• Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emari Demercado led the way for the : Harrison turned in one of the best performances of his young career, while Demercado unexpectedly paced the team in both rushing attempts and yards.
• The Dallas Cowboys depth chart remains unsettled: While the top of the offense is unchanged, the No. 2 running back and No. 3 wide receiver spots have seen notable movement.
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PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2025.

Arizona Cardinals @ Dallas Cowboys

Bam Knight leads the Cardinals’ two-man rotation: Arizona hasn’t had a consistent running back rotation since the early weeks of the season.

The Cardinals opened the year with James Conner handling early downs and Trey Benson serving as the third-down back and primary backup. Once Conner suffered a season-ending injury, Benson stepped into the lead role with Emari Demercado taking over on passing downs. Benson was then placed on injured reserve after Week 4.

In Week 5, Michael Carter operated as the primary back with Bam Knight working behind him and Demercado returning to third-down duties. The following week, Knight led a two-man rotation with Carter while Demercado missed time due to injury. In Week 7, Knight again led the backfield, but D’Ernest Johnson handled passing-down snaps. The Week 8 bye gave Demercado time to recover from his ankle injury.

The Cardinals waived Carter last Monday, re-signed him to the practice squad on Tuesday, and then elevated him for this week’s game. Despite practicing with the first-team offense during the week, Carter did not factor into the backfield rotation. Knight handled early-down work, while Demercado returned as the third-down back and primary backup.

Demercado was the first Cardinals back to find success on the ground, rushing five times for 27 yards in the first half — his fourth-most carries in a single game — with the potential for more production after halftime. Knight struggled early but contributed on two receptions and later broke off a 17-yard run in the second half. Demercado continued to show steady efficiency as a runner after the break. At one point, he reached a career-high 83 rushing yards, but a late four-yard loss brought him down to 79 — his second-best rushing total to date.

Benson is eligible to return next week, and initial reports estimated a four-to-six-week recovery following surgery — a window that has nearly elapsed. None of the Cardinals’ backs has performed well enough during his absence to threaten his workload. Once healthy, Benson should reclaim early-down duties with Demercado resuming his role on third downs. Fantasy managers can safely move on from Carter, Knight, and even Demercado in most formats, as uncertainty remains high even if Benson misses another week.

The Cowboys lean on Javonte Williams: With Jaydon Blue a healthy inactive, Williams logged a higher percentage of offensive snaps than usual.

Dallas opened the season with Javonte Williams as its lead running back, with Williams typically playing between 75% and 80% of the offensive snaps. Miles Sanders operated as the primary backup, while fifth-round rookie Jaydon Blue was a healthy inactive. With fullback Hunter Luepke capable of handling some halfback duties, the Cowboys didn’t need a third back early in the year. However, Sanders suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4, elevating Blue to the No. 2 role.

Over the next four games, Blue ran 22 times for 65 yards, caught his lone target for 5 yards and lost a fumble in limited opportunities. This week, the Cowboys elevated Malik Davis from the practice squad and made Blue inactive. Davis, who has spent most of the past four seasons in Dallas primarily on the practice squad, entered the night with 17 career games played and 40 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown.

The move left Williams handling an even larger workload than usual. He logged 13 carries before Davis saw his first touch, and as long as the Cowboys lack a trusted backup, Williams should remain among the league leaders in offensive snap share. That consistent usage makes him an easy plug-and-play option in fantasy lineups.

Ryan Flournoy further establishes himself as the Cowboys’ No. 3 receiver: Flournoy played more offensive snaps than KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert combined.

Flournoy began the season fifth on the depth chart behind starters CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, with Turpin and Tolbert competing for snaps in three-receiver sets. Injuries to Pickens and Turpin moved Flournoy up to third, and he made the most of his opportunity in Week 5, catching six passes for 114 yards. Neither Turpin nor Tolbert has ever recorded a 100-yard receiving game in their NFL careers.

When everyone returned to full health in Week 7, Flournoy dropped back to fifth on the depth chart. That changed last week, as he and Turpin split snaps in three-wide sets — Flournoy played 45.9% of offensive snaps, Turpin 40.5%, and Tolbert trailed at 18.9%. This week, Turpin’s usage dropped even further, falling closer to Tolbert’s than to Flournoy’s.

Flournoy was quiet through three quarters before catching two passes in the fourth, including the first touchdown of his NFL career. While his role remains somewhat fluid, there’s reason to believe Flournoy could deliver another strong outing or two before season’s end.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray missed his third straight game due to a foot injury. He was limited all week. He was ruled questionable on Saturday.
• Marvin Harrison Jr. was rotated out more than usual this week, simply because he was making so many big catches that he needed to take a few more short breaks.
• Cardinals wide receiver Zay Jones was limited in practice with a knee injury on Thursday and Friday but practiced in full on Saturday.
• Cowboys wide receiver Jonathan Mingo started the season on injured reserve. He’s been on the 53-man roster over the last two weeks, but has been a healthy inactive for both games, so he hasn’t yet made his season debut.
• Jake Ferguson played 89.5% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps, his highest rate in a game since 2023.
• The Cowboys activated tight end Princeton Fant from the practice squad ahead of the game. This gave Dallas four tight ends on Monday night.

Table notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.