3 Bengals Vs Broncos Week 4 Fantasy Takeaways

We knew going into the season that the Cincinnati defense would be this team’s weakness, but through the first four weeks, it looks worse than expected. In four games, they’ve given up 1,048 passing yards, 543 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, and have committed 33 penalties, resulting in 285 yards gained for opponents. 

It doesn’t seem to be a result of bad matchups, either, as anyone and everyone has been putting up numbers against this unit. The Bengals rank 27th in points scored, 30th in yards allowed, 30th in first downs allowed, 30th in passing yards allowed, 26th in rushing yards allowed, and 23rd in points allowed per drive. 

Cincinnati can’t seem to pressure the quarterback, lock down receivers, or even tackle effectively without allowing the opponent to fight for a couple of extra yards. It goes without saying that this defense should remain on waivers for the remainder of the season. 

The inverse is also true, however, as the severity of Cincinnati’s defensive woes leaves room for offensive bursts from opponents. If you have a player who has been struggling, but they’re playing the Bengals, it’s well worth starting them, as that matchup is a goldmine for offenses. 

Bengals’ Offensive Dead End

While everyone expected Cincinnati’s defense to struggle, it’s safe to say almost no one expected the offense to look just as bad. Through four games, they’ve posted 621 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 200 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and committed 25 penalties, losing a total of 172 yards. 

These numbers include the brief period when Joe Burrow was playing, too, meaning it’s a symptom of something internal rather than simply because of losing their starting quarterback. That’s not to say Jake Browning hasn’t been unimpressive, because he has, but ignoring the offensive line’s negative effect on his play is impossible. 

The Bengals’ offense has gotten so grim that Ja’Marr Chase (who was widely projected to be the single-best fantasy player this season) has been reduced to a boom-or-bust play. Even Chase Brown, who many drafted to be their RB1, is only averaging 2.3 yards per rushing attempt and 33.3 yards per game. 

Both Chase and Brown are better than their numbers this season would suggest, and this disparity is indicative of how disheveled this unit is. While it’s impossible for many not to bank on these guys, as they were drafted early with high expectations, it may be time to look elsewhere for more production. 

Dobbins Could Be Valuable Trade Target

One positive for fantasy managers is the workload of JK Dobbins and his overall performance. In this game, he turned 16 carries into 101 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. 

While this is (as mentioned above) in large part due to playing against an atrocious defense, it’s also promising for the rest of his season. RJ Harvey, playing behind Dobbins, logged 14 carries for 58 yards. 

Being able to turn a similar number of carries into almost twice as many yards is good for Dobbins, and this was also his first time this season crossing the century mark. It was also, however, his first game this season not scoring a touchdown, and it resulted in his fewest fantasy points so far. 

If you require a running back, Dobbins could be an excellent target this week. While his current fantasy manager is worried about his decrease in points, you could acquire him for relatively cheap. He seems poised to only get better throughout the season and is in a clear position for a higher work share. 

End Of My Bengals Broncos Rant

It was another ugly week for the Bengals, and there weren’t a lot of positive fantasy takeaways on either side. Anything that would look exceptional on Denver’s part is offset by just how bad Cincinnati currently is. 

The Bengals’ defense is liable to give up a monster game to opponents any given week, and their offense has looked just as bad, turning a WR1 and RB1 into bench fare. At least Dobbins played his best game this season while posting his lowest fantasy score, giving managers something to salvage from this game. 

Tune in next week for the three biggest takeaways from the Bengals-Lions Week 3 matchup.