Monday Showdown Week 6

Disclaimer

These contests are intended to be fun as you’re watching the game. It’s incredibly difficult to get a real edge as there are so few options, and in MME contests, there are often many duplicate lineups. One play or one penalty can change the entire outcome of the game.

Game Strategy

• Over/Under: 50.5
• Spread: Cowboys -1.5
• Cowboys Implied Team Total: 26
• Chargers Implied Team Total: 24.5

This projects to be a very fun and competitive game. All options and combinations are on the table. But with this one in Los Angeles, I lean toward heavier Chargers lineups.

Injury Roundup

• Mike Williams OUT
• Peyton Hendershot OUT
• Joshua Palmer Questionable (Groin)
• Donald Parham Questionable (Wrist)

Captain Consideration:

• Austin Ekeler
• Keenan Allen
• Justin Herbert
• Tony Pollard

Los Angeles Chargers

Quarterback

Justin Herbert - Captain/Flex

Justin Herbert leads a Chargers offense that ranks third in Expected Points Added per Play (EPA/Play) and fourth in Dropback EPA, and he ranks sixth in passing yards per game (276.5) and seventh in pass touchdowns per game (1.8). Despite the relatively tough matchup, Herbert is matchup-proof.

Running Back/Wide Receiver/Tight End/Defense/Kicker

Austin Ekeler - Captain/Flex

Austin Ekeler returns and immediately becomes the best Captain play in this one. Ekeler is one of the best assets in all of fantasy football and turned 20 touches into 164 total yards and 1 touchdown in Week 1 prior to getting injured. He'll benefit from the absence of Mike Williams as well as Josh Palmer being questionable in this one from a receiving standpoint as well.

Keenan Allen - Captain/Flex

Mike Williams is out for the year and Josh Palmer is Questionable due to a groin injury. Keenan Allen should continue to eat and soak up elite target volume. Allen ranks fourth in targets per game (11), second in receptions per game (8.8), and fifth in receiving yards per game (108.5).

Gerald Everett - Flex

Mike Williams is out for the year, Josh Palmer is questionable due to a groin injury, and fellow tight end Donald Parham is questionable due to a wrist injury. These factors could help Gerald Everett have a solid game. Everett's Chargers team ranks: fourth in targets (14), third in receptions (13), and fourth in receiving yards (107).

Quentin Johnston - Flex

Prior to the Chargers Week 5 bye, Quentin Johnston played on a season-high 51% of the offensive snaps with Mike Williams on Injured Reserve. And now Josh Palmer is questionable to play in this one. Johnston's playing time is only going to continue to rise and there is a lot to like about the first-round pick. Here's what I wrote about Johnston right after he was drafted:

Johnston is a total freak. It's as if he was built in a lab to create the ideal X wide receiver on the outside. A few decades ago, Johnston's height (6-foot-2) was exactly what teams were looking for in a number-one wide receiver. Things have certainly changed over the years as the ability to create separation and get open, no matter the height, has become more and more important. But that doesn't diminish Johnston's outlook because he offers a unique combination of height and speed. Johnston averaged 19 yards per reception on 115 collegiate catches. He's a big play waiting to happen on every down as he offers exciting yards after the catch ability, including a devastating spin move for a player his size and impressive ball tracking deep down the field.

Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback

Dak Prescott - Flex

Dak Prescott's numbers are pedestrian this season as he's being dragged down by Mike McCarthy. But the matchup is favorable against a Chargers defense that only ranks 26th in EPA/Play Allowed and 28th in Dropback EPA Allowed.

Running Back/Wide Receiver/Tight End/Defense/Kicker

Tony Pollard - Captain/Flex

Tony Pollard ranks eighth in the NFL in opportunities per game (20.6) and has a matchup to exploit here against a Chargers defense that ranks 26th in EPA/Play Allowed and 14th in Rush EPA Allowed. Pollard is the #1 Captain option on the Cowboys as his elite volume should equate to many fantasy points in this one.

CeeDee Lamb - Flex

Mike McCarthy is dragging this Cowboys passing offense down, but in what projects to be a very competitive game, he'll have to allow Dak Prescott to air it out. That's good news for Dallas' clear top receiving option, CeeDee Lamb. Lamb has high upside here in a favorable matchup against a Chargers defense that only ranks 26th in EPA/Play Allowed and 28th in Dropback EPA Allowed.

Michael Gallup - Flex

Michael Gallup's yards per target (8.2) is drastically higher than Brandin Cooks' yards per target (3.8). That gives Gallup the edge in the secondary receiving options in Dallas as we search for a game-changing big play.

Jake Ferguson - Flex

Peyton Hendershot is on Injured Reserve, which will keep Jake Ferguson as the clear-cut TE1 in the receiving game for Dallas ahead of rookie Luke Schoonmaker. Ferguson ranks second on the team in targets (28) and receptions (20) and third in receiving yards (175).