This article is part of our DFS NFL series.
Two NFC East foes will battle on Thursday Night Football this week with the Giants playing host to the Cowboys. Both teams are 1-2 and behind the Eagles and Commanders in the division. Let's dive into the DFS options for the single-game contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Quarterback
There is a large disparity between the quarterbacks on these two teams. Dak Prescott ($10,400 DK, $16,000 FD) hasn't carried the Cowboys to much playoff success, but he has put up terrific numbers during the regular season. He has thrown for at least 293 yards in both of his last two games and had 379 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Ravens last week. His best performance of last season came in Week 10 against the Giants when he threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns.
Daniel Jones ($9,400 DK, $13,000 FD) threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns in Week 3, marking his second straight game with two touchdown passes. He finally has an excellent receiving option in Malik Nabers ($10,800 DK, $15,000 FD) and the Giants offensive line isn't a complete trainwreck anymore. Prescott is the much safer option who also has a significantly higher ceiling, but Jones finally has some upside now.
Running Back
Devin Singletary ($8,200 DK, $12,000 FD) stands out as the top running back option. He has been given at least 16 carries in both of the last two games and he has two games this season with at least four receptions. After scoring just four touchdowns for the Texans last year, he already has two with the Giants. Part of that improvement can be attributed to the fact that he has already received five carries inside the 10-yard line. The Cowboys' defense has been gashed on the ground, allowing the most rushing yards per game in the league.
The Cowboys have been splitting the snaps at running back between Rico Dowdle ($6,400 DK, $8,000 FD) and Ezekiel Elliott ($6,200 DK, $11,500 FD). Neither player has logged more than half of the team's offensive snaps in a game this season. Dowdle received eight carries and five targets last week, while Elliott had just three carries and two targets. When the Cowboys dismantled the Browns in Week 1, Elliott turned 10 carries into 40 yards and a touchdown, while Dowdle had eight carries for 26 yards. Dowdle has not received a single rushing attempt inside the red zone this season, so Elliott has the better potential to score a touchdown between the two.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
These two teams are both top heavy at wide receiver. CeeDee Lamb ($11,800 DK, $14,500 FD) leads the way for the Cowboys and has been targeted at least seven times in all three games this season. In two games against the Giants last season, he combined for 15 receptions for 228 yards and a touchdown. Behind him on the depth chart is Brandin Crooks ($6,800 DK, $10,500 FD), who has just eight total receptions this year. Outproducing him so far has been Jalen Tolbert ($5,800 DK, $8,000 FD), who has nine receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown over the last two games. The Giants are dealing with injuries at cornerback behind Deonte Banks, so this is a matchup that the Cowboys' wide receivers could exploit.
Nabers is head and shoulders better than any other receiving option on the Giants. The result has been him being targeted 30 times over the last two games. He turned those into 18 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Expect the Giants to continue to force the ball his way. In terms of the next-best option behind Nabers, Wan'Dale Robinson ($4,800 DK, $10,000 FD) is it. He is a reliable safety valve for Jones, which is evident by Robinson receiving 24 targets through three games. However, he doesn't come with much big-play upside since his average depth of target is just 4.3 yards.
As far as tight ends go, there isn't much to be excited about on the Giants. Their starter Theo Johnson ($2,400 DK, $6,000 FD) has just two catches this season. Daniel Bellinger ($1,600 DK, $7,000 FD) has only been targeted twice through three games. The top tight end for this game is clearly Jake Ferguson ($7,000 DK, $9,500 FD), who returned from a one-game absence because of a knee injury to catch six of 11 targets for 95 yards in Week 3.
Kicker
The Cowboys have arguably the best kicker in the league in Brandon Aubrey ($5,000 DK, $9,000 FD), who has already converted five field goal attempts of at least 50 yards this year. He has not missed any of his 10 total attempts. With Graham Gano (hamstring) on injured reserve, Greg Joseph ($4,400 DK, $8,500 FD) took over at kicker for the Giants last week. He converted all three of his extra point opportunities, but missed his lone field goal attempt. He made 80.0 percent of his field goal attempts with the Vikings last year.
Defense/Special Teams
The Giants ($3,600 DK, $8,500 FD) are tied for the second-most sacks (14) in the league. The Cowboys' ($5,400 DK, $9,000 FD) defense has generated just seven sacks. Not only have the Cowboys given up a lot of yards on the ground, but they have allowed eight rushing touchdowns. No other team has given up more than six rushing scores.
