Stan Son preps you for the Monday Night Football contest between the Cardinals and Cowboys with game-script analysis and Captain’s Picks.

Arizona was headed to the Super Bowl after two wins … over New Orleans and Carolina. It has since lost five straight, but the most disconcerting aspect has been that the passing offense has functioned better with Jacoby Brissett under center in lieu of Kyler Murray. Brissett has gone 52-of-81 for 599 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, leading the Cardinals to 27 and 23 points. Over five games, Murray is 110-of-161 for 962 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. Arizona scored 15, 20 and 21 points over his last three starts.

Well, Brissett will get his third straight start on Monday night. And he could go bonkers in this one. The last two weeks were against the Colts and Packers, 16th and 19th in EPA per dropback. Dallas is 31st and the 20 touchdowns allowed are the second-most. Arizona is 25th in EPA per carry on offense, but Dallas also possesses one of the worst run defenses as well, posting the third-highest EPA per carry and have allowed 4.9 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns. We need to name them the allas Cowboys until further notice.

Dallas has actually won three games this season and that number could be higher if the defense wasn’t so terrible. That’s because Dak Prescott has led a passing offense that is fifth in EPA per dropback. He’s completed 70.3% of his passes with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. Arizona has actually been good at defending the pass, posting the seventh-best EPA per dropback with only eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The completion percentage of 63.5% is ninth-lowest.

Dallas is 13th in EPA per carry on offense, averaging 4.7 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns. Arizona is seventh in EPA per carry on defense, though, allowing 4.2 yards per carry with seven touchdowns.

DraftKings Sportsbook has DAL -3.5 over ARI with the total at 53.5.

Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $1.25 Monday Night Showdown [$300K to 1st] (ARI @ DAL)

Captain’s Picks

Jacoby Brissett ($12,900 CP): Brissett finished with 24.7 and 20.8 FPTS over the last two weeks. He attempted 36 and 44 passes. That number could be close to 40 again. Brissett has sneakily added 26 and 19 yards on the ground. Dallas has one of the worst defenses in the league, and Arizona should be able to put up points on offense.

UTIL Plays

Trey McBride ($9,000): McBride did not score more than 15 FPTS in each of the first five games, scoring only one touchdown. Since Brissett has been under center, he’s scored three touchdowns and finished with 21.2 and 29.4 FPTS. McBride has seen 13 and 11 targets, the most on the team by a wide margin. He will likely continue getting peppered with targets.

Dak Prescott ($10,400): I don’t think Prescott is an auto-start since the Cardinals defense has actually been good and Prescott has two games under 10 FPTS this season. That said, this total is 53.5 and points are expected to be scored in this one. If so, Prescott will likely have a hand in most.

George Pickens ($8,800): I’m not expecting over 35 FPTS from Pickens like he did in two of three contests without CeeDee Lamb. That said, double-digit FPTS should be attainable, something he’s done in all but one game this season. While Lamb lowers the target share for Pickens, the added attention given to Lamb allows for more efficient targets for Pickens. He still garnered nine last week with Lamb back. The Cardinals should be able to put up points in this one, so Pickens should be heavily involved.

Fades

Javonte Williams ($10,000): Williams has scored a touchdown in six of eight games, with two of those multi-touchdown affairs. He’s also finished with double-digit FPTS in all but one game this season, so this fade isn’t the easiest to swallow, but we can’t play everyone due to salary cap restrictions. If Williams doesn’t score a touchdown, it would be difficult for Williams to pay off due to his non-involvement in the passing game. Arizona has allowed seven rushing touchdowns and 4.2 yards per carry with the seventh-lowest EPA per carry.

THE OUTCOME

A barnburner with Arizona halting its losing streak.

Final Score: Cardinals 31, Cowboys 27