Bengals@Raiders
Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, November 17 at 4:25 pm EST
Location: RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Betting Odds: OAK -10.5, 48.5 Total via Oddsshark
Network: CBS
Sleeper Spotlight: Hunter Renfrow
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback:
- Ryan Finley (Sit)
Ryan Finley looked like a rookie in his debut against the Ravens, completing just 16 of 30 passes for 167 yards. His 5.6 yards per attempt was Luke Falk-esque. For the most part, the Bengals leaned on the run in this game and didn’t ask Finley to do anything crazy. He threw four deep passes, all of which fell incomplete. Finley can remain on the wire for the near future.
Running Back:
- Joe Mixon (Start/RB2)
- Giovani Bernard (Sit)
One of the few positive takeaways from Ryan Finley’s debut was the Bengals mentality of sticking with the run, no matter what the deficit is. As a Joe Mixon owner, this is super encouraging and gives a glimmer of hope that he’ll be a fantasy asset once again. Mixon saw 76% of the Bengals snaps and carried the ball a season-high 30 times for 114 yards. He also added two catches on three targets for 37 yards. For perspective, Mixon carried the ball 35 times over the Bengals’ last three games. This week Mixon gets the Raiders who have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, making him a start as an RB2. Giovani Bernard suffered a knee injury in the second quarter on Sunday’s game against the Ravens and was initially ruled out. However, that designation was then changed to “Doubtful” and he eventually made his return to the field in the second half. Keep an eye on his status for this week, but if he’s out, Mixon should see another increased workload.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- Tyler Boyd (Start/WR2*)
- Auden Tate (Start/Flex*)
- A.J. Green (Sit)
- Tyler Eifert (Start/TE1)
- Alex Erickson (Sit)
You’ll have to keep an eye on Tyler Boyd’s status this week as he left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. He suffered the injury in the fourth quarter and was helped off the field by trainers. As of this writing, no new updates have come out about the severity of the injury. If he practices this week and is good to go, I’d be willing to fire him up as a WR2, as the Raiders have allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers on the year. If Boyd is unable to go, I’d be willing to start Auden Tate as a flex. Over the Bengals’ last two games, Tate leads the Bengals in targets with 19. A.J. Green’s status is still up in the air, but even if he plays, I’m sitting him until I see what he does on the field. Tyler Eifert saw four targets from Finley on Sunday, including a red-zone target that went for a touchdown. He falls into that glob of tight ends that are startable, but you’re praying for a touchdown. One has to wonder if Alex Erickson’s big game happened, or if it was just a figment of our imagination. After seeing 27 targets from Andy Dalton between Weeks 6-8, Erickson saw just two from Finley.
Oakland Raiders
Quarterback:
- Derek Carr (Start/QB1)
If ever there was a week to start Derek Carr this is it. He gets the ultimate matchup against the Bengals, who have allowed opposing quarterbacks to post just under 27 fantasy points per game over their last four games. While the Raiders have been one of the more rush-heavy teams this year, Carr should provide a decent floor and comes in as a back-end QB1 this week.
Running Backs:
- Josh Jacobs (Start/RB1)
- Jalen Richard (Sit)
Josh Jacobs has been the primary beneficiary of the Raiders rush-heavy offense as he’s had a lot of success running behind the Raiders offensive line. According to Football Outsiders, the Raiders have the fourth-best offensive line in terms of Adjusted Line Yards; a statistic that measures how much of a runner’s yards are created by the offensive line. The Bengals have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to running backs this year, making Jacobs a high-end RB1 this week. Despite Jalen Richard continuing to keep his role as the Raiders third-down back, Jacobs has at least two targets in every game since Week 3.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- Tyrell Williams (Start/Flex)
- Darren Waller (Start/TE1)
- Hunter Renfrow (Sit)
- Zay Jones (Sit)
Tyrell Williams missed the Raiders Week 5 and 7 games (bye in Week 6) with a plantar fasciitis injury. Since his return, he’s managed a 16% target share, which is tied with Darren Waller for second-most on the team, although he does have a healthy 16.7 aDOT. Hopefully, Carr can connect with Williams on those downfield targets more often moving forward. Darren Waller has 15 targets over the Raiders’ last three games, but the more concerning thing is that he’s caught just seven of those targets. Most of those missed connections came in the Raiders’ Week 8 matchup with the Texans where Waller caught just two of his eight targets, but following that game he’s seen just seven targets over his last two games. This is a situation to monitor moving forward. Derek Carr’s favorite target over the last three games has been Hunter Renfrow, who has seen 16 targets. While his 6.6 aDOT leaves something to be desired, he has caught 14 of those targets, making him a decent play if you’re desperate in PPR leagues. Zay Jones has yet to make an impact with the Raiders as he’s seen just nine targets in three games with the team.
-Rich Holman
Ok I have in the past taken your advice I sat jarvis landry out on your reccomendation and guess what he ended up scoring 40 points . So excuse me if I pass on this advice.
Why even click the link then? You just come here to post a shitty comment?
It really sucks when you follow someone’s advice, and it doesn’t work out. We’ve all been there. So I can totally empathize with you being upset with how things worked out with Landry.
What I can’t understand is you coming back here to trash Aaron’s thoughtful analysis. Nobody bats 1.000 in fantasy football because there is inherent chaos baked into the game. Absolutely no one predicted Landry scoring 40 points last week because it would be insane to do so without the benefit of hindsight.