Cincinnati

Bengals

Brown on Monday night against the Commanders suffered a serious knee injury and was carted to the locker room. The injury will require surgery and sideline Brown for the remainder of the 2024 season. It’s a big blow to a Bengals offensive line graded by Pro Football Focus as the league’s 16th best pass blocking unit and seventh worst run blocking unit.

Gesicki continues splitting time at tight end with multiple other options, but his box scores keep telling the tale of the primary pass-catching option at the position for the Bengals. His targets per route run rate currently reside in the top 12 at the position through three weeks, meaning he could return consistent fantasy production in PPR and TE-premium formats moving forward.

Even with the mundane box score, Higgins was on the field for most of the game, saw an end zone target, and was the target on a failed two-point conversion in the third quarter. He should return more inspiring fantasy performances as he works his way back to full strength.

Iosivas tacked on his third score of the season in the third quarter on a fourth down play from two yards out, proving that his performance with Tee Higgins sidelined was not a fluke. That also presents a solid opportunity for fantasy managers to continue deploying the Cincinnati slot man as bye weeks loom, particularly in PPR formats.

Chase took advantage of a soft matchup against the Commanders, hauling in two touchdowns on his way to his best fantasy performance of the first three weeks. Play calling remains an issue from head coach Zac Taylor, who largely fails to place his skill position players in position to maximize their upside, instead relying on their skill to win out. It’s a trend that has persisted throughout Taylor’s tenure in Cincinnati, meaning Chase is likely to have to continue to overcome his head coach’s play calling tendencies until a change is made.

Moss continued in the lead back role for the Bengals, seeing 18 opportunities to the 10 of Chase Brown. Even though Brown is clearly the more explosive back, Moss has done nothing but return consistent production for the Bengals through three games and should continue leading the backfield in opportunities moving forward.

Brown saw a slight boost to his involvement against an opponent largely incapable to generating pressure int he backfield, handling 10 opportunities to the 18 of Zach Moss. Unfortunately for Brown’s fantasy managers, it was Moss that punched in the only touchdown from the backfield. With good coaching and more experience, Brown could return tantalizing upside. That said, he currently exhibits a tendency of impatience behind the offensive line in addition to routinely beating his blockers to the hole.

Burrow and the Bengals offense struggled in the red zone against an opponent largely incapable of keeping opposition out of the paint. Even with the struggles in the red zone, the loss can be attributed to a missed field goal and a failed two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, which makes up the five-point margin of defeat. Burrow looked sharp with his full supporting cast of skill position players, but was largely held down by inefficient play calling from head coach Zac Taylor, particularly in the red zone. The 0-3 Bengals have not experienced the start to the season they had hoped, especially with losses to the Commanders and Patriots, two teams expected to be in the bottom five coming into the season. That trend continues in Week 4 when the Bengals travel to Carolina to face the Panthers.

Brown’s knee appeared to give out while in pass protection and the cart was brought out to escort the veteran tackle to the locker room. Based on video and the fact he had to be carted off, it appears likely the Bengals will be without the 10-year veteran right tackle for some time.

The bigger news is that wide receiver Tee Higgins will make his season debut in Week 3 against the sieve-like pass defense of the Commanders. It doesn’t help the Bengals to have two missing defensive tackles, potentially creating a softer matchup on the ground in the heart of the Bengals defense.