Cincinnati Bengals (4-3) vs Cleveland Browns (2-5)
- Spread: Cin -3.5
- Over/ Under: 45.5
Breakdown
This Monday Night Fight Football brings together an AFC North matchup between the Bengals and the Browns. A couple of big storylines in this game but none bigger than the news we received on Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Chase is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks with a hip injury. The Bengals claimed Chase will be out for a few weeks but they said they will not be putting him on IR. The Bengals top target for the next few weeks should be Tee Higgins. Higgins and Tyler Boyd will both take a jump up in production in the absence of Chase. Chase has 74 targets and Higgins is in second place on the team with 44 targets. Boyd, Higgins, Hayden Hurst, and Mixon should all receive more looks with Chase out. Burrow has been impressive so far, throwing 15 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. Burrow is third in the league in pass yards and is coming off a ridiculous 480 yards passing, 3 passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. Mixon has been solid to start this season, with 587 yards total and 3 touchdowns.
The Browns are not quite where they thought they would be, sporting a 2-5 record. The bright spot for the Browns has been the running back tandem of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Going into week eight, Chubb leads the whole league in rushing with 740 yards, and touchdowns with eight on the ground. Chubb has always been a great player but has really taken that next step up this season. His backfield partner Kareem Hunt has 350 total yards and 4 total touchdowns. Jacoby Brissett is filling in until week 11 for Deshaun Watson. This offense could look a whole lot different when Watson takes over, but for now, it should continue to be a ground-and-pound-focused offense. David Njoku has been one of the best pass-catching tight ends this season and is proving to be Brissett’s favorite close-to-the-line-of-scrimmage target. Njoku is unfortunately out for 2-5 weeks with an ankle injury. Amari Cooper should see a bulk of the targets, especially if the Bengals get out to a big lead.
Keys to Victory
Bengals: Establish Joe Mixon and the run game. The passing attack of the Bengals has been explosive all year but losing Ja’Marr Chase is a huge hit to the offense. Mixon is only averaging 3.3 yards a carry. Mixon is a very talented back, he just hasn’t had the space yet this season. For the Bengals to take that next step up, they need to establish a more formidable run game and balance the offense.
Browns: Get Brissett into comfortable passing situations. The Browns run the ball often, as they should, Chubb and Hunt are probably the best backfield duo in the entire league. Giving Brissett manageable second and third downs is paramount to the Browns success. The Browns work very well-off play-action passes and should continue to utilize this to help move the ball down the field.
Prop Bet Pick
Nick Chubb Anytime Touchdown Scorer (-120)
He leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns and will see plenty of opportunity to expand that lead. These divisional games are often played in the trenches and that is what the Browns want. Chubb has been electric this year and should continue to see plenty of redzone looks. Not to mention his ability to create a big play out of nothing. The Browns know whom to give the ball to and Chubb has delivered all year.
Tyler Boyd Anytime Touchdown Scorer (+140)
Boyd will easily be the number 2 wide receiver and could see even more targets than Tee Higgins in this matchup. Boyd has been great to start this season and is fantastic when either Higgins or Chase misses a game. Boyd has limited targets every week because Chase and Higgins demand so many, but with Chase missing, Boyd should be in for a large target share in this explosive offense.
DFS Picks
Bengals Offense: Hayden Hurst. Hurst should see plenty of targets and is cheaper to put into your lineup than the Bengals key receivers. Hurst has always been involved in the offense and should see even more opportunities now. Hurst is coming off a 6 catch game, with 8 targets.
Browns Offense: Donovan Peoples-Jones. People-Jones should see an uptick in targets with the loss of David Njoku. In his last 4 games, he has had 5 or more targets and has recorded 4 or more receptions in each of the last 4 games. He is a deep-threat receiver and is much cheaper than Amari Cooper to insert into your lineup.
