Yahoo Sports’ Fantasy Football Live crew looks ahead to Sunday night’s matchup between Tampa Bay and Dallas – and how Bucky Irving, Rico Dowdle and CeeDee Lamb could impact fantasy managers.
Uh, you guys both end up on the nice list for the amount of spectacular Grinch references.
Let’s get to our fantasy game changers for this week, powered by ram trucks where we’re identifying some of the most impactful players in one of the top fantasy matchups on the schedule.
Sunday Night Football down in Tajas, the Cowboys host in Tampa Bay.
Uh, this one, obviously a lot on the line for Tampa Bay in Arlington.
Buccaneers a favored by 4.
Over under on it is 48.
Fantasy game changer for you, Andy Behns would be.
Oh, this might be my final chance on the year to hype Bucky Irving.
So of course I’m going to give it to you again.
Irving has ascended to a featured role obviously in Tampa’s backfield as a rookie.
He’s coming off a game in which he rushed for 117 yards while injured.
He’s now averaging 5.6 yards per carry on the season, 6 yards per touch, over 3 yards after contact per attempt.
He’s piling up.
Lights, he’s piling up missed tackles.
He’s a joy to watch.
Also, in the most important week on the fantasy calendar, this man is playing through multiple injuries, still producing at an elite level.
This is the sort of thing that earns Holliday goodwill.
Tonight Irving gets a matchup with a vulnerable Dallas defense.
We’ve been picking on him all year, especially in the run game.
They’ve allowed 4.8 yards per carry so far on the season.
16 touchdowns to opposing running backs in the 6th most fantasy points.
Dallas ranks 29th in the league overall against the run.
Six different backs have cleared 100 scrimmage yards against them.
There is a very good chance, I think, that Irving is going to be the 7th.
He has maintained his value just fine alongside Rashad White.
It helps when you’re simply one of the best and most efficient runners in football.
Matt Harman, fantasy game changer for you is.
Yeah, I mean, that’s cute, uh, calling Bucky Irving a featured runner.
The real featured runner in this game is Rico Dowdle.
Week 15, we saw Rico Dowdle set a career high in rushing yards in yards from scrimmage.
For the 3rd straight week, he just continues to get better and better.
Uh, 25 carries, 149 rushing yards in that game.
He’s just been cranking out successful run after successful run after successful run.
He is just moving this offense along.
Yards per carry high and he’s not like ripping off long runs to make it flukey.
He’s just been, like I said, extremely efficient on a per-carry basis.
Over the last 4 games, he has handled 67% of the backfield carries.
He’s been on the field for 70% of the snaps.
Uh, he’s averaging over 100 rushing yards per game.
He’s right up there with among the most productive backs in the league.
And I get it.
There’s no question.
There’s a lot of really questionable.
Matchups in this stretch.
We’ve got the Giants, we’ve got the Bengals, we’ve got the Panthers.
The last 3 weeks, these are all, you know, terrible run defenses, but all we can ask from a guy like this, if you’re gonna get all the work is crushed the cakewalk spots.
That’s what he’s been doing and I wouldn’t call this Buccaneers run defense, like a juggernaut or anything.
They actually give up the 10th most yards per carry to running backs on the season.
So I think this is another big week for Bucky Irving as a top 10 fantasy running back.
Alright, Tara Roberts, your fantasy game changer is.
You guys are talking about the running backs, but I’m not letting CD Lamb go unnoticed here.
He is the game changer in this matchup because life with Cooper Rush hasn’t actually been that bad for CD Lamb.
He has had 4 top 20 finishes over the past 5 games and it’s coming off a wide receiver 7 finish with 9 receptions for over 100 yards and a touchdown.
Again, His success with Cooper Rush is probably less about Cooper Rush and the fact that the Cowboys, as Matt said, have had very generous matchups over this stretch, but they just keep on giving here.
And now we’ve got a Tampa Bay defense that gives up the 9th most fantasy points, two opposing wide receivers.
Lamb has a beautiful setup here.
He is healthy and he should be hyper targeted this week for another top 10 finish.
