Browns @ Bengals
Plenty of fantasy goodness took place in the battle of Ohio as the Cleveland Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 37-34 on Sunday. The big question was what the offenses would look like with a member of each team, Austin Hooper and Joe Mixon, ruled out in the days prior to the game, and Odell Beckham Jr. leaving with a knee injury after the first pass attempt from Baker Mayfield was intercepted. Those injuries did not have a major factor in this game as both teams traded punches back and forth in one of the more exciting games of the day.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield: 22/28, 297 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 0 sacks | 1 carry, -1 yard
Baker Mayfield put together far and away his best game of the season, even without two of his best-receiving options. After his first pass attempt was underthrown and intercepted on a deep ball attempt to Odell Beckham Jr., Mayfield did not shy away still taking shots downfield while spreading the ball around to all his receiving options. Among his five touchdown passes, were two shorter passes to Harrison Bryant, along with a great pass downfield to David Njoku. After hitting Kareem Hunt to the outside near the goal line for his 4th touchdown pass of the day, he drove Cleveland down before hitting Donavan Peoples-Jones with 11 seconds left for the game-winning touchdown. By far this was the best we’ve seen from Baker Mayfield all season.
Incredible ending in Cincinnati.
Donovan Peoples-Jones from Baker Mayfield.#FantasyFootball | #Browns pic.twitter.com/6OWfyArB5s
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
Running Backs
Kareem Hunt: 18 carries, 76 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards, 1 TD
D’Ernest Johnson:1 carry, 3 yards
A quiet day in the box score for Kareem Hunt was not supported by his play on the field. Hunt showed the same burst of speed he normally has and was still just as involved in the passing game as he normally would be, including an 8-yard catch and run to the endzone for the touchdown. Hunt remained on the field for the vast majority of plays and snaps, coming off for D’Ernest Johnson on not many plays.
Kareem Supreme#FantasyFootball | #Browns pic.twitter.com/rNLC6vaNBy
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Odell Beckham Jr.: 1 target, 0 receptions
Jarvis Landry: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 48 yards | 1/1, 19 yards
Rashard Higgins: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 110 yards
Donavan Peoples-Jones: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD
Harrison Bryant: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 56 yards, 2 TD’s
David Njoku: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 20 yards, 1 TD
After Odell Beckham Jr. left with a knee injury (which early reports have as being concerned as a serious one), the question became whether any receiver would emerge as the clear number one in the offense. Nobody emerged as the clear top option, as Baker Mayfield spread the ball amongst his other receiving options evenly. When it came down the final drive, Mayfield completed two passes to Rashard Higgins, including one for thirty yards before hitting Donavan Peoples-Jones in the back of the endzone for his first career touchdown catch.
With Austin Hooper undergoing an unexpected appendectomy over the weekend, we were curious which of the tight end options would step into that roll in the offense. The answer was both, as Harrison Bryant and David Njoku both ended up on the receiving ends of touchdowns, Njoku’s on a beautifully thrown ball downfield, and Bryant’s two on shorter routes placed through defenders.
David Njoku 👀 #FantasyFootball | #Browns pic.twitter.com/eCGC6nwdbG
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
Harrison Bryant is having a day!
Two scores for the #Browns today. #FantasyFootball | #NFL pic.twitter.com/GfmoDk0Dv2
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
The interesting part of the game was the fact that Harrison Bryant was the receiving option that Baker Mayfield looked to in order to extend drives on multiple third-down conversion attempts, showing a good trust between the two.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: 35/47, 406 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 4 sacks | 6 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble
Joe Burrow continues to impress even with the pressure put on him through continued offensive line struggles, topping the 400-yard plateau for the first time in his career. With the pressure put on him from the Cleveland defense, Burrow remained poised and showed an ability to take off and run, impacting the game with his legs on a goal-line QB sneak for the touchdown. Though he did fumble the ball a few times, he was able to dive on top of two out of the three he lost. His interception was deflected at the goal line by Cleveland’s defensive line before falling into a defender’s hand.
Running Backs
Giovanni Bernard: 13 carries, 37 yards | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD
Samaje Perine: 1 carry, 3 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards
With Joe Mixon out due to a foot injury, Giovanni Bernard was poised for a major opportunity in this game. Early on things did not look good, as the Bengals twice turned to a Joe Burrow QB sneak at the goalline, vulturing a potential Bernard rushing touchdown. However, Bernard ended up with a nice game impacting the game mainly from a receiving aspect, including a big touchdown catch on 4th and inches with just over a minute left in the game.
Fourth down. Gio Bernard.#FantasyFootball | #SeizeTheDEY pic.twitter.com/IEpo1ay2OO
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
Any concerns about Giovanni Bernard not taking the majority of carries was removed as Samaje Perine only came in for one carry and one reception, as game script lead the Bengals to have to throw in order to keep up.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Tyler Boyd: 13 targets, 11 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD
Tee Higgins: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD
A.J. Green: 13 targets, 7 receptions, 82 yards
Drew Sample: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 52 yards
With Cincinnati throwing as much as they did this game, we saw all three receivers have real impressive days from a fantasy perspective. It started with Tyler Boyd, Burrow’s clear number one, a trend which did not change with Boyd being the receiver Burrow often looked to in order to convert on third down.
The continued connection between Burrow and Tee Higgins remained apparent in this game, with the main reception being a 16-yard catch and run by Higgins for the touchdown in the 4th quarter. Higgins showed off his speed with multiple catch and runs, not being targeted as often as the past few weeks but still showing his high skill, catching each one of his targets.
Higgins puts the #Bengals back in front. #FantasyFootball |#SeizeTheDEY pic.twitter.com/8UfZk0R1gX
— QB List (@TheQBlist) October 25, 2020
Arguably the most interesting aspect of this game is the return of A.J. Green to the Cincinnati offense. Tying for the team lead with 13 targets, Green reemerged as a trusted receiver in the Cincinnati offense constantly looked at in order to extend drives, whether it’s to showcase him for a potential trade or not.
— Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter and Reddit)