Brandon Weeden, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten's Post-Week 9 Fantasy Reaction

With Tony Romo out of the game due to a back injury, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com, the Dallas Cowboys passing game was expected to take a step back. However, Brandon Weeden being under center turned the once-potent attack into an altogether befuddling group against the Arizona Cardinals.   

Romo's absence left Weeden in the starting role, who looked decent in short stints against the Washington Redskins. But with his chance coming against the Cardinals, Weeden fell flat on numerous occasions, which has hurt owners of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten.

Player	Rec.	Targets	Rec. Yds	Rec. TDs	Fantasy Points
Dez Bryant	2	10	15	1	7.5
Jason Witten	6	7	62	0	6.2

Player	Comp.-Att.	Pass Yds	TD-INT	Rush Yds	Fantasy Points
Brandon Weeden	18-33	183	1-2	2	7.52

Neither was a huge presence for fantasy owners Sunday, as the biggest targets for Romo were underutilized by Weeden. In fact, the trendy topic was just how many times Weeden and Bryant didn't connect on passes.

ESPN Stats & Info, Ed Werder of ESPN and the NFL's official account all noted the lack of receptions for Bryant:

Thankfully for Bryant's owners, the lone touchdown by Weeden went to the leading wideout in garbage time. Still, the 7.5 fantasy points are far from great numbers for a WR1 and Bryant's numbers were underwhelming.

Owners of Bryant and Witten will likely continue to depend on the two weapons to carry them in fantasy moving forward. Even with the down day for both, the eventual return of Romo would change the outlook for both.

Luckily for those owners, Jason La Canfora reports Romo should be the starter in Week 10, per Dave Richard of CBS Sports:

For those who picked up Weeden on the hope that he would thrive with weapons around him, it appears that didn't work out. With Romo's potential return, things are looking up for his main targets but going in the other direction for Weeden.

As bad as Week 9 looked for both Bryant and Witten, expect both to bounce back in Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Facing horrid pass defenses like the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles following their Week 11 bye, both should be strong plays moving forward, with Week 9 serving as an anomaly.

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