Buccaneers vs. Cowboys: Fantasy Projections for Top Stars in NFC Clash

Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing a must-win of sorts on Sunday.

For the Cowboys, Sunday's matchup could tell us whether we should expect to see the version of this team that handily defeated the Giants in the season opener, or whether the real Cowboys are the ones who could only score seven points against Seattle.

For the Bucs, they need to prove they can forge some kind of defensive stand one week after blowing a huge opportunity versus the Giants.

And of course, your fantasy studs will be the keys to whichever team comes out on top. Here are projections for how some of them will finish on Sunday.

WR Vincent Jackson (Tampa Bay)

This doesn't bode to be the best week for Vincent Jackson, given what the Cowboys' secondary has done to the star wideouts it has faced in 2012. Dallas boasts the league's ninth-best defense, and its third-best pass defense, having allowed just 133 yards per game in the air thus far.

Facing a talented crew of wide receivers in the Meadowlands in Week 1, the Cowboys limited the Giants to 187 passing yards, and neither Victor Cruz nor Hakeem Nicks managed to catch a touchdown pass.

You could expect a similar story from Jackson in Week 3. Last time out, he caught five passes for 128 yards and a score, but that kind of production won't come against this defense.

Projection: 65 yards, 0 touchdowns

QB Tony Romo (Dallas)

Like seemingly every other quarterback in the NFL, Romo has had a pretty up-and-down first couple of weeks. He looked stellar against the Giants to kick off the season and then looked pretty awful the following week against the mighty Seahawks.

But there are several reasons you can expect Romo to have a big game this week. One is that the Bucs currently boast the league's fourth-worst defense, allowing an average of 400.5 passing yards per game.

The second is that Romo's history against Tampa Bay, according to CBSSports.com, shows a lot of positive signs: In his last three games against the Bucs, he's averaged a QB rating of 144.8. This has all the makings of a stellar game for Romo and another abysmal performance for the Bucs' pass defense.

Projection: 310 yards, 3 touchdowns

TE Jason Witten (Dallas)

This is going to be the week for the Cowboys' pass offense to do some real damage. The Bucs are vulnerable, as evidenced by the Giants' abuse last weekend, and with its 290-yard performance in Week 1, the Dallas air attack proved it can, in fact, be effective.

Unfortunately, though, Witten hasn't been a massive part of that attack. He's been hindered by an abdomen injury, but he is probable for Sunday's game, according to CBSSports.com.

In one positive development, Witten seemed to show substantial improvement from Week 1 to Week 2: In the win over New York, he caught two passes for 10 yards, and in last week's loss, he managed four catches for 58 yards.

As long as the injury doesn't hamper him, facing the Bucs' dismal defense could be exactly what he needs to have a spectacular week.

Projection: 68 yards, 1 touchdown