It's time for the Week 13 installment of Thursday night matchups with my start/sit recommendations. The first place Dallas Cowboys (how 'bout them Cowboys?) will face the Minnesota Vikings at their brand new dome.

Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down every game and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and injury information as well. Later this week, you will find parts one and two of our Week 13 NFL matchups, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL matchups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.

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Cowboys @ Vikings - Thursday 12/1 @ 8:25 PM EST

Matchups We Love

Ezekiel Elliott (RB, DAL) - The Cowboys keep running Elliott full throttle and it won't stop any time soon. De facto coach Jerry Jones claimed they have no intention of limiting his carries late in the season to keep him fresh. Although he has only gone over 100 yards once in the last five games, he hasn't finished under 92 rushing yards in any of those games either and has tallied seven TD in that span. The Vikings are still a top-10 run defense statistically, but they've shown some cracks lately by ceding 97 yards on the ground to Rob Kelley and 103 to David Johnson. Elliott remains a top-five RB play this week.

Kyle Rudolph (TE, MIN) - The Cowboys allow the ninth-most fantasy PPG to tight ends this year. With Stefon Diggs' status still in question, Rudolph could serve as the primary red zone target for Minnesota. He caught nine of his 10 targets last week in Detroit and has been productive even when Diggs is in the lineup. In a week where Gronk and Reed are questionable (again), Rudolph may serve as a great second choice.

Matchups We Hate

Sam Bradford (QB, MIN) - If the Cowboys have a weakness, it's their pass defense, but Bradford simply isn't good enough to exploit it. He finally cracked the 300-yard mark two weeks ago against Washington, but has thrown for 169 and 224 yards in the last two games. Bradford ranks 22nd in passing yards this season and is yet to throw more than two TD in a game. Even if the Vikes fall behind early, they are simply not a high-volume passing team. Bradford has attempted 40 or more passes in three games this year, but emerged with four total touchdowns in those games. Don't expect good return on investment this week.

Dez Bryant (WR, DAL) - Other than his letdown against Cleveland, Bryant has looked every bit a WR1 since returning from injury in Week 8. The question is whether this might be a repeat of that Cleveland game due to game flow. The Cowboys have won every game since the opener, but four of the last five have been tight contests. If Dallas has success running and the Vikings can't keep up offensively, Bryant might see fewer targets. He will have a hard enough time as it is against former Cowboy Terence Newman and the second-best secondary in the league, behind only Denver. He is down to a WR2 and makes a risky play in DFS.

Notable Players

Dak Prescott (QB, DAL) - Unless you're a diehard fan of an opposing NFC East team, you simply can't hate on Prescott any more. This isn't going to be one of his better games, though. The Cowboys won't be pressured to score a ton of points as they were against Washington or Pittsburgh. Despite their recent losing skid, Minnesota is still third-best against the QB for fantasy points allowed. If you own him in a season-long, he is startable. For DFS purposes, he is best faded.

Stefon Diggs (WR, MIN) - Diggs missed the Thanksgiving game with a knee issue and is still listed as questionable. If he goes, he is definitely worth starting as a WR2 in H2H formats. Check his availability Thursday afternoon before plugging him into your lineup. If he misses again, Adam Thielen gets bumped up to flex consideration again.

Key Injuries: Stefon Diggs (WR, MIN) - questionable