3 Bengals Vs Jets Week 8 Fantasy Takeaways

Although Chase Brown has been struggling all season, through the last two weeks, he’s shown that he’s still the same quality back as he was last season. Against the Jets this week, he logged 73 yards and a touchdown across 12 carries, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. 

Aside from actually putting up solid numbers, Brown also looked great doing it. Routinely breaking through the first contact and fighting for more yards, he’s showing more strength this year than he has in any season prior. 

Again, the key to his success is (at least partially) attributable to the implementation of Samaje Perine. Since the team has been more willing to involve him in the overall game plan, Brown’s production has seen a spike in a season that’s been otherwise disappointing for the third-year back. 

In terms of fantasy, Brown should be back to the automatic starter he was considered last season (and the start of this season). He scored (in most scoring formats) more than 25 fantasy points this week and is only looking better and better with each game. 

Perine Emergence

As mentioned above, since involving Perine more in the running game, Brown’s performance has drastically improved. This isn’t limited to just him, however, as Perine is showing that he also still has some gas in the tank. 

Against New York, Perine turned his nine carries into 94 yards and a touchdown, averaging over 10 yards per carry. Looking more explosive in this game than he has all season, he proved he has more value than simply aiding Brown’s game. 

Finishing the game with only three fewer carries than Brown, Perine is starting to see a healthy mix of carries with his younger counterpart. Luckily for them and for fantasy managers, there’s more than enough touches and points to go around, as each back had his highest scoring fantasy game of the season this week. 

While Perine may not be the best play in typical formats, if this committee in Cincinnati continues, he could turn into a cheat code for deeper leagues. He won’t be saving anyone’s fantasy team; he very well could, however, be one of the most promising week-to-week players left on waivers. 

Fant More Than A Flier

Despite the Bengals having a rather crowded TE room, Noah Fant is emerging as one of the more reliable options. In this game, he turned three targets into three receptions for 41 yards.

Quality tight ends are in short supply this year, and the distance between the best tier and the second-best is a wide gap. With Mike Gesicki and Eric All Jr. out, Fant is in a good position. 

Gesicki was the primary pass-catching TE on the team, so losing him almost guarantees an increase in targets for Fant. Considering, too, that he’s reliably pulling in the majority of his targets, his chances could realistically continue to increase. 

Fant isn’t putting up elite numbers by any means, but he is showing that he’s a relatively consistent source of fantasy points. Of the seven games he’s played in with the Bengals, he only logged zero points once (Week Five), and fewer than eight points once (Week Two), while scoring double digits twice. 

For teams that are still lacking a viable starting TE, Fant could take that role (at least for the time being, with the injuries in Cincinnati) and help your team round out its weak points. Similar to Perine, he provides the opportunity to raise your team’s floor, not their ceiling, which is what playing the waiver at this point is all about. 

End Of My Cincinnati Bengals And New York Jets Rant

Despite the tough loss for the Bengals, there were still some positive takeaways in terms of fantasy. Brown looked like his old self, Perine is showing more life than expected, and Fant has now shown he’s a reliable option for points at TE (even if not a gold mine). 

Tune in next week for the three biggest fantasy takeaways from the Bengals’ Week Nine (November 2) matchup with the Chicago Bears.