Bengals Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 11: Should You Start Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin and More?
Discussing the Cincinnati Bengals week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens and determining which Bengals you can start.
The week 11 Thursday night matchup is a fun one between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
We already looked at the Ravens’ top fantasy players, so now it’s time to discuss the Bengals’ options. Let’s jump right in!
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Joe Burrow Fantasy Outlook
Joe Burrow got off to a rough start this season, but has been looking like his old self of late. He did throw a couple of interceptions last week in a loss to the Houston Texans, but he still threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He added 20 rushing yards on five attempts.
Burrow has now topped 300 passing yards three times this season, and only has under 200 yards on three occasions. He’s got multiple touchdown passes in each of the team’s last five games, after throwing just two touchdowns across the first three games.
Burrow will be without receiver Tee Higgins. Two other receivers are also on the injury report. Aside from those guys, the offense is healthy going into week 11.
This is a tough matchup on paper for Burrow, as the Ravens’ defense is the best in the league against opposing quarterbacks, allowing only 11 fantasy points per week. His week 11 projection reflects the tough matchup, as Burrow is ranked 15th.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
Joe Mixon pretty much dominates the backfield in Cincy. He’s played 428 snaps, with No. 2 option Trayveon Williams at only 105 snaps on the season.
Mixon has 163 touches, rushing for 536 yards and four scores on 137 attempts and catching 26 of his 33 targets for 157 yards. Unsurprisingly, Mixon has all 26 of the team’s red zone carries.
Williams has just 15 touches on the season. He’s rushed 10 times for 39 yards and has five catches on seven targets for 9 yards.
The Ravens’ defense also defends running backs quite well, allowing just 18 fantasy points per week. Mixon is the only Cincy back to crack the top 57 spots in the projections, coming in 21st overall.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Ja’Marr Chase was the star, catching five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown on six total targets. For the season, Chase has 821 yards and five scores on 69 catches and 99 targets. He’s one of the best wideouts in the league.
Tyler Boyd stepped into a more prominent role without Higgins on the field, and Boyd delivered. Boyd caught eight of his 12 targets for 117 yards. For the year, Boyd has 417 yards and two scores on 44 catches and 61 targets.
Trenton Irwin also stepped up, and could play an even bigger role with Iosivas out now. Last week, Irwin caught half of his four targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. Irwin has 155 yards and a touchdown on 13 grabs and 17 targets for the season.
Baltimore’s defense also excels at slowing opposing wideouts, allowing just 30 fantasy points per week. Chase is ranked fourth in the weekly projections, while Boyd is 43rd and Irwin 54th.
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
The Bengals have been playing tight ends Drew Sample, Irv Smith and Tanner Hudson pretty evenly the past couple weeks. In week 10, Sample played 23 snaps, while Smith was at 21 and Hudson at 20.
That’s a nightmare for fantasy owners to try and figure out, especially because Hudson has the best day.
Hudson had six grabs on seven targets, but for just 33 yards. Sample hauled in one of his three targets for 12 yards. Smith was held without a catch and had just one target.
The Ravens’ defense also is good against opposing tight ends, allowing just 9 fantasy points per week. None of the Bengals’ tight ends crack the top 21 spots in the projections.
Kicker and Defense Outlook
Evan McPherson does the kicking for the Bengals. He’s been solid this season, making all 20 of his extra point attempts while going 14-of-17 on field goals.
McPherson’s misses have all been over 50 yards. He’s still got five 50+ yard kicks, with a long of 56. He’s ranked eighth in the weekly projections.
The Bengals’ defense has some poor average numbers this season, but have been much better of late. They only allow 21.3 points a game despite allowing the third-most total yards. Being without Sam Hubbard will definitely hurt.
The Ravens’ offense is pretty good across the board, with their strength being the running game (most yards per game). Baltimore is averaging 27 points per contest.
Cincy’s defense is ranked 18th for week 11.
Who to Start in Week 11
In my Ravens’ writeup, I predicted a pretty close contest, with the team’s combining for more than 46 points and the Bengals prevailing. Scores of 27-24 or 24-23 were my guesses.
This is a much tougher matchup across the board for the Bengals’ offensive players. As much as you might want to look back on the team’s week 2 matchup, I would avoid doing so. This is a far different Bengals team now - Chase was held to 31 yards on five catches, which seems highly unlikely to happen again.
Burrow has been a much better quarterback since healing from an early season injury, and even though Baltimore is a tough defense to go against, I’d lean toward starting him in week 11. You likely drafted Burrow to be your guy, so treat him as such. The only way I wouldn’t is if you also had a top-end fantasy quarterback that has a really favorable matchup in week 11.
This isn’t a great matchup for Mixon, but seeing he’s the only one that really plays a lot in the backfield, you can still start him. It’s likely going to be tough sledding, but the amount of work he gets should allow him to still produce a solid fantasy outing.
Chase is a no-brainer start every week, and with Higgins out, Chase needs to be in your starting lineup again this week. He should lead the team in just about every receiving statistic and will be one of the week’s top-scoring wideouts again.
With Higgins out, Boyd also is a pretty good option seeing as the Ravens are great against the run, meaning the Bengals should be passing a bunch. Boyd is definitely a starter in deeper leagues, but I’d have to see your other options in standard leagues before making a final call there. I’m leaning yes though.
As much as I’d like to insert Irwin into my starting lineup after he scored last week, he’d probably need another score to put up a modest fantasy showing, and I don’t like his chances. I’d stay away from him in standard leagues, and need to see your roster before making a call on him in deeper leagues.
The Bengals’ tight end situation is a fantasy mess, and I’m avoiding them at all costs in standard leagues. I’d give them some thought in deeper leagues, but much rather prefer going in another direction there too.
McPherson should get several kicking chances in the contest, so I’m good with starting him, even seeing some misses from earlier in the season.
Even though I don’t see either team reaching 30 points, I think both offenses will put together pretty good yardage totals. I don’t think the Bengals will force a bunch of turnovers, and will give up too many points to feel great about starting them. I’d look elsewhere for my week 11 defense.
