Bengals @ WFT
A forgettable football game for so many reasons could become notorious for the worst reason — a nasty looking injury to the 2020 NFL Draft’s No.1 overall pick and franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. Both offenses failed to make any headway before Burrow exited the game in the 3rd quarter with the Bengals leading 9-7. Sensing the deflation from across the Bengals organization as they watched Burrow being carted from the field, Washington quickly went down the field to score and take hold of the contest. Alex Smith did what Alex Smith does best and managed the clock, and he ultimately led his team to a 20-9 victory.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: 22/34, 203 yards, 1 TD, 1 FUM | 2 carries, 12 yards
Ryan Finley: 3/10, 30 yards, 1 INT, 4 sacks | 1 carry, 19 yards
Bengals fans, look away now. This is the moment that ended the season for Joe Burrow (11.32 fantasy points on Yahoo!), who, it was confirmed after the game, tore his ACL and will begin the long road to recovery in time for next season. What a shame! Not necessarily because today he was playing lights out football (he, wasn’t, it was a poor outing), but because of the promise and talent that he has shown in his debut season. After this injury, the Bengals will likely select an offensive lineman in the next draft to protect their star signal-caller.
The slow motion of the Joe Burrow injury. Get well soon man. Ughhh. #benglas #washingtonfootball #NFL pic.twitter.com/5UnACZeGOt
— Sean (@SeanPTF) November 22, 2020
What is abundantly clear is that replacement Ryan Finley (2.10 fantasy points) has no business stepping onto an NFL field again. He looked way out of his depth – slow and static in the pocket, and he was a sitting duck for this promising young Washington defense who sacked him 4 times and picked him off once in 5 drives.
.@_sweat9 having fun out here @budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/lqyja7yKSt
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 22, 2020
Running Backs
Gio Bernard: 9 carries, 18 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 37 yards
Samaje Perine: 5 carries, 19 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 2 yards
It was an ugly game for the Bengals all across the field and just highlights how Burrow has elevated their game single-handedly. With Joe Mixon still missing through injury, it fell to mustached-veteran Gio Bernard (9.50 fantasy points) to lead the backfield. He took a hit early on and showed winces of discomfort throughout the 1st half. He was not involved much at all after the break and it was Samaje Perine (3.10 fantasy points) who saw most of the carries. Not surprisingly, the Bengals went nowhere. Until Mixon returns, this backfield has very little upside apart from Bernard as a PPR FLEX option.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Tyler Boyd: 11 targets, 9 receptions, 85 yards
A.J. Green: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 41 yards, 1 TD
Drew Sample: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards
Tee Higgins: 10 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards
Alex Erickson: 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards
Auden Tate: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
After the football world declared A.J. Green (14.10 fantasy points) “retired” in terms of fantasy relevance, up pops the veteran to score a receiving touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Remarkably, it was his first since Week 8, 2018. The placement on the pass from Burrow was perfect, however, we now know that he cannot rely on this going forward.
🧡 A.J. 🧡#BudLightCelly | @BudLight
📺: #CINvsWAS on CBS pic.twitter.com/t76FbcbiCy
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 22, 2020
That touchdown likely angered many who have built their lineups on the emergence of Tee Higgins (5.60 fantasy points) and Tyler Boyd (17.50 fantasy points) this season. In fact, later in the game, it was Green again who saw the red zone target from Burrow much to the dismay of those who rostered Higgins and Boyd. It is hard to predict the fantasy relevance of Green going forward without Burrow, but it is considerably less favorable after Burrow’s injury.
It wasn’t Higgins’ day today as the wideout was well marshaled by Ronald Darby for most of the night. He also had a designed screen-pass play totally fail, taking the 5-yard loss on 1 of his 3 receptions. His only other grabs were a 6-yard gain on the Bengals 1st drive and a 25-yard pass that set up Green’s touchdown.
Boyd fared much better – the former Pitt. receiver was expectedly peppered with targets in the 1st half by Burrow. His movement to lose defenders in the secondary is second-to-none.
