This fantasy football analysis comes after a disappointing Week 1 for the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense against Cleveland. The team’s struggles were widespread, affecting all key skill position players from Joe Burrow to the receiving corps. However, this poor showing appears to be more of an outlier than a trend worth panicking over. The Bengals face Jacksonville this week with improved game conditions and a favorable matchup that should help their fantasy contributors bounce back.
Joe Burrow, QB
Forget it ever happened.
That’s all I got for you.
Burrow was QB25 in the Week 1 win over the Browns, and there really wasn’t much he could do about it.
Joe Burrow is going to be feeling this hit from Myles Garrett tonight pic.twitter.com/Cipf4PygLD
— Brandon Park (@Brandon_Park_) September 7, 2025
The Bengals had less than 25 minutes of possession, and he was able to get off just 23 passes. Without the mobility boost, 23 passes is never going to get it done, even in an offense with as much upside as Cincinnati.
I found it a little odd that five Bengals had multiple targets at halftime on 14 Burrow throws. This team has some talented options, but when Noah Fant, Samaje Perine, and Mike Gesicki are as involved as Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, I’ve got an issue.
Last week was a bummer, but you’re going back to the well with all of your Bengals without a second thought.
If you need some good news after what is likely a 0-1 start, the second Browns/Bengals game comes in Week 18, after your fantasy season has concluded.
Chase Brown, RB
The Bengals’ underachieving in early September is becoming an odd trend, and Chase Brown was unable to avoid it last week against the Browns (Week 1: RB22).
Don’t care.
The Bengals have more than enough equity built up in the fantasy space to excuse a single bad week against an above-average defense that they share a division with.
His four best performances during his breakout 2024 season came in Cincinnati victories, and with the home team favored by 3.5 points, the wise guys are expecting a W in this spot (as am I!).
I was pitching Brown as a fringe RB1 this summer, and I think he’s better than that this week (RB7). We may look back in four months and realize that his worst game of the season came at the best time: Week 1.
Ja’Marr Chase, WR
Through two weeks last season, Chase was on pace for 85 catches, 825 yards, and zero touchdowns.
You might have heard, but in case you didn’t, he finished with 127 catches for 1,708 yards and 17 touchdowns.
I have no issue in counting on your Bengals this week. In DFS circles, this might be the best spot possible to get them. The “early season” narrative is sweeping the nation when it comes to analyzing this team, but now they get a Jacksonville team that made moves this offseason to suggest that they want to try to score with teams more than stop them.
From the Liam Coen hiring to the Travis Hunter snap distribution, this doesn’t feel like a team that wants to play in 17-16 sort of games. With a 49.5-point listed total, no one is expecting that to be the case on Sunday.
Bengals win.
Bengals cover.
All of your Bengals deliver on expectations.
Tee Higgins, WR
Rub some dirt on it and move on.
I play around with the data all day, and I can’t do any better than that when breaking down the Bengals’ Week 1 performance. The Browns have the right talent mix to give this offense fits (45 points scored across their two games last season), and they did it again in Week 1.
Everyone attached to the Cincinnati offense struggled in Week 1, and my opinion of all of them remains unchanged from the preseason.
Higgins saw his streak of fantasy games with an end zone target end at six straight, and his 49 air yards were less than half of what he averaged per game a season ago (101.8). It was ugly across the board, but it’s not as if Burrow was dealing elsewhere, thus making this a Higgins problem.
It was simply a dud to open the season.
There were five Bengals with multiple first-half targets against Cleveland, and Higgins wasn’t one of them. Don’t care. He opened last season with a near-identical dud before ripping off six straight games with at least six receptions or a touchdown.
Better times are ahead, and it should start this week. Higgins averaged 22.8 PPR points per game at home last season (15.4 on the road), and if you’re buying the 26.5-implied point total for Cincy in this spot, you can, and should, expect their WR2 to trend toward his high-end WR2 status in our game.
Mike Gesicki, WR
Entering this season, Gesicki signed a new deal. It didn’t really move the needle much in the fantasy space because he is what he is in Cincinnati: a wind sprint artist.
His route numbers have been off the charts in recent seasons, and that always tempts me into ranking him three spots higher than he should be or taking a DFS flier on him.
Mike Gesicki scored this touchdown, but watch two DB’s go to cover Ja’Marr Chase when he’s two yards behind the line of scrimmage💀 pic.twitter.com/yeKSABG7fU
— Bengals Central (@BengalsCentral_) June 20, 2025
No more!
Drew Sample ran one more route than him on Sunday, and he more than doubled his raw snap count. If the Bengals are going to have some balance this season (whether that’s a Chase Brown thing or simply the best way for them to keep their defense off the field), those blocking snaps are going to be valuable – there is no such thing as “faking the run” when Gesicki is on the field.
I’ve always left the light on for Big Mike when it comes to the streaming conversation, but I’m as close as I’ve been to turning off that switch. If this weekend looks like last, he’ll officially fall out of my “I can pick up this guy and hope” tier at the position.
I respect your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
