Ravens @ Bengals
The Ravens’ formula to get into the playoffs was pretty simple on Sunday. Win the game and you are in, lose and you need some help. The Ravens completely dominated the first half against the Bengals. They outgained them 258-62, ran 41 plays to the Bengals’ 16, and had the ball for 22 minutes on offense compared to 8 minutes for Cincinnati. The second half was more of the same with the Ravens outscoring the Bengals 21-0 on their way to a dominant 38-3 victory. The Ravens rushed for over 400 yards on Sunday. They are only the seventh team to do so since stats have been kept and the second team since the merger.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 10/18, 113 yards, 3TDs, 1 Int | 11 carries, 97 yards
Lamar Jackson didn’t have to do much in this one as the Ravens controlled the game throughout. His interception was on a deflected pass. He became the first quarterback ever to rush for over 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. Jackson had three well-thrown balls for touchdowns. He hit Miles Boykin on a deep touchdown and Marquise Brown for two red-zone scores. He was also pulled in the third quarter because of the blowout. He will be a rock-solid QB1 in fantasy drafts next year with overall QB1 upside (Jackson’s dime to Boykin in GIF form below).
Miles Boykin goes up the seam. #FantasyFootball | #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/q3pH1ldCDo
— QB List (@TheQBlist) January 3, 2021
Running Backs
J.K. Dobbins: 13 carries, 160 yards, 2 TDs
Gus Edwards: 12 carries, 60 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
Mark Ingram: 9 carries, 39 yards
Mark Ingram was active after being a healthy scratch the last two games. He got a ton of work in garbage time in the fourth quarter. J.K. Dobbins has now scored in six straight games and is the lead back for one of the league’s best rushing attacks. His second touchdown was for 72-yards as he found a crease, broke a couple of arm tackles, and outran the defense.
Dobbins dashes for 72 yards and a score.#FantasyFootball | #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/YaEiDvGtam
— QB List (@TheQBlist) January 3, 2021
Dobbins will likely be in the mid/high-end RB2 range in drafts next year. Gus Edwards was once again involved as the second option behind Dobbins. He runs hard but doesn’t get enough volume most weeks to help you.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Marquise Brown: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 41 yards, 2 TDs
Mark Andrews: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 27 yards
Miles Boykin: 2 targets, 1 reception, 43 yards, 1 TD
Everyone knows the Ravens want to run the ball and run the ball a lot. That leads to low-volume games for their pass catchers. The two-pass catchers to own in this offense are Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews. They combined for nine of the 11 Ravens receptions and 15 of the 19 targets. Brown had two red-zone scores as mentioned above. Check out his second score below.
Hollywood Brown in the back of the end zone. #FantasyFootball | #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/p9c6LyeAW6
— QB List (@TheQBlist) January 3, 2021
He had a touchdown from nine yards out and one from 18 yards out. Brown should be a solid WR3 in drafts next year after finishing 2020 in the WR35 range. Andrews had a chance for a bigger game but ultimately wasn’t needed in this game with the Ravens controlling it throughout. Andrews had a nice year and will once again be a top-five TE option in 2021. Lamar Jackson hit Miles Boykin in stride on a beautifully thrown 43-yard touchdown. He has shown flashes this year but doesn’t get enough volume to matter for fantasy.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Brandon Allen: 6/21, 48 yards, 2 Ints | 1 carry, 2 yards
After a QB1 performance a week ago against the Texans’ woeful defense, Brandon Allen was a disaster against the Ravens’ strong defensive unit. He was inaccurate and his receivers weren’t helping him either. Allen finished with a 0.0 quarterback rating in Sunday’s game. Not good. Star rookie quarterback Joe Burrow should be back for the 2021 season and be in the low-end QB1 conversation with upside for more.
Running Backs
Giovani Bernard: 3 carries, 7 yards | 1 target
Samaje Perine: 9 carries, 51 yards
Trayveon Williams: 4 carries, 74 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
The Bengals actually ran the ball pretty well on Sunday. Unfortunately, they got into a negative game script pretty quickly and had to abandon that portion of their offense. They also only ran 40 offensive plays which lead to low volume for the entire offense. Lead running back Joe Mixon has missed a large portion of the end of this season but should be fine for 2021. He should resume clear lead-back duties and be a low-end Rb1 in drafts. Giovani Bernard and Trayveon Williams should be back in supporting roles next year but are just late-round fliers depending on your league size.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Tee Higgins: 1 target, 0 receptions
AJ Green: 6 targets, 0 receptions
Tyler Boyd: 3 targets, 1 reception, 1 yard
Promising rookie receiver Tee Higgins injured his hamstring early in Sunday’s game and did not return. It happened on a long run after his first catch (then nullified due to penalty). Higgins should be a solid low-end WR2 or great WR3 pick in 2021. He finished 2020 as a solid WR3 and that was with Burrow missing 6+ games. AJ Green continued his inefficient season. He had no catches on six targets. He will finish 2020 with a 45% reception rate on 104 targets (not good). Green is a free agent after this season but he didn’t look like he had much left in 2020. Tyler Boyd was very quiet today but he had a very solid season. He missed a game and will finish as a mid WR3 and should be drafted as a solid WR3 option in drafts next year.
— Kevin Taylor (@ktbeast918 on Twitter)