Big Levels ™
📺: #CINvsWAS on CBS pic.twitter.com/YeJ792og3L
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 22, 2020
Boyd was targeted twice by Finley, connecting once for 14 yards. He will likely become the “safe option” for this offense going forward, however, those who have Boyd rostered should expect immediate regression.
Washington Football Team
Quarterback
Alex Smith: 17/25, 166 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks | 3 carries, -3 yards
Despite a thoroughly proficient performance from Mr. Game Manager himself, Alex Smith (9.34 fantasy points) failed to register on the fantasy radar as Washington established the run after taking a 14-9 lead in the 3rd quarter. Throwing the ball just 25 times, Smith was flicked into cruise mode and dutifully obliged by handing the ball off 30 times to his running backs. Smith has limited upside in this offense and due to his previous injury, he isn’t a factor on the ground. His interception was the lone blemish, but you can count Smith a little unlucky as this came from a deflected pass at the line of scrimmage off his own offensive lineman.
There are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes and Jessie Bates making big plays. pic.twitter.com/hibmUA3ZlD
— Evan McPhillips (@emcphil) November 22, 2020
Running Backs
Antonio Gibson: 16 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD | 2 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards
J.D. McKissic: 6 carries, 43 yards, 1 FUM | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards
Peyton Barber: 8 carries, 28 yards
If you drafted 4th round rookie Antonio Gibson (17.40 fantasy points) as a late-round flier in your fantasy draft then he is likely helping you to win every week – Gibson has at least 50 scrimmage yards or a touchdown in 9 consecutive games. That is fantastic production from the nifty back out of Memphis and it has propelled him into the top 10 fantasy scoring RBs. He found paydirt again today and saw plenty of carries in the 2nd half as Washington looked to run the clock against an anemic Bengals offense without Joe Burrow. Gibson remains an RB1 option.
2⃣4⃣ with the score‼️@budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/FuKtJEdalw
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 22, 2020
Those who picked up J.D. McKissic (9.90 fantasy points) on waivers this week will be disappointed by this output as Smith spread the ball around the offense a lot more than he did last week when he targeted McKissic 15 times in the passing game. McKissic did fumble and despite recovering immediately, it may have limited his opportunity later in the game. The game script quickly determined Washington’s run-heavy focus after the half and somewhat annoyingly Peyton Barber (2.80 fantasy points) hawked 8 touches from both Gibson and McKissic. McKissic still has FLEX value, especially in PPR leagues.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Terry McLaurin: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 84 yards
Cam Sims: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
Steven Sims Jr.: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 13 yards, 1 TD
Isaiah Wright: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards
Logan Thomas: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 6 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards
This is my weekly Terry McLaurin (13.40 fantasy points) appreciation segment. “Scary Terry” now has at least 80 receiving yards in 7 games this season, which is the most by a receiver in Washington since DeSean Jackson back in 2014. McLaurin was a steal in the 3rd round out of Ohio State and all he has done is produce in the NFL exploiting space thanks to his elite separation and route-running abilities. If it wasn’t for Washington seeing the game out, McLaurin would have likely topped 100 yards once again.
Terry McLaurin having his way out there 👀 @TheTerry_25 @WashingtonNFL #CINvsWAS on CBS pic.twitter.com/izfPa8LwJG
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 22, 2020
Emerging as a potential FLEX option in recent weeks for desperate owners, Steven Sims Jr. (10.30 fantasy points) delivered with a score after using his small frame to juke his way into open space on a broken play in the endzone. In a low-passing offense, you look for the guys who can do a bit of everything and have a point of difference. The diminutive receiver out of Kansas certainly has that going for him. He might be a useful waiver wire add this week for use in your FLEX spot.
💥💥 TD for @StevenSimsJr@budlight | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/sGkEuxR9BY
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) November 22, 2020
Despite seeing 5 targets, popular streaming tight end Logan Thomas (2.80 fantasy points) failed to make an impact on the stat sheet after posting double-digit fantasy points in 3 out of his last 4 games.
— Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)