This article first appeared on RotoBaller.com

By Adam Hammer 

Happy Monday RotoBallers! While you might be back at work and/or on the grind today, there’s always some solace in knowing that Monday Night Football awaits. And if yesterday’s Sunday slate was a preview of what’s to come tonight, we should be in for a good one.

The 1-1 Cowboys travel to the 1-1 Cardinals tonight for the home opener in Arizona, and both teams will be looking to put in stronger performances from Week 2. Despite walking out of Indianapolis with a win, it took Arizona forcing overtime to take down the Jacoby Brissett-led Colts who were coming off of a 46-9 thumping from the Rams. And speaking of thumpings, the Cowboys got one of their own last week, courtesy of the Broncos in the fashion of a 42-17 beatdown.

Playing in Arizona is certainly not the same as playing in Denver, but the Cardinals have looked lackluster at best to start the season. With preseason expectations to compete with the Seahawks atop the NFC West, the offense is averaging just 19.5 points per game to start the season and Carson Palmer is sitting on a brutal 65.6 QB rating. If they are going to get things going in the right direction, though, they’ll have to do so against a hungry Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, & Co., who look to keep pace with the Eagles and Redskins atop the NFC East.

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Dallas Cowboys @ Arizona Cardinals

Date and Start Time: Monday, September 25  at 8:30 p.m. EST

Notable Injuries and Status:

• Nolan Carroll (CB, DAL) – Concussion – OUT
• Terrance Williams (WR, DAL) – Ankle – Questionable
• Orlando Scandrick (CB, DAL) – Hand – Expected to Play
• John Brown (WR, ARI) – Quad – OUT
• DJ Humphries (LB, ARI) – Knee – OUT
• Karlos Dansby (LB, ARI) – Hip – Expected to Play
• Jermaine Gresham (TE, ARI) – Ribs – Questionable
• JJ Nelson (WR, ARI) – Hamstring – Questionable

Offensive and Defensive Rankings (averages through Sunday):

Must Starts

Top Performers That Have To Be In Your Lineup

Ezekiel Elliott (RB, DAL)

This one probably goes without saying, but it’s good reinforcement after owners watched him rack up just 22 total yards on 13 touches last weekend in Denver. He’s still one of the top backs in the league, and the game script should be much more favorable tonight. Expect another 20+ touch day from Zeke and more room to run against the Arizona D (they’re good for what it’s worth, but they’re not Denver).

Dez Bryant (WR, DAL)

With 25 targets through two weeks, feel free to fire up Dez with confidence tonight. The yardage hasn’t been there quite yet and a matchup with Patrick Peterson looms, but he continues to be one of Dak Prescott‘s favorite targets and he looks healthy coming off last year’s major knee injury. This will be the third matchup between Bryant and Peterson, whom have seemingly split the first two. Dez is must start and you haven’t been waiting around until tonight just to bench him, but he’s unlikely to put up a 20-30 point game either. He’s a WR2 headed into tonight based on the matchup alone.

Larry Fitzgerald (WR, ARI)

Speaking of receivers who have seen a good number of targets but lack overall production of thus far, Fitz has mustered just 95 yards on 9 catches thus far in 2017. On the surface, it may look like age is finally catching up to him and thus causing a drop off, but his target numbers are right in line with what they were in 2016 (when he caught 107 passes). Carson Palmer is honestly the bigger concern in terms of age catching up, but Fitz has a plus-matchup tonight against a banged up Cowboys secondary who just got shredded by Trevor Siemian for 4 touchdowns.

Must Sits

Players To Avoid Putting In Your Lineup

Any Cardinals RB (ARI)

This is one of those RB situations to avoid at all costs right now. 32-year old Chris Johnson looked to be the best back last week in Indianapolis, but he still had less than 50% of the backfield touches with Kerwynn Williams mustering 9 carries and Andre Ellington working as the primary passing down back. Johnson is the best fantasy option of the group right now, but are you really going to trust a guy that was sitting at home two weeks ago in your fantasy lineup? No thanks.

Carson Palmer (QB, ARI)

I need to make it clear that I actually like Palmer quite a bit -; I drafted him in a handful of my leagues and I’ve been starting him. That said, I think it’s time to pump the breaks and sit Palmer until he proves that he can return to 2016 form. Problem is, you’re not playing Palmer over Dak Prescott anyway, so if you have Palmer you gotta roll with him tonight. I like his chances to be better than he’s been in Weeks 1-2, but I’m not so comfortable firing him up every week just yet.

Solid Options/Sleepers

Which Players Will Have Solid Games and Which Could Surprise?

Solid Option – Dak Prescott (QB, DAL)

Dak Prescott is the definition of a solid option. He doesn’t turn the ball over much and gets the ball to his play makers, but he’s unlikely to go absolutely bananas in any given week, if nothing else because the Cowboys want to get Zeke the ball as much as possible. He was drafted in most leagues as a back-end QB1, and I believe that’s where he remains headed into tonight’s matchup. The Peterson matchup may take away from Dez a bit, but the Arizona defense has yet to really show up this year.

Sleeper – Jason Witten (TE, DAL)

Look no further than Witten for the most likely benefactor if Peterson is to shut down Dez. The 15th-year man has very quietly put up back-to-back double digit performances, and is averaging 8.5 catches and 12 targets per game through two. He continues to be Prescott’s safety valve, and the Cardinals defense are coming off of a game where they allowed Jack Doyle to catch 8 passes. It’s not far-fetched that Witten will end up as a TE1, not just this week but as the season’s end.

Sleeper – JJ Nelson (WR, ARI)

The caveat here is (obviously) that he needs to be active first. Nelson is coming off a 120-yard day in Week 2, but he’s been limited in practice all week with a nagging hamstring. With John Brown out for a second straight week, Nelson would be the one to pick up the slack as the team’s second best pass catcher. If Nelson is unable to go tonight, Jaron Brown becomes an intriguing option (and somebody that you should find room for if possible as Nelson’s backup plan).

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