Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
- Andy Dalton: 21/39, 235 yards, 1 INT | 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 TD
Andy Dalton feels like he is on the verge of being benched, and with an 0-6 start, the Bengals may eventually want to see what they have in Ryan Finley. Dalton somewhat salvaged his day with a late rushing touchdown, but should not be started in fantasy, except for in the deepest of leagues. Dalton needs a good supporting cast to function, and this current Bengals team is far from good.
Running Backs
- Joe Mixon: 8 carries, 10 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 29 yards
- Giovani Bernard: 4 carries, 4 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards
With an offensive line decimated by injuries, the Bengals running game is almost a complete zero. With Joe Mixon in more of a 60-40 split with Giovani Bernard than fantasy owners would like, this is a disastrous situation. Mixon will have better days, but until this offensive line gains some stability, or Mixon develops a bigger passing game role, these games are going to be all too common. Bernard can be left on waivers, as even if something happened to Mixon, there’s nothing to suggest that Bernard could fare any better.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Auden Tate: 12 targets, 5 receptions, 91 yards
- Tyler Boyd: 7 targets, 3 catches, 10
- Alex Erickson: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 47 yards
- C.J. Uzomah: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 26 yards
- Tyler Eifert: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards
Auden Tate continues to play almost every snap and soak up targets on a team that is often trailing, giving him some decent PPR value in deeper leagues as an injury and bye week fill-in. He’s a big target that isn’t particularly explosive, but Dalton has clearly latched on to him. He will be relevant until A.J. Green returns from injury.
Tyler Boyd had an extremely disappointing day, but he still saw seven targets, second-most on the team. I wouldn’t panic too much here, any receiver can have a dud from time to time, and Dalton has very few options to go to outside of Boyd. Boyd should continue to be the top receiving option on a Bengals team that will need to pass often, and while he is lacking some big-play ability in this offense, he will be a solid PPR option.
Not much else to consider in the passing offense. Alex Erickson is a special teams player and slot receiver with little upside. And if the tight ends couldn’t come through last week against Arizona, a defense that gets gashed by tight ends, they can’t be trusted in even the best matchups.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
- Lamar Jackson: 21/33, 236 yards | 19 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD
Lamar Jackson showed why we were on him all offseason, as his rushing ability is unmatched. Jackson posted an RB1 worthy line, and this was a dream matchup against a Bengals defense that is awful defending the run, and also struggles against misdirection and gadget plays. While another touchdown would have been nice, Jackson has solidified himself as a top-end fantasy quarterback.
Running Backs
- Mark Ingram: 13 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 22 Yards
- Gus Edwards: 6 carries, 34 yards
- Justice Hill: 5 carries, 31 yards
All of the running backs received work here, and all succeeded with their opportunities. The Bengals were just so bad defending Jackson’s runs that he was the priority. Mark Ingram remains the lead back, and while he does lose some work to the backups, he’s a great bet every week for a touchdown. Gus Edwards remains a clock-killing option that spells Ingram from time to time. While it is nice to see Justice Hill receive five carries here, and the Ravens seem to have a passing play schemed up for him most weeks, nothing happened here that would change the usage in future weeks.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Mark Andrews: 8 targets, 6 receptions, 99 yards, 1 fumble lost
- Willie Snead IV: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 18 yards
- Miles Boykin: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 28 yards
- Seth Roberts: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards
- Nick Boyle: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Mark Andrews continues his impressive season and is a locked-in elite-level tight end. His lone blemish was a bad fumble as he tried to hurdle a defender.
With Marquise Brown missing this week, the Ravens spread around his work, and the result was mediocrity all around. The Bengals are actually pretty solid defending wide receivers this year, so there could be better matchups ahead. But outside of Hollywood Brown and Mark Andrews, there doesn’t look to be many opportunities for a breakout in this Ravens receiving corps.
-Erik Smith
Now that it seems like the 49ers are the real deal, would it be too far out there for me to be considering dropping the Vikings D for them? Or would it be a negligible trade off?