Cowboys Lean on Lamb and Pickens as Dallas' Defense Craters

The Cowboys' Week 1 problem wasn't the offense — it was that the offense barely got to play. Dallas held the ball for just 23:20 in a 28-20 loss at the Giants, running only two drives in the entire second half. Both ended in touchdowns. That still left them a possession short, and it's the kind of math that should terrify fantasy managers banking on volume from this passing game.

The culprit is a defense in freefall. New York went 9-for-11 on third down (82%) — its best single-game rate since 1978 — and by expected points added per drive, Dallas turned in the worst defensive performance of any team in Week 1. Out of 576 defensive games logged since the start of 2025, the Cowboys ranked 574th. When your defense can't get off the field, your studs at receiver spend the afternoon pacing the sideline instead of catching passes.

The Adjustment: Start Fast, Hit Big

Dallas' internal fix is simple to say, harder to do: start fast and swing for splash plays. The Cowboys opened Week 1 with a three-and-out and leaned on Javonte Williams handoffs on both of their first two drives before finding rhythm. Dak Prescott framed it as a whole-team issue — offense, special teams, field position — but the message from the receiver room was blunter. George Pickens said the answer is explosive plays, and with limited possessions, you have to cash in as many as you can.

The matchup cooperates. Washington's new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones spent three years under Brian Flores in Minnesota, where the Vikings blitzed a league-high 47.1% over that stretch — no other team topped 40%. Add head coach Dan Quinn's fondness for man coverage, and you've got a defense that could get exposed by two elite route-runners. Pickens made no secret of expecting a big afternoon.

The Fantasy Angle

Pickens sits as our WR5 and No. 23 overall, coming off a 2025 line of 93 catches, 1,429 yards and 9 TDs (290 PPR points). His recent form dipped — down 6.1 fantasy points versus his season average over his last five games of 2025 — and he did drop a deep ball late in the first half of Week 1. But the blitz-and-man script Washington projects to run is exactly the environment where he wins vertically.

Lamb (our WR19, No. 63 overall) posted 75 catches for 1,077 yards and 3 TDs across 14 games in 2025 (201 PPR points), and he's also trending slightly down (-2.9 vs average over his last five). The bottom line: start both without hesitation. The defensive collapse cuts drive volume, but it also forces this offense to hunt chunk plays — and that raises the ceiling for both receivers. Fire them up in Week 2 and hold your nose about the Dallas defense.