Sunday Night Football Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Cowboys vs Vikings in Week 8


Week 8's edition of Sunday Night Football features an exciting matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Vikings slated as 3-point favorites in a game that is full of some of the biggest names in fantasy football.
If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 8 SNF clash.
Ezekiel Elliott Fantasy
Start Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: A lot of Dallas' success on offense can be attributed to the dominance of Ezekiel Elliott. The three-time Pro Bowler is averaging a career-high 5.1 yards per carry this season to go along with 104.3 total yards per game. He has seen at least 20 carries in two of his last three games and now faces a Vikings' defense that has posted the ninth-worst rush defense DVOA rating in the NFL. Minnesota is giving up 128.0 rushing yards per game (No. 26 in NFL) thanks to an opponent average of 4.8 yards per carry (No. 30 in NFL). Start Elliott with confidence this week.
Kirk Cousins Fantasy
Start Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins has been a bit of a fantasy darling so far this season, posting three games with over 300 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He has a good chance to keep his momentum going in Week 8 facing a Cowboys' defense that has posted the seventh-highest opponent yards per completion mark in the NFL (11.8). Overall, Dallas is allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing QBs. It's also worth pointing out that this game is tied for the highest over/under total on the schedule this week at 52.5 points. That leaves Cousins a lot of room to ball out on Sunday night.
Dalton Schultz Fantasy
Sit Dalton Schultz, TE, Dallas Cowboys: It's hard to justify sitting anyone on a Cowboys' offense that ranks No. 1 in the NFL averaging 34.2 points per game. When it comes down to it, this one is all about the matchup. Schultz has played well and currently ranks as the TE5 in PPR scoring leagues. However, the Vikings have been stout against opposing TE's and are giving up the 10th-fewest PPR fantasy points to the position overall. Keep in mind that not a single TE has scored a touchdown against Minnesota, either. This limits Schultz's upside in Week 8 and makes him a sit candidate.
KJ Osborn Fantasy
Sit KJ Osborn, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Wide receiver KJ Osborn put his name back on the fantasy radar when he hauled in 6 of his 7 targets for 78 yards and 1 touchdown in Week 7. While he is a great bench add, Osborn has not shown enough consistency to be started yet. The 24-year-old played in a season-low 54% of the offensive snaps last week and is at best the No. 4 option on offense for Minnesota. The Cowboys present a favorable matchup, but Osborn had been held to under 30 receiving yards in each of his three previous games before his Week 7 outburst. Keep him on the bench for now.
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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.