Fantasy Football Week 11 Matchup: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys

Week 11 Matchup:  Detroit Lions (2-7) @ Dallas Cowboys (2-7)

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Detroit Lions (2-7)    Lions Schedule

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Dallas Pass Defense—2010: Yards Allowed/Game 21st—TDs Allowed 31st

Dallas Rush Defense—2010: Yards Allowed/Game 23rd—TDs Allowed T-12th

Detroit Offensive Cast

Shaun Hill (QB Week 11 Ranking: No. 13) 2010 Season: 156/258—for 1,632 yards & 10 TDs

By no means is Shaun Hill an upper-half quarterback in this league, but on Detroit, he has to be.  Dallas has been giving up the world to QBs and WRs over the past four or so games, so with Megatron, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew and Jahvid Best all out there to be targeted, you have to expect at least a high-end QB2 type fantasy game out of him this Sunday.

Jahvid Best (RB Week 11 Ranking: No. 32) 2010 Season: 124 carries for 380 yards & four TDs || 45 receptions for 360 yards & one TD

Best won’t be at full strength this Sunday, but with Kevin Smith out and not much behind him on the depth chart, he’ll surely receive the bulk of the work out of the backfield against the Cowboys.  Dallas has been one of the weaker defenses as of late, so Jahvid could be worth a shot if your fantasy team is strapped this weekend.

Calvin Johnson (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 1) 2010 Season: 49 receptions for 679 yards & nine TDs

Megatron and Roddy White are pretty much interchangeable between the No. 1 and No. 2 spot each week nowadays, but with Calvin facing a horrible Dallas defense this Sunday, I can’t help but give him top billing in Week 11.  The Cowboys have allowed the second most receiving TDs in the league this year and are currently on a four-game streak where they’ve given up an average of 307 passing yards and 3.25 TDs a game.  This one should be fun to watch. 

Nate Burleson (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 38) 2010 Season: 30 receptions for 336 yards & three TDs

It doesn’t matter to Megatron when he gets double-teamed, but it certainly does to Burleson.  Nate’s been averaging eight targets/game over the past five weeks while scoring in three of those games.  Against possibly the worst pass D in the NFL right now (along with Houston and Washington), close to 100 yards and a touchdown wouldn’t shock me in the slightest.  Feel free to take a chance on him.

Brandon Pettigrew (TE Week 11 Ranking: No. 9) 2010 Season: 42 receptions for 412 yards & three TDs

Shaun Hill continues to give his big tight end a whole lotta love getting him eight targets last week against the Bills.  Yeah, Scheffler had eight targets as well, but it turns out he’s a little banged up now, so maybe some of those targets fly Petti’s way this weekend.

Tony Scheffler (TE Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 31 receptions for 273 yards & one TD

Both Scheffler and Pettigrew are getting looks, but with Schef a bit banged up right now, Petty remains the better fantasy play. 

Dallas Cowboys (2-7)    Cowboys Schedule

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Detroit Pass Defense—2010: Yards Allowed/Game 17th—TDs Allowed T-12th

Detroit Rush Defense—2010: Yards Allowed/Game 26th—TDs Allowed T-29th

Dallas Offensive Cast

Jon Kitna (QB Week 11 Ranking: No. 9) 2010 Season: 82/134—for 1,076 yards & seven TDs

Dallas is going to win this game, and win it big.  Detroit has a great nucleus in the making, but they won’t be able to keep up with the talent that the Cowboys possess on offense.  New Head Coach Jason Garrett is a big-time passer so I expect Kitna to be tossing the pigskin around quite a bit this weekend.  Plain and simple, the Lions have no answer for the likes of Dez Bryant and Austin Miles, so two to three TDs and 250-plus yards seem pretty reasonable this weekend.

Marion Barber (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 79 carries for 258 yards & two TDs || Eight receptions for 26 yards & zero TDs

Barber’s role decreases with each passing week.  Stash him in case Felix gets hurt.

Felix Jones (RB Week 11 Ranking: No. 17) 2010 Season: 87 carries for 353 yards & zero TDs || 27 receptions for 242 yards & one TD

Ding dong the Wicked Wade is dead!  With Jason Garrett now heading up the squad, Felix Jones’ fantasy prospects take a turn for the better, as evidenced last week against the Giants.  If Felix can nab 17 or more touches like he did in Week 10, then a good 130-plus total yards and a TD are very possible against a super-weak defense like the Lions.

Miles Austin (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 20) 2010 Season: 47 receptions for 725 yards & three TDs

Austin looks to be getting back on track as he finally caught a touchdown pass last week after going scoreless over the previous four games.  He still doesn’t seem to be on the same page with Kitna, but he at least has a chance to rack up some fantasy points going up against one of the weaker defenses in the league this Sunday.

Dez Bryant (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 12) 2010 Season: 41 receptions for 539 yards & five TDs

Bryant continues to be Jon Kitna’s favorite target as he led the team in receptions, targets and yards for the second week in a row against the Giants last Sunday.  He’s also scored a TD two weeks in a row and in three of the last four games, so ride his coattails while you can.

Roy Williams (WR Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 25 receptions for 366 yards & five TDs

Roy now has a total of four catches in the past four weeks.  Not good, not good at all.

Jason Witten (TE Week 11 Ranking: No. 15) 2010 Season: 46 receptions for 513 yards & three TDs

The Lions are actually pretty good at defending tight ends, so with Witten falling off Kitna’s radar the last couple of weeks, don’t expect too much.