Week 6 Sunday Night Football Showdown DFS Primer (Cowboys at Eagles)

The undefeated Eagles are hosting the rolling Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Dallas has won four games in a row since losing their opener, but the Eagles are the more well-rounded team. So, the Eagles are significant favorites, reflected in the following player suggestions.

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Game: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Spread: PHI -6.5 Points

Over/Under: 42.0 Points

Cowboys Analysis: The Cowboys are 6.5-point underdogs, and a negative game script will force Cooper Rush to throw more often. Thus, Dallas's wideouts are the most intriguing options. The following table shows a statistical breakdown for CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown since Gallup made his season debut in Week 4, using the data available at Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Lamb has been the most productive of Dallas's wideouts, but he's not a must-use option at his salary. He's the most attractive option of the trio on rosters where the cap space is available, but gamers shouldn't feel compelled to force him in. Meanwhile, Brown offers the most bang for your buck, especially at FanDuel. He's also been targeted the deepest, making him the most volatile option of the three while giving him the greatest chance to provide value on limited targets.

Finally, Brown's case is more compelling when looking at Philadelphia's defense against receivers. According to Football Outsiders, the Eagles have allowed 68.3 receiving yards per game to No. 1 wideouts, lower than the league average of 69.7. They've been even more challenging for No. 2 wideouts, allowing the second-fewest yards per game (32.9) to them. However, other wideouts have averaged 50.4 receiving yards per game.

Eagles Analysis: Jalen Hurts has been an unstoppable force this season. The third-year quarterback averages 271.8 passing yards and 53.2 rushing yards per game, scoring six times on the ground and tossing four touchdowns.

Additionally, the Eagles have cut him loose as a passer this season. In neutral game scripts, Hurts has attempted 98 passes and rushed 41 times, and players other than Hurts have attempted only 69 rushes. They've also allowed Hurts to keep throwing when leading. When Philadelphia's led by more than a field goal this season, Hurts has attempted 100 passes and rushed 39 times, and others on the Eagles have attempted 69 rushes. So, Hurts is a game-script-proof stud.

Philadelphia's willingness to pass more frequently this year is a boon for A.J. Brown, DeVona Smith, Dallas Goedert and Quez Watkins. Smith is a defensible pick, but he was a tough cut from the table. First, Brown ranked second in the Week 6 wide receivers versus cornerbacks matchup chart at PFF.

Brown is also pacing the Eagles in targets (45), receiving yards (436) and Yards per Route Run (2.51 Y/RR). So, he's the alpha in the passing attack, albeit with Smith and Goedert also soaking up significant work.

Goedert has been highly efficient, sporting 2.06 Y/RR and 24 receptions on only 29 targets. He's also been targeted shallow, owning a 3.3-yard Average Depth of Target (aDOT) and doing most of his damage after the catch. Goedert has an eye-popping 11.7 Yards After Contact per Reception (YAC/Rec), a skill that could lend to heavy usage against Dallas's talented pass-rushing defense.

Watkins is strictly a contrarian dart. He's fourth on the club in routes (122). He's been targeted only eight times this season, but he's had five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. Watkins is a home-run threat with blazing speed, and he can punish mistakes in coverage as he did on his touchdown in Week 2.

Simply, speed merchants who can score long touchdowns are always attractive at cheap salaries on showdown slates.

Miles Sanders is also an excellent pick as Philadelphia's lead running back and is attached to a probable good game script. Sanders has played 61% of Philadelphia's offensive snaps and 67% and 74% in the previous two weeks. Yet, it gets better. Sanders has also run the ball five times out of seven carries by Philadelphia's running backs inside the five-yard line. In addition, Sanders has run 92 routes, Kenneth Gainwell has run 55 and Boston Scott has run 20. As a result, Sanders is game-script-proof. Finally, he's touched the ball at least 15 times in every game this year and exceeded 60 scrimmage yards four times.

Final Thoughts: The Eagles are justifiably 6.5-point favorites. However, it's not hard to imagine them steamrolling the Cowboys if they can force Rush into obvious passing situations. So, leaning heavily into the Eagles with four-to-two or even five-to-one lineup construction on DraftKings is my preferred lineup build. And a four-to-one lineup at FD is attractive. Finally, Hurts is the top pick for captain/MVP.

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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.