quarter, he made receptions on two straight plays to give him a more respectable stat line of three receptions for 24 yards, which was still disappointing for anyone starting him in fantasy.
This is likely due to how the Bengals use their tight ends. In recent seasons, Drew Sample has been their run-blocking tight end, and Cincinnati often uses four tight ends. Gesicki has been a clear receiving tight end throughout his career. Cincinnati didn’t have left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. this week due to a fibula injury, and they’ve been without Trent Brown since Week 3. Cody Ford, who has spent all of his career at guard and right tackle, was the starting left tackle this week. The Bengals have also faced T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons in back-to-back weeks. Cincinnati has understandably left its run-blocking tight ends on the field to help protect Joe Burrow, which hurts Gesicki’s playing time and receiving production.
Unfortunately, the Bengals face the Tennessee Titans next week, and they have generally played well against tight ends. Cincinnati then faces two top-10 pass-rush units by PFF pass-rush grade. We might not see another big game out of Gesicki this fantasy season.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Bengals running back Khalil Herbert’s playing time has slowly increased, cutting into Chase Brown’s work.
• Bengals backup wide receiver and returner Charlie Jones was inactive for a fifth straight game due to a groin injury.
• The Bengals elevated kicker Cade York off the practice squad for this game with Evan McPherson on injured reserve.
• Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks was a healthy inactive for the second time in the past four weeks. He played more than 50% of offensive snaps during late October and early November but has fallen down the depth chart because of Brandin Cooks’ return and a lack of production.
• Cooks saw a slight increase in snaps during his second game back. His snaps largely came at the expense of Jalen Tolbert, whose playing time has decreased significantly in recent weeks.
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.
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