ARIZONA (at Dall.)
This is a choice matchup for Arizona. Dallas has allowed 34-plus points and 4-plus touchdowns in four straight, including against opponents that have struggled on offense in other recent games (Giants, Falcons). ...
... They've struggled against the run and are simply hopeless in coverage -- could easily have allowed over 40 to the Giants. Thumbs up on the Cardinals this week. ... Kyler Murray, for one, should finish with strong passing numbers. Dallas allowed only 222 yards and no touchdowns to Daniel Jones last week. But Jones had a 31-yard touchdown pass wiped out by a shaky offensive interference penalty, and he hasn't been lighting up anyone else, either. Entering the game Dallas had allowed 270-plus passing yards to three of four opponents, and 3, 4 and 5 touchdown passes in three of four games. Murray struggled in a loss to Carolina, but ...
This report is taken from today's Week 6 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 19 pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.
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... that's a defense that now looks better than anyone was anticipating. He still threw 3 touchdowns, and he's now thrown for at least 270 yards in three of his last four, with multiple touchdowns (when including rushing) in every game. Will be surprising if Murray doesn't finish with at least average passing yards and a couple of touchdowns against this defense. Add in his rushing (he's at 59 yards per game) and he'll outperform the vast majority of other quarterbacks. (And if you want to be a cherry on top of this sundae, Murray is from the Dallas area.) ... DeAndre Hopkins has proved worth the offseason investment. He's caught at least 6 passes in every game -- on pace for 144, so he can make a run at Michael Thomas's record of 149 -- and gone over 130 yards three times. Now he's facing a defense that keeps losing track of opposing wide receivers. Top wideouts for Dallas' first five opponents have put up very good numbers. (Both Los Angeles and Seattle main wideouts listed.)
| Top wideouts versus Dallas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD |
| Woods, LAR | 6 | 105 | 0 |
| Kupp, LAR | 4 | 40 | 0 |
| Ridley, Atl. | 7 | 109 | 2 |
| Lockett, Sea. | 9 | 100 | 3 |
| Metcalf, Sea. | 4 | 110 | 1 |
| Beckham, Cle. | 5 | 81 | 3 |
| Slayton, NYG | 8 | 129 | 0 |
Beckham's numbers include rushing and passing scores. Given the matchup, Arizona should have a significant No. 2. That appears to be Christian Kirk right now; he's caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown the last three games. Larry Fitzgerald is playing more snaps, but after catching 11 passes the first two games, the 37-year-old appears to have hit the veteran wall. He's caught only 7 passes for 39 yards in the last three games. Andy Isabella has some big-play ability and has scored twice, but he's not getting enough opportunities. He's averaging just 3 targets per game. ... Dallas has allowed a tight end to score in four straight weeks, but Arizona doesn't seem to have a threat at the position -- not a heavy favorite for any touchdowns, certainly. Dan Arnold and Darrell Daniels are both playing plenty, but averaging under 20 yards per game. Jordan Thomas has the team's only touchdown from the position (and that was on his only target all season). ... Dallas has actually been worse against the run (27th). Setting aside the Giants, who shouldn't count, they'd allowed over 150 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns against two opponents and 113-plus against their other two (who were primarily busy lighting them up through the air). So maybe the Cardinals can get Kenyan Drake going. Finally. He's averaging just 3.7 yards per attempt, so well below No. 2 Chase Edmonds (5.0, albeit on about a quarter as many carries). Eventually the Cardinals might have little choice but to elevate Edmonds, but they've said they'll try to get Drake on track, and here's a good spot for that to happen. Edmonds also has value, primarily for what he's doing as a receiver -- 18 catches and 2 touchdowns. That includes back-to-back 5-reception games. With the wideouts Arizona can send out, difficult for opponents to focus on Edmonds catching the ball out of the backfield. Dallas is definitely weakest against the pass, but both of these running backs look viable here. ... Zane Gonzalez averages under 6.5 kicking points; 6 or fewer four times in five games. The Cardinals have been good at scoring touchdowns rather than field goals. Dallas has been generous in allowing both (only two teams have allowed more of either thus far), though, so excellent matchup for Gonzalez. ... The Cardinals Defense just lost Chandler Jones, who's one of the league's top handful of pass rushers, but he's got only one sack this year. Arizona is still sitting at a healthy 14 sacks (almost 3 per week), and catches a break in facing Andy Dalton rather than Dak Prescott. Prescott had been sacked only 33 times in his last 21 games, while Dalton took an average of 40 sacks in his last two full seasons as a starter, and nearly 3 per game for the Bengals a year ago. Arizona has only 3 takeaways so far, but Dalton could help (25 interceptions in his last 24 starts).