We're hours from Thursday Night Football, and the uncertainty surrounding both teams makes it somewhat difficult to find good Cowboys vs Titans player props.
Tony Pollard and Derrick Henry sound unlikely to play, so that means potentially increased roles for Ezekiel Elliott and Hassan Haskins.
What we do know in our search for Cowboys vs Titans player props? Josh Dobs is reportedly going to be starting at quarterback for Tennessee because Ryan Tannehill is injured. Here are two bets to make going off that fact, using Chris Raybon's projections on Action Labs.
Chigoziem Okonkwo
Under 24.5 Receiving Yards (BetMGM)
Austin Hooper
Under 20.5 Receiving Yards (BetMGM)
Fading Titans pass catchers makes sense since Malik Willis has a combined 232 passing yards in his three starts this season. Dobbs doesn't provide much of an upgrade.
I’m going to specifically focus on tight ends for this matchup against the Cowboys.
This season, the Cowboys are allowing an average of 40.5 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends. Most Dallas’ games this season have come against teams with more passing ability than Tennessee will on Thursday night.
It should be noted that the Titans’ tight end duo of Chigoziem Okonkwo and Austin Hooper is solid. Okonkwo had a stretch of seven straight games, including one with Willis starting, that saw him haul in 31 or more receiving yards. From Weeks 13-15, he averaged 11.7 PPR fantasy points per game. Hooper is a reliable veteran with less big-play ability than Okonkwo, but he’s still put up solid numbers this season with Tannehill under center.
Okonkwo has the higher receiving yards total this week at 23.5, compared to Hooper’s 20.5. Both Chris Raybon and Sean Koerner project the pair to go under its receiving totals.
Here’s how the duo has performed with Willis under center, which we can use to compare to Dobbs as a passer:
- Week 8 @ Texans: Hooper 1/5/0, Okonkwo 1/3/0
- Week 9 @ Chiefs: Hooper 2/34/0, Okonkwo 1/48/0
- Week 16 vs. Texans: Hooper 2/20/0, Okonkwo 1/10/0
That’s four unders on these lines between the two, with the only overs coming against the Chiefs.
It should be noted that the Titans will likely be without Derrick Henry (doubtful, hip) in this game. Hassan Haskins is likely in line for a big workload with Tennessee holding Henry out for a win-or-go-home Week 18 matchup against the Jaguars with the AFC South on the line.
Since this game quite literally means nothing for Tennessee, perhaps it lets Dobbs air it out and really get his feet wet as a passer in the NFL. The matchup isn’t great to let him do that, but it’s a perfect opportunity to really see what he’s made of.
I’m going to back the numbers for now and fade these tight ends, though.
