This is a value price amid the situational spot for the Cowboys backup TE. He caught 6 passes last week after filling in for the injured Jake Ferguson and should continue to be a safety net for backup QB Cooper Rush in what rates to be a high-volume passing game for Dallas.

Terry McLaurin is 13th in separation and 14th in route win rate among 71 qualifying receivers. You might not know any of that given he produced a 10 yard receiving effort last Thursday vs Philadelphia and 19 yards vs the Giants two Sundays ago (albeit with a pair of touchdown catches). McLaurin has a 20.9% target share, 2.43 YPRR, and a 26.2% first-read share that should be very apparent today against a Cowboys secondary prone to giving up the big play when their defensive front doesn't get home. Combine a favorable match-up with a healthier Jayden Daniels and we've got the perfect recipe for a bounceback over effort.

Jake Ferguson is out Sunday from a concussion that he sustained in Monday night's game against the Texans. After Ferguson left the game, Cowboys' TE Luke Schoonmaker got 10 targets from QB Cooper Rush. He caught six passes for 56 yards. Rush & Schoonmaker will likely be playing from a very negative game script on Sunday vs. the Commanders. With the Commanders' pass rush, Rush will have to get the ball out quickly, so I like Schoonmaker to see a lot of targets again. This is a volume play and I like him to soar past his receiving line.

The Commanders aren't using Jayden Daniels at all near the goal-line as a rusher for some reason. It has been well-established how bad Dallas struggles against the run, and Houston's Joe Mixon had a TD bonanza against that unit last week. I see no reason why Brian Robinson Jr. can't do much of the same.

The Commanders defense has turned into a legit unit, and the one area where they falter is stopping the run. Dallas can't do that. Cowboys seem to be waving the white flag and have suffered blowout losses at home all season. Jayden Daniels had a normal week of practice for the first time in a month. Double-digit favorites are perfect ATS this season. Commanders could win this game 13-0 without throwing a pass, I believe. They will road grade Dallas and suck whatever life they have remaining out of their sideline. Always a chance a prideful dog steps up but this should be a physical mismatch.

I completely expect the Commanders to beat up on Dallas, but I still think Jayden Daniels is feeling the effects of the rib injury he suffered in Week 7. He's averaged 6.5 rushes per game and 4.2 yards per carry in the four games since he got hurt, numbers way down from the 10.5 rushes per game and 5.1 yards per rush from before the injury. Moreover, he won't have to run a lot -- the Commanders' running backs should do that for him. Why risk your rookie franchise quarterback in a game when you don't have to? Seems obvious to me. I'd play this down to 7.5 at decent juice, too.

The Cowboys cannot defend RBs in the pass game or the ground game. Been getting gashed all season and with Brian Robinson missed a few games the Commanders leaned more into Ekeler all around. Jayden Daniels not running as much with his rib injury and leaning more into screens to this guy. He is averaging 10 touches and 68 scrimmage yards/G and is over this in 6 of the last 7 games. Plenty of room for him and Robinson to get their touches vs this terrible front 7.

The Cowboys cannot stop anyone from running it over the goal line. Robinson does it the most for the Commanders. He has 7 in 8 games. He could catch a screen pass, too. Jayden Daniels isn't running much at all and especially not in tight spaces around the goal line. Cowboys have allowed a stunning 18 rushing TDs already.

I'm not going to believe Jayden Daniels is back to being Jayden Daniels again running the football until I see it. In the meantime, Robinson is back to full strength and he is their drive finisher and physical tone setter. He has 7 TDs in 8 games and a TD in 5 of the last 6. And Dallas has already allowed 18 rushing TDs. Joe Mixon just ran for 3 on them Monday night. They have allowed 2 or more rushing TDs in 4 of the last 5 games and have yielded 10 in the last 5 games.

This is a huge game for Dan Quinn, who was the Cowboys' DC from 2021-23. We'll get an all-in effort from the Commanders, who have lost two straight and got extra rest to reset following TNF in Philadelphia. Jayden Daniels is getting a full week of practice -- he had been limited by his rib injury -- and shouldn't be hampered as much. On a short week, Dallas just lost three offensive linemen as well as tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion) during Monday's 34-10 loss to Houston. Some could return this week. Regardless, Dante Fowler Jr. (8.5 sacks), Frankie Luvu (7 sacks) and Dorance Armstrong (3 sacks) will wreak havoc on Cooper Rush, similar to what we saw in the second half vs. Houston.