Who Should I Start? Cooper Rush or Alexander Mattison

Thursday, November 21, 12:18 PM

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that quarterback Cooper Rush gives the team the best chance to win with Dak Prescott (hamstring) out for the rest of the year. Head coach Mike McCarthy said he regrets not giving Trey Lance some run late in the blowout loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, but apparently the Cowboys still believe that Rush is the better starting option heading into the Week 12 divisional clash against the Washington Commanders. However, if Dallas is down big again in the second half this Sunday, we'd expect Lance to enter the game and handle at least a few offensive series to get him some work. Rush threw for only 45 yards in Week 10 but went for 354 passing yards against Houston. Washington's secondary is vulnerable, but Rush will be nothing more than a low-end QB2 in superflex leagues in his third start.

Thursday, November 21, 7:50 PM

Las Vegas Raiders running backs Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quadriceps) both missed practice on Thursday for the second straight day this week. Unless one or both of them return to practice on Friday, the Raiders could be heading into Sunday's divisional contest against the visiting Denver Broncos with Ameer Abdullah and rookie Dylan Laube as their top backs against a top-five defense. No matter how you slice it, having any Raiders RB in your starting lineup this week in a bad matchup isn't ideal, but with six teams on bye in Week 12, it might be necessary for some. The Raiders could get Laube much more involved, but probably only if both Mattison and White sit out. In last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins, Abdullah had one carry for one yard and caught three passes for 16 yards and his second TD of the season. He'll be no better than an RB3/flex if Mattison and White are inactive.