Cincinnati Bengals Week 5 Fantasy Football Recap
As long as you didn’t start the Cincinnati defense, your fantasy day didn’t end up too bad from the Bengals-Cowboys matchup.
The Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, 28-14. In fantasy land, a rough start ended up being an average afternoon.
Quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked four times and hit an additional nine times. With Cincinnati trailing 28-0 late in the third quarter, the Bengals took back possession after a fumble recovery.
Dalton went on to complete 15 of his final 16 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, his first multi-score outing of the season. In the end, Dalton completed 29 of 41 passes for 269 yards. The Red Rifle has posted a passer rating of 100-plus in three of five games this season.
Since you have A.J. Green on your team, it’s a given that you started him. Coming off a 173-yard performance against Miami, the Cowboys’ defense was fully committed to taking Green out of the game. The five-time Pro Bowler finished with four catches for 50 yards on eight targets.
With Green getting all the attention, it let Brandon LaFell put up his best statistical game of the season. The first-year Bengal caught a season-high eight passes for 68 yards and two garbage-time touchdowns. It was a solid 22.8-point game for LaFell, so kudos to you if he made your lineup as a flex this week.
More from Bengals Fantasy Football
- Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 8 vs. Jets
- Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 6 vs. Lions
- Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 4 vs. Jaguars
- Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 3 vs. Steelers
- Cincinnati Bengals: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 2 vs. Bears
On The Ground
Down by 28 points in the second half isn’t exactly a favorable formula for a team’s running game. Jeremy Hill didn’t start the game, and to make matters worse, he finished with just 12 yards on four attempts before a chest injury kept him out for the remainder of the loss. As he did in week two, Giovani Bernard salvaged his fantasy day by catching passes out of the backfield.
Bernard finished the afternoon as the Bengals’ leading rusher with 50 yards and added six receptions for 46 yards. Rest assured, if Cincinnati is trailing by double digits, Bernard will effectively weave his way into the passing game underneath prevent coverage.
The Downer
The biggest fantasy disappointment on Cincinnati’s side was their defense. Aside from one turnover on one sack, Paul Guenther‘s unit was shredded. Dallas scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Dak Prescott added a passing and rushing score.
The task of the defense may get harder heading into next Sunday. Quarterback Tom Brady returns to Foxborough for the first time after serving a four-game suspension. Brady threw for 292 yards and two scores in his last game against Cincinnati in 2014.
The Patriots come in with the 16th overall defense — 21st against the pass, 12th vs. the run.