Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, December 19th at 4:05 PM ET
Location: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver Colorado
Betting Odds: DEN -1.5, 43.5 total via Oddsshark
Network: CBS
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater (Sit, QB2)
Teddy Bridgewater is just an okay quarterback and has been all season. He only has one game where he scored over two touchdowns. He has 2 games where he has scored no touchdowns. The Broncos are a run-first team which limited the opportunities for Teddy to be great. He has only 5 games over 35 passing attempts this season and now faces a touch pass defense in the Bengals. In what projects to be a lower scoring game with both teams being run-heavy there should be even fewer opportunities for Bridgewater to put up fantasy points. Even if it does turn into a shoot out I’m not trusting Teddy two gloves to win you a fantasy week. He has been secure with the ball only having 7 interceptions on the season but in his one game where he threw the most, he had his 3 touchdowns but also threw 3 interceptions. He hasn’t been running the ball as much as some had hoped so he lacks the upside there. With no teams on byes, there are plenty of other good options out there if you are streaming a quarterback.
Running Backs
Melvin Gordon (Start, RB2), Javonte Williams (Start, RB3)
.The Javonte Williams take over in the mile-high city is on pause. After Melvin Gordon missed week 13 he came back in week 14 and rushed 24 times for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gordon now has 7 rushing touchdowns on the year. His other metrics are pretty similar to Willaims.
| Attempts | Yards | Yards Per Carry | Targets | Receptions | |
| Melvin Gordon | 159 | 716 | 4.5 | 30 | 22 |
| Javonte Williams | 155 | 743 | 4.79 | 44 | 34 |
Williams has the benefit of a game without Gordon which inflated his numbers closer to Gordon. Williams has been more involved in the passing game which could point to more involvement if the team gets behind but the Broncos have been pretty consistent in rotating the two between drives. I think both are viable for fantasy. Gordon did suffer a finger injury which reports have him not missing time but if it gets worse Williams to me would be a low-end RB1 with Gordon out.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
Jerry Jeudy (Start, WR3) Cortland Sutton (Sit), Tim Patrick (Sit, flex), Noah Fant (Start) Albert Okwuegbunam (sit)
The Bronco’s passing game has been kind of a head-scratcher this year. They signed both Tim Patrick and Cortland Sutton to deals in the past month despite their lack of production in 2021. Sutton only has 2 touchdowns on the year and only 658 yards. The yardage total puts him 35th in the NFL right now. Patrick has 4 touchdowns and 579 yards which puts him at 49th on the yardage leaders list. This is all while they are both playing over 80% of the team’s snaps. Jerry Jeudy, on the other hand, has missed 6 games, playing fewer snaps than his counterparts but has 377 yards. It doesn’t sound great but over the past 2 games, he has had 77 and 47 yards while leading or tieing the team lead for targets at the wide receiver position. He has yet to score a touchdown on the year but has been the hotter piece of this low-end passing offense. He’s worth a start in week 15 but you have to limit your expectation. Patrick could find the end zone but his lower volume put him just outside my startable flex plays this week but I can’t fault someone who doesn’t have better options. Tight end Noah Fant has been pretty good in the fantasy TE landscape. He has had 4 targets in each of the past 3 weeks and has 3 touchdowns on the year. He leads the team with 14 red-zone targets so there are opportunities for him to continue to be serviceable for fantasy. Albert Okwuegbunam scored in week 14 and has seen 11 targets over the past 3 weeks compared to Fant’s 12. We can all hope he continues to make plays if only to listen to announcers struggle to pronounce his name. He’s not someone I’m starting for fantasy but would be a great play if Fant were to miss time.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Joe Burrow (Sit, QB2)
Joe Burrow was slinging the ball around in the overtime loss to the 49ers in week 14. He ended with 348 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was one of his best performances of the season. The loss hurts for Cincy fans but there is plenty to be excited about. That is until you look at the week 15 matchup against the Broncos. The Broncos have a great pass defense which doesn’t look too great for Burrow and his fantasy day. Add on the fact that both teams are fighting for a playoff spot and a loss will come close to knocking them out of contention. There are certainly the weapons for Burrow to score points at will. He has one of the best wide receiver groups in the NFL. He just hasn’t done it that much this year. I think you have plenty of other fantasy options who have better matchups this week.
Running Backs
Joe Mixon (Start, RB2), Samaje Perine (Sit)
Joe Mixon went all… well Joe Mixon last week. Just when you thought you could trust him he let you down. After 2 weeks of rb1 numbers, he followed that up with 2 weeks of flex numbers especially against a weak run defense in the 49ers in week 14. It’s what anyone that has ever owned Mixon has felt since he came into the lead. Tons of potential and flashes of brilliance and then disappointment. Now Mixon faces CBS’s 11th best-run defense. It doesn’t bode well for Mixon in the first week of most fantasy playoffs. Mixon has scored in all but 3 games this year so he has a good chance to find pay dirt which will give him decent fantasy points. He is also involved in the passing game and doesn’t have anyone else competing for his carries. Samaje Perine hasn’t done much despite playing on 42% of the team’s snaps in week 14. He did get more passing work than Mixon over the past 2 weeks but it’s not enough to make him fantasy relevant other than a handcuff.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
Ja’marr Chase (Start, WR2), Tyler Boyd (Sit, flex), Tee Higgins (Start, Flex), C.J. Uzomah (Sit)
The Merry-go-round of the Bengals wide receivers continues. In week 14 it was Ja’Marr Chase leading the way. Week 14 stats below
| Targets | Receptions | Yards | |
| Chase | 8 | 5 | 77 |
| Higgins | 7 | 5 | 114 |
| Boyd | 5 | 4 | 55 |
Chase also had the only 2 passing touchdowns in week 14, which brings his season total up to 10 compared to 4 for Tee Higgins and 2 for Tyler Boyd. All 3 didn’t bust for you but it’s clear now that Chase and Higgins are the 2 you want to start. Chase played on 88.7% of the team’s snaps since the week 10 bye. Boyd is coming in at 75.4% and Higgins at 64.1%. Chase and Higgins are also tied for the team lead in red-zone targets with 12. It’s a tough matchup with the Broncos secondary so I expect slightly lower numbers for all pas catching options in Cincy. Tight end C.J. Uzomah has 5 touchdowns on the season but those game in 3 games and he hasn’t scored since week 7. He is playing a decent amount of snaps and has seen 6 targets in each of the last 2 games. The matchup puts him on my bench but he’s someone to monitor going forward.
-Dustin Ludke (Dunit13dl on Reddit, theDunit13 on Twitter)