On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns go to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. Here, we will break down the game a bit for you and help you identify whether or not there are any daily fantasy football picks that you can use on your roster. We’ll start by looking at the game in general before we go into the specifics.
Vegas has placed the Bengals as 11.5 point favorites. The Bengals are currently undefeated, while the Browns have are only 2-6. The over/under is pretty low despite this point disparity at only 46 points. Cincinnati quarterback, Andy Dalton, has had a great season so far. He had a poor performance last weekend, but still remains one of the best QBs in the NFL. Only Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Carson Palmer currently have better QB Ratings on the year. For Cleveland, regular starter Josh McCown has been ruled out, which means Johnny Manziel will start for the Browns. He won the Heisman Trophy back in 2012, but his NFL performance has not been consistent. When he was pulled earlier this year, there was a lot of debate on whether or not that was the right choice, but the bottom line was that he is not yet at the same level that most other NFL QBs are at. Going up against a top ranked QB like Dalton could be an overwhelming challenge. Or it could define his career.
Defensively, the Bengals have the 7th best record when it comes to points allowed. Offensively, they are the third best team in the NFL for points scored. The Browns are not anywhere near this, but they’ve also not had Manziel throwing for them. Right now, they’ve been allowing 27.0 points per game, making them the 7th worst team in the NFL. Every sign points to Dalton and the rest of the Cincinnati offense running all over the Cleveland defense. This is one team to definitely pass by when looking at what team you will have as your defensive line. However, the Cincinnati defense could be a strong pick simply because there’s a good chance that Manziel will not throw a high scoring game, as the over/under indicates.
Other players that deserve to be mentioned are wide receivers A.J. Green of Cincinnati and Travis Benjamin of Cleveland. Green has more yards at 649, compared to 601. They both have 4 touchdowns. On paper, they are both pretty equal in standing, but by looking at the strength of opposing defenses, Green is the superior choice of these two, if his price meets your needs when drafting your roster.
At running back, Giovani Bernard of Cincinnati is the standout. He has 439 yards and 2 touchdowns. For Cleveland, there’s not a real comparison. Isaiah Crowell has 295 yards and 1 touchdown. He might see more action than normal because of Manziel’s probable lack of opportunities to have clear targets, but it’s doubtful that his average will be boosted enough to make him a worthwhile pick. In reality, there are probably better RBs to draft on other teams, so this is a safe game to skip over at this position if you cannot find a clear choice.
The Bengals have not won a playoff game since 1990, but at the rate they are going, they have a chance of winning the Super Bowl. There are so many undefeated teams right now (Patriots, Broncos, and Panthers) that it’s really hard to pinpoint them as a favorite, but their record is undisputedly strong. They’ve also proven that they can come back from a deficit late in games when they took on the Seattle Seahawks, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are definitely the stronger team.
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