Cardinals@Bengals
Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 6th at 1:00 pm EST
Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Betting Odds: CIN -3.5, 47 Total via Oddsshark
Network: FOX
Sleeper Spotlight: Tyler Eifert
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback:
- Kyler Murray (Sit)
Which will win out? The inept offense or a nonexistent defense? FantasyPros currently has Kyler Murray ranked as the number 10 quarterback this week and I get it, to a point. The Cardinals play at the highest pace in the league but have yet to be efficient. The Bengals defense stinks and maybe this is the week that Murray breaks out with a huge performance, but if you have a better/safer option, I’d like to play the wait and see the game.
Running Backs:
- David Johnson (Start/RB1)
- Chase Edmonds (Sit)
One of the few good parts about the Cardinals offense is that it’s highly concentrated and with Christian Kirk nursing an ankle injury, it could be even more concentrated. David Johnson has been a complete workhorse, getting 81% of the running back carries, as well as, a 17% target share in the passing game. The Bengals have allowed 143 rushing yards per game, sixth-worst in the league. With this matchup, I don’t see how David Johnson busts, barring injury.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- Larry Fitzgerald (Start/WR2)
- Christian Kirk (Sit)
- KeeSean Johnson (Sit)
- Damiere Byrd (Sit)
- Charles Clay (Sit)
- Maxx Williams (Sit)
Keep an eye on Christian Kirk’s status this week as he nurses an ankle injury suffered late in the Cardinals 27-10 loss against the Seahawks. Kirk leads the Cardinals with a 22% target share, so if he’s out, we could see an increased workload for Larry Fitzgerald, KeeSean Johnson, and David Johnson. Fitzgerald leads the Cardinals in Air Yards but had seen his targets take a backseat to Kirk following his Week 1 13-target game. Fitzgerald should see his targets come close to double-digits if Kirk is out this week. Week 4 saw Damiere Byrd be a somewhat surprising healthy inactive, so while he would most likely be active if Kirk is out, it’s clear KeeSean Johnson is ahead of him in the pecking order. Charles Clay and Maxx Williams can be ignored as they have nine targets combined on the year.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback:
- Andy Dalton (Sit)
Once again I wrote about Andy Dalton in this week’s Quarterback Streaming Article, and if you’re desperate at quarterback, I could see starting him. Dalton looked bad against Pittsburgh’s pass rush, as he was sacked nine times Monday night and the Cardinals rank 11th with 11 sacks on the season. If you’re in a 2-QB league or are streaming quarterback, I’d fire Dalton up, but in a standard 12-team league, I’m avoiding.
Running Backs:
- Joe Mixon (Start/RB1)
- Giovani Bernard (Sit)
I’m firing Joe Mixon up as an RB1 in this matchup. For the season, Mixon has carried the ball on 73% of the Bengals running back carries and adds a 9% target share through the air. Week 4 against the Steelers saw Mixon targeted a healthy five times with him catching four of his targets for one yard. Ugh, this offense stinks. He had -16 air yards on Monday night, with 17 yards after the catch. As long as Mixon has this type of workload, he should have no problem producing in an up-tempo matchup against a bad defense. Giovani Bernard has seen an 8% target share as the third-down back, but the offense hasn’t been efficient enough to consider his as a start, even as a flex play.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends:
- Tyler Boyd (Start/WR2)
- John Ross (Sit/Injury)
- Auden Tate (Sit)
- Tyler Eifert (Start/TE1)
- C.J. Uzomah (Sit)
The news of John Ross being out potentially multiple weeks with a shoulder injury solidifies how I feel about Tyler Boyd and Tyler Eifert. Boyd leads the team with 39 targets through four weeks, fourth-most in the league. With Ross being out, Auden Tate should be in line for additional targets which makes him interesting in deep leagues, but a sit-in regular 12-team leagues. At this point, the “play tight ends against the Cardinals” narrative has its bandwagon, but over four weeks it has yet to let us down. That makes Tyler Eifert a back end TE1, but we’re not going out of our way to sit a George Kittle just because he’s off to a slow start for Eifert. Other than his Week 3 matchup against the Bills in which he only saw one target, Eifert has seen five targets in each of his other three games. With Patrick Peterson suspended for another two games, the Cardinals secondary should continue to be a cakewalk for opposing teams.
-Rich Holman, @nextdoorFFguru
Would you start Brisset over Cousins?
Ertz a Start for the Eagles? Don’t see him either way
Sounds like a salty Falcons fan with that Patriots jab. Word of advice, it doesn’t look good on you to be putting your personal feelings into these columns. It just makes you come off as a homer.
Yeah that hit on Allen wasnt dirty at all. Allens momentum was going foward and could have picked up the first down without the second hit. Also he isnt defenseless if he takes off and runs. Rbs get hit like that all the time.