The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 5 matchup between the Cardinals and Bengals.
Find a breakdown of every Week 5 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Cincinnati | Rank | @ | Arizona | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3.0 | Spread | 3.0 | ||
| 23.75 | Implied Total | 20.75 | ||
| 12.3 | 31 | Points/Gm | 22.0 | 18 |
| 23.5 | 18 | Points All./Gm | 25.5 | 25 |
| 59.0 | 25 | Plays/Gm | 59.5 | 24 |
| 64.0 | 21 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 65.0 | 22 |
| 4 | 30 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.7 | 9 |
| 5.7 | 25 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.8 | 29 |
| 32.20% | 31 | Rush% | 45.80% | 8 |
| 67.80% | 2 | Pass% | 54.20% | 25 |
| 48.05% | 25 | Opp. Rush % | 45.77% | 22 |
| 51.95% | 8 | Opp. Pass % | 54.23% | 11 |
- The Bengals have just 10 offensive plays of 15 or more yards, the fewest in the NFL.
- Cincinnati has scored a touchdown on just 6.8% (3-of-44) of their drives, the lowest rate in the league.
- The Bengals have punted on a league-high 52.3% of their possessions.
- Just 21.6% of the Arizona possessions have failed to gain a first down, second in the league behind the Bills (21.4%).
- 47.7% of the Cincinnati possessions have failed to gain a single first down, 31st in the league.
- 38.3% of the passing plays against Arizona have resulted in a first down or touchdown, the second-highest rate in the league behind Denver (40.4%).
- Just 22.5% of the Cincinnati passing plays have resulted in a first down or touchdown, 31st in the league.
- 43.9% of Arizona rushing attempts have gained five or more yards, the highest rate in the league.
- 42.7% of the rushing attempts against Arizona have gained five or more yards, the second-highest rate allowed in the NFL.
- Cincinnati has allowed a run of five or more yards on 41.3% of runs, 29th in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: Burrow is not himself and this situation has been quicksand for everyone in the offense.
After completing 20-of-30 passes for 165 yards without a touchdown against the Titans, Burrow has now been the QB30, QB20, QB26, and QB28 to open the season for fantasy.
Burrow has not thrown for more than 5.5 yards per pass attempt in any game yet this season.
76.9% of his passes have been shorter than 10 yards downfield.
When he has thrown the ball downfield, he has been completely inaccurate, something uncharacteristic to this point of his career.
On throws 10 or more yards downfield, Burrow is 11-of-38 (28.9%) with two interceptions. He is dead last in the NFL in completion rate and rating (26.4) on those throws.
Burrow is getting rid of the ball so fast that he hardly registered actual pressures as counting stats, but like Tom Brady last year, this Cincinnati offensive line has been a problem as well.
The Bengals are currently 31st in ESPN’s pass block win rate at 41%.
We could not use Burrow against the Titans, so how can we treat him as anything more than a QB2 here?
If you are in that predicament in 2QB leagues, at least Arizona is playing the most passive defense in the league.
They are last in the NFL in pressure rate (27.5%), last in blitz rate (12.7%), and playing zone coverage (73.0%) at the 13th-highest rate in the league.
As a result, they are allowing 8.2 yards per pass attempt, 29th in the league.
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