Fantasy Sports

Warren’s 158 yards from scrimmage were a new career high by 13. That helped take some of the sting out of his 18-yard touchdown getting called back by holding in the second quarter. It was also nice that Warren out-touched Kenneth Gainwell 20-5 after that advantage was just 13-12 in his Week 6 return. 20-5 is probably a bit excessive, but should be much closer to the weekly norm than 13-12. That helps stabilize Warren as an RB2 after his knee injury interrupted his hot start. The Packers are on deck for Week 8.

Sitting on 8/76/0 coming into this evening, Freiermuth flirted with doubling his entire season production. Score No. 1 was a 19-yarder where Freiermuth found a seam in the middle of the field. No. 2 was a 68-yard coverage bust with 2:21 remaining. Maybe Aaron Rodgers will finally stop sending so many targets Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington’s way. Then again, they both scored, too. With almost literally only one viable wideout in DK Metcalf, there is room for multiple tight ends to produce in this offense, but the passing volume is ultimately too limited to be messing around with Freiermuth as a TE2 until/unless he starts producing more consistent 4/50 statlines. Pittsburgh gets the Packers on Sunday Night Football for Week 8.

It’s a WR1 statline that was still something of a fantasy heartbreaker, as Higgins opted against scoring a second touchdown and securing the 100-yard bonus when he slid down short of the end zone on what would have been a 35-yard score. With 1:47 remaining and the Bengals trailing by one, Higgins passed up the sure score to set up a clock-killing field goal attempt. The plan ended up working to perfection as Cincinnati pulled out a 33-31 victory. Pittsburgh did get the ball back with seven seconds remaining, but that is neither here nor there. Higgins’ big statline did pale in comparison to Ja’Marr Chase, who, uhh, drew the third most targets in NFL history with 23. Chased turned those looks into 16/161/2. Life under Joe Flacco has been an infinite upgrade for both Chase and Tee. They now have 10 days to rest up for a plus Week 8 home matchup with the Jets. Higgins is officially back in the top 20 at wideout.

In addition to being new career highs, each of Chase’s targets and receptions were new Bengals team records. His 23 targets are tied for third most in NFL history. Along the way, he drew several DPIs and committed a few drops. It happens when you’re ... drawing 23 targets. This being Chase, it was “only” the eighth most yards of his career, but Joe Flacco’s insertion under center has given the superstar wideout a new lease on 2025 fantasy life. He has an absurd 26 receptions for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 35 targets in two games since Flacco replaced Jake Browning. All this in five days. The Bengals now have 10 days to rest up for a plus Week 8 home matchup with the Jets. Chase is now safely back in the mix for WR1 overall status.

Making his second Bengals start in five days since being acquired nine days ago, Flacco should have had a fourth touchdown but Tee Higgins turned a late 35-yard score into a 28-yard reception after he opted to slide and run clock to set up a clock-killing field goal instead. In between all that, Flacco targeted Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase an absurd — and wise — 33 combined times. The star wideouts turned that mountainous usage into 22/257/2. Flacco is doing what Jake Browning couldn’t and using the Bengals’ elite receiver duo to stay in games. This being Flacco, valleys will accompany the peaks, but peaks did not appear possible with Browning under center. Flacco’s latest “last ride” will resume in 10 days when the Bengals host the Jets’ broken-down defense.

Johnston has not yet graduated to full practice participation, so fantasy managers must view him as questionable to play in the Chargers’ Week 7 game against the Colts this week. Were he to sit, rookie WR Tre’ Harris would get another chance to carve out a role in the offense. He caught 4-of-5 targets for just 24 yards with Johnston sidelined last week.

Rapoport’s report backs up what Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week. Both the Ravens and fantasy managers can expect to have their elite QB1 back in the lineup against the Bears’ welcoming defense next week. Credit to the Ravens for handling Jackson’s soft tissue strain smartly by allowing him to take the requisite time off for it to heal despite falling to a 1-5 record.

Rapoport notes that Burrow is currently just one month into his three-month recovery, but this is good news nonetheless. Although the Bengals are currently 2-4, they trail only the Steelers (4-1) in the AFC North standings. As long as they can remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, Bengals fans have a chance to see Burrow retake the field later this year.

McLaurin practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday before sitting out on Thursday. We do not yet have details on what changed. A setback is possible, though McLaurin may have simply realized his quad is not yet ready to play after giving it a go on Wednesday. Hopefully, WR Deebo Samuel (heel) can practice tomorrow. He has not yet practiced this week.

It seems like Watson may still be a week away from returning. Earlier today, Packers OC Adam Stenavich told reporters that Watson is “taking a few more reps” every day and hopes that “someday soon we’ll get him out there.” Watson can be stashed in 12-team leagues, though it may take him a few weeks to get up to speed once he is active on game day.