Sunday Night Football DFS Breakdown: San Francisco vs. Dallas

Sunday Night Football stakes don't get much higher than this. The home-team 49ers are arguably the best team in the NFL, and in the NFC there are few teams capable of challenging the 49ers at all. The Cowboys might be one such team, or at least they'll hope to prove as much in this, what could be a season-defining matchup. The 49ers are mostly healthy, missing just backup runner Eli Mitchell, while Dallas' worst injury is the absence of Trevon Diggs, which they've had a couple weeks to adjust to by now. The over/under is at 45.0, and the 49ers are favored by 3.5 points.

QUARTERBACKS

Brock Purdy ($9400 DK, $14500 FD) hasn't been tested much this year but has been nearly perfect through the 49ers' first four weeks, making this an interesting Strength vs. Strength matchup between Purdy and a Dallas defense that would intimidate most offenses. The 49ers probably won't fully unleash Purdy against a dangerous Dallas pass rush, but they might have some special plays set aside for a game this important. As much as it's not in the nature of the 49ers offense to call more than 30 passes for Purdy, extreme measures are sometimes called for.

Dak Prescott ($9600 DK, $14000 FD) will likely face greater difficulty than Purdy, but Dallas might be more dependent on Prescott for production than the 49ers are Purdy. The 49ers should be able to run on Dallas, but Dallas running on the 49ers seems less likely. The slack could fall to Prescott, who might or might not hold serve under such pressure. Prescott has gems and duds both in his recent and distant history, and guessing which one shows up isn't easy. The 49ers don't have deep coverage personnel however – Fred Warner and Charvarius Ward are their only reliable standouts, too – so Dallas might be able to find a mismatch at corner and downfield. The 49ers pass rush is the greater question facing the Dallas offense.

RUNNING BACKS

Christian McCaffrey ($11800 DK, $17500 FD) could very well finish 2023 as the top fantasy player, and the 49ers might need him to step up in this game. Short of Dallas coughing up turnovers, the 49ers probably need to put the slack on Purdy if it's not McCaffrey who picks it up. Jordan Mason ($1800 DK, $5000 FD) is a competent backup and might be a candidate to see cleanup work in the event that the 49ers run away with this game. In general, though, it looks like a heavy work shift for McCaffrey.

Tony Pollard ($10200 DK, $15500 FD) is the Dallas equivalent of McCaffrey, but the 49ers run defense is probably a bit more rugged than the Dallas one, not to mention Mike McCarthy will never be confused for Kyle Shanahan. Still, tough sledding or not, it's difficult to imagine Dallas winning this game without some major accomplishment of Pollard's propelling the outcome. Guys like Deuce Vaughn ($2200 DK, $7000 FD) and Hunter Luepke are candidate to steal a few touches, but Rico Dowdle ($3000 DK, $7500 FD) likely remains the primary backup to Pollard and should be the first Dallas back off the bench.

WIDE RECEIVERS + TIGHT ENDS

Deebo Samuel ($7600 DK, $12500 FD) is healthy and should be busy, especially if the 49ers want to protect Purdy from the Dallas pass rush. Samuel can produce YAC like almost no one in NFL history, and YAC means yardage without putting the quarterback in harm's way. Brandon Aiyuk ($8400 DK, $15000 FD) is red-hot right and remains a game-breaking candidate going into this one, especially with Dallas without Trevon Diggs. It might be too much to ask big games from Samuel, Aiyuk and George Kittle ($6400 DK, $10000 FD), but Kittle's ability to take over a game needs no reminding. Jauan Jennings ($3800 DK, $8000 FD) is likely your third wideout, but guys like Ronnie Bell ($1200 DK, $6500 FD) and Ray-Ray McCloud ($200 DK, $6000 FD) can pop up too.

CeeDee Lamb ($10000 DK, $13000 FD) isn't a guarantee to produce here, but you can probably guarantee Dallas loses if he doesn't. Brandin Cooks ($5600 DK, $8000 FD) hasn't done much yet for Dallas, but he and Michael Gallup ($4600 DK, $8500 FD) need to give Lamb some help. That would be particularly true if Jake Ferguson ($5000 DK, $8500 FD) gets the no-fly treatment from Fred Warner. KaVontae Turpin ($1400 DK, $6500 FD) is a gadget-play candidate and a standout return specialist.

KICKERS

Jake Moody ($4400 DK, $9000 FD) is a rookie third-round pick, which places big expectations on a kicker. He's been perfect so far, making all nine field goals and 14 PATs. He has 12.0 fantasy points in three of his four games this year. He might be called on again here.

Brandon Aubrey ($4200 DK, $9000 FD) is a fellow rookie on the other side, and he too has been excellent this year. Aubrey has made all 13 of his field goal attempts, exceeding double-digit fantasy points in every game so far. This is a more compelling kicker slate than usual.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Part of why this is a so wide-open showdown slate is the fact that either defense, in addition to either kicker, could post a considerable point total in this. The 49ers ($4000 DK, $9500 FD) are probably the better bet, if only because Dak Prescott has a history of committing costly turnovers. Brock Purdy might be untested under pressure, but the 49ers have a way of hiding him from pressure. If the Cowboys ($3400 DK, $10500 FD) can draw Purdy into the field then they could create chaos, but that's the challenge.