The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 18 matchup between the Commanders and Cowboys.
Find a breakdown of every Week 18 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Dallas | Rank | @ | Washington | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -13.0 | Spread | 13.0 | ||
| 29.25 | Implied Total | 16.25 | ||
| 29.4 | 3 | Points/Gm | 19.9 | 23 |
| 19.1 | 5 | Points All./Gm | 30.0 | 32 |
| 65.8 | 4 | Plays/Gm | 63.2 | 17 |
| 60.3 | 3 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 65.5 | 29 |
| 5.6 | 8 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.1 | 20 |
| 5.1 | 11 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.9 | 31 |
| 41.69% | 20 | Rush% | 33.83% | 32 |
| 58.31% | 13 | Pass% | 66.17% | 1 |
| 45.80% | 28 | Opp. Rush % | 43.03% | 18 |
| 54.20% | 5 | Opp. Pass % | 56.97% | 15 |
Cowboys Playoff Scenarios: Dallas is currently the No. 2 seed in the NFC and leading the NFC East.
With a win on Sunday, they secure winning the division and retaining the No. 2 seed.
If they lose, then they would need both the Eagles and Lions to lose to retain the No. 2 seed.
Dallas can technically be the No. 3 seed, but that requires them losing or tying, the Eagles losing or tying, and the Lions winning or tying.
Dallas will fall to the No. 5 seed if they lose and the Eagles win.
Playing on the road against a team that they should stomp would be an all-time trap spot for Dallas.
The Cowboys were in a similar spot (though not as clean as this week since they needed a Philadelphia loss to win the division) heading into Washington and completely no-showed, losing 26-6 in Sam Howell’s first career start.
You would have to believe this coaching staff is hammering that home this week and we do not get a repeat letdown.
All of that said, I am expecting Dallas to come out full throttle.
If they do end up resting anyone, it will be due to the game script that the starters created, meaning play all of your Cowboys in our final spot to attack this 2023 Washington defense.
Elimination Alert: Washington has been eliminated from the postseason.
Ron Rivera has nothing to lose here, though, so we could see Washington rally.
They did their best to hang around with San Francisco last week, with that game 13-10 at the half before Washington failed to generate any offense after the break once again this season.
But from a fantasy stance, there is not a lot to rise and be excited about.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott (TRUST): Prescott leads the NFL with 32 touchdown passes.
He should be in a strong spot to extend and solidify that lead.
Prescott was QB3 (32.2 points) when these teams played in Week 12, completing 22-of-32 passes for 331 yards (10.3 Y/A) with four touchdowns.
Washington is 31st in the NFL pressure rate.
When they did not pressure Prescott in Week 12, Dak was 21-of-24 passing with three of his touchdowns.
Unfortunately, he was 7-of-8 for 127 yards with a touchdown when they did pressure him.
Washington has allowed a league-high 18.8 passing points per game this season, allowing 12 QB1 scoring weeks on the season with eight top-six scoring weeks.
Washington QBs: The team attempted to start Jacoby Brissett last week before he suffered a hamstring injury in practice and ultimately could not play, and that hamstring injury will keep him out of this contest, as well.
Sam Howell will get another start after throwing for 169 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions against the 49ers last week.
Running Back
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