While the biggest injury of Week 1 was the torn pec that will likely sideline reigning Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt for the season, the biggest fantasy-related injury occurred Sunday night when Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott fractured the thumb on his throwing hand. Prescott is expected to have surgery Monday and miss 6-8 weeks.
That’s bad news for the Cowboys, who opened the season with a home loss to the Buccaneers in which they failed to score a touchdown with Prescott, who played into the fourth quarter. It’s also bad news not only for any fantasy managers who had Prescott as their QB1 but also for those relying on CeeDee Lamb as their WR1. Lamb got off to a poor start with just two receptions for 29 yards Sunday night, but Tampa Bay is one of the best defenses Dallas will face this season, so don’t read too much into that.
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The starting QB in Big D for the next two months will be Cooper Rush. The good news is that the 28-year-old Rush is undefeated as a starting quarterback in the NFL, averaging 325 passing yards and two touchdowns. The bad news, of course, is that’s based on one career start. Rush was the surprise starter in Week 8 last season against the Vikings when Prescott was injured, and he made quite the splash. His two TD passes went to players no longer on the team – Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson – but Lamb was also in the mix. Lamb caught six passes for 112 yards from Rush.
Even with Lamb out there, Rush will not have as good a receiving corps as he had in last year’s lone start, so don’t be surprised if he relies more on his tight end. Dalton Schultz led the team with seven receptions Sunday night – 33% of the team’s catches – and he might be the player least affected by the loss of Prescott because he will continue to be targeted often.
The biggest fantasy impact of Prescott’s injury may be a greater reliance on the running game. Ezekiel Elliott had 10 carries for 52 yards Sunday night against a stout Bucs defense. He’ll likely get twice as many carries in Week 2 against the Bengals. While some fantasy managers think Tony Pollard should see more action, the Cowboys’ RB2 had six carries for just eight yards. Still, Pollard will see more action going forward as well. The jury is still out on Elliott being a top-tier fantasy RB, but the next few weeks will be his best opportunity to show what he can do.
