I again wanted to spotlight teams that I see on a trajectory for the NFL playoffs, and these two teams definitely fit that bill. I haven’t looked into the numbers yet, but I do have to say that from the eyeball test, I think the Cowboys are playing cleaner than the Bills. The Bills tend to need to get away with turning the ball over, but apparently Mike McCarthy taking over playcalling has injected a little discipline into the Cowboys and they are avoiding turnovers and it sure seems to me their penalties are way down too. I think teams that operate in a way that gives away a lot to their opponents, the way the Bills do, need to have a lot of big explosive plays in order to win. But it really is hard for me to imagine them being able to outgun Dak Prescott, and his one-two combination of CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.
So what’s that mean for my draft strategy?
I think I might actually go outside of my normal rushing statistics and go for passing yards and turnover stats early. I definitely feel that both of these teams' offenses are rooted in their passing attacks, though I would say I have more confidence in the Cowboys' ability to run the ball than the Bills. If the Bills commit to the run, I would almost guarantee a win for them. Especially the way they can mix in the physicality of Josh Allen, rushing the ball more would allow them to set the tempo and make Dallas play downhill. Then the Bills would be poised to take advantage of Trevon Diggs deep. So maybe I should select a big play stat late.
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