3 Bengals Vs Bears Week 9 Fantasy Takeaways

Kyle Monangai, for the first time this season, looked like a legit RB1. This week, he converted 26 attempts into 176 rushing yards and three targets into 22 receiving yards. 

Aside from more than doubling his season high in rushing yards, with exactly double his season high in attempts, Monangai finally looked like the player he’s shown flashes of throughout the year. When given the opportunity, with 29 touches this game, he proved he can turn it into solid production. 

It’s essential to note that this performance was against the (in most areas) weakest defense in the NFL, but that this shouldn’t alter the perception of his potential. Sure, he can’t (and won’t) be expected to repeat this every week, but if he didn’t have this sort of outing, it would have raised some alarm bells.

The fact that Monangai played as well as he did, though, may signal his time as the leader of Chicago’s backfield, or at least a much bigger role going forward. D’Andre Swift has played well with the Bears, and is a 26-year-old former Pro-Bowler (2023), but has only eclipsed 100 rushing yards twice this season. 

Excluding those two games, Swift has only rushed for more than 60 yards once. While he does make up for that with his receiving ability, Monangai looked more like a typical workhorse running back.

Regardless of whether Monangai takes over as RB1 or ends up splitting touches with Swift, this game should solidify an increased role in the offense for him. If he’s on your bench, it may be time to trust the rookie and start him. 

Higgins Still Alive

Despite Tee Higgins’ talent objectively rivaling the best in the league, his position as the Bengals’ WR2 limits his touches (especially considering Joe Burrow isn’t the one passing the ball). Joe Flacco has been noticeably more comfortable throwing to Ja’Marr Chase, as evidenced by the fact that last week, Higgins had only two targets, while Chase had 19. 

Higgins proved he’s still more than capable of posting big games, however, as this week he turned nine targets into seven receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. A few of those catches were also ridiculous showcases of the ability he brings to the table. 

Similar to Monangai, this performance isn’t something Cincinnati is going to be expecting from him from now on. It will, or at least should, signal a larger role in the offense moving forward. Having found himself on the benches of many a fantasy manager after Burrow went down, Higgins should once again be trusted back in starting lineups.

Flacco has the poise and patience to routinely get the ball to his receivers. While that’s primarily been Chase to this point, Higgins should see a much heartier dose of targets in the coming weeks.  

Start Your Ancillaries Against Cincinnati

Although it’s been well-established how terrible the Bengals’ defense is, and how fruitful playing opposing players can be for fantasy managers, there’s another nuance to this that’s playing out. While it would be expected that the opponent’s stars are the ones running up the numbers, it’s actually their second and third at the (offensive) positions that are benefiting. 

In this game, for example, Olamide Zacceaus led the team in targets (eight) and was tied for a team high in receptions with Colston Loveland (six). Rome Odunze, on the other hand, saw only three targets and ended up with zero receptions.

With what little defense firepower Cincinnati has, it seems that emphasizing coverage of any one player opens up the game for the rest of the offense. This isn’t always the case, though, as guys like Josh Jacobs and Amon-Ra St Brown have still lit the Bengals’ defense up this season. The fact remains, however, that a bet against Cincinnati’s defense is more than safe, especially for the ancillary offensive weapons. 

End Of My Cincinnati Bengals And Chicago Bears Rant

While the Bengals’ season may very well be past the point of hope, our fantasy teams are not. Between Monangai’s rushing and Higgins’ receiving, there were plenty of points to go around, and this game established that ancillary players are almost always going to have a good day against Cincinnati’s defense. 

Tune in after the Bengals’ November 16 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for more fantasy takeaways, and if you’re a Cincinnati fan, enjoy the (bye) week off from your weekly dose of disappointment.