Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off their Week 11 bye, the Dallas Cowboys head into an important matchup with the New York Giants this Sunday. Both teams narrowly trail the Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the NFC East crown, so division games like these are all the more important at this point in the season. If the Cowboys want to win, they’re going to have to find a way to get the ball to their best offensive player, Dez Bryant.
Bryant has pretty solid numbers on the season — he’s caught 52 passes for 749 yards and eight touchdowns — but with the kind of talent he possesses, those numbers could be a lot better. He’s only had 100+ receiving yards in three games this year, and the last one was over a month ago. It’s a frustrating situation for fantasy owners, especially considering how early most drafted him. He’s drawing plenty of targets, but often only as Tony Romo‘s second or even third read on a play; he should be getting the first look far more than what he is. The Cowboys’ coaches have tried to blame the constant double-teams he sees as the reason he hasn’t been used more, but it’s a joke of an excuse. Calvin Johnson gets triple-teamed half the time, but you don’t see Matt Stafford shying away from him.
The good news is that the Cowboys apparently spent the bye week trying to come up with more creative ways to incorporate Bryant into the game plan. It should have happened weeks ago, but better late than never I suppose. Double-teamed or not, he needs to get the ball. He’s physically gifted, and that gives him the ability to beat those defensive schemes on pretty much any play if Romo gives him the chance. A shakeup of the playbook couldn’t hurt either.
Bryant was an absolute beast down the stretch last season, and if he and Jerry Jones are right about the coaching staff looking to get him the ball more, we could very possibly see it happen again this time around. Buy low on him if you can; his remaining schedule is a thing of beauty for his fantasy owners, with nothing but completely beatable matchups the rest of the way. If the coaches start to do their job properly, he should light it up weekly. Don’t be surprised if that starts against the Giants — I’m calling at least 120 yards with a strong chance of plenty more.
Dan Freeman is a Fantasy football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanFreeman88.
