Bengals at Eagles fantasy starts and sits

Even though this is a matchup of two winless teams, there are quite a few Bengals and Eagles players you should strongly consider having in your lineups this week. Expect there to be a decent amount of fireworks when these two teams meet on Sunday.

Must start

Miles Sanders, RB, Eagles: Sanders is one of the best plays of this week. Philadelphia will be looking to keep Carson Wentz from self-imploding like he has the first two weeks. Luckily for the Eagles, the Bengals defense has allowed the second most points to opposing running backs, according to Fantasy Pros. Cincinnati couldn’t stop the Chargers or Browns from running the ball, and unless the Bengals jump out to a huge lead early, they won’t stop the Eagles either.

Favorable matchups

Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals: This is more about volume than anything else. The Eagles are a middle of the road matchup for running backs in fantasy, and Mixon has surpassed 20 touches in each of the first two weeks. If this team doesn’t have to throw the ball 60 times to stay in the game, he has a chance at a nice day.

Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals: A receiver that people actually would’ve started in fantasy finally caught a touchdown pass from Joe Burrow. It came during garbage time, but we still take those. The Eagles will probably have Darius Slay shadowing A.J. Green, which hurts the veterans chances, but it should make Boyd more of an easy target. He is also becoming more and more of a consistent target for the rookie on crucial downs. Also can’t forget Boyd could’ve had two touchdowns if he didn’t drop one earlier in the game.

Dallas Goedert, TE, Eagles: Philadelphia will be without Alshon Jerffery and rookie wide receiver Jalen Reagor. Who stands to gain the most from that? Goedert, who leads the team with 12 catches on 17 targets. There are still times this defense looks too much like the 2019 product, and volume alone could make Goedert well worth the look.

DeSean Jackson, WR, Eagles: Again, the wide receivers are banged up for the Eagles. Jackson already looked like the best of the bunch, and now he will have even more opportunities from Wentz this week. Cincinnati’s secondary has given up quite a few big plays so far this season, and that plays right into Jackson’s strengths.

Drew Sample, TE, Bengals: Quick disclaimer, this is more geared toward PPR leagues. I would drop Sample down a level in standard leagues. Sample caught seven passes last week. Most of those came later in the game after C.J. Uzomah went down with an injury. It was clear Sample and Burrow’s chemistry they built from working out prior to training camp has paid off. He may not come close to cracking 100 yards, but he should catch a lot of passes and maybe a touchdown.

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals: I don’t know of a situation where you would need to start Burrow, but he is proving to be a solid option, and he should be a popular waiver wire pickup for teams needing to get through the incoming bye weeks. He is still a rookie, so we should expect some mistakes, but over all he has shown he can put up big numbers last week and that he is more than capable of adding value as a runner.

Good but not great

A.J. Green, WR, Bengals: Burrow and Green have been just inches off these first two weeks. While I have confidence that they will get on track soon, this week with Slay matched up on him should prove to cause some problems. You may have to start Green given the amount of injuries from last week, and if you do, you can rest a little easier knowing he has been by far Burrow’s most targeted receiver through two weeks.

Zach Ertz, TE, Eagles: It is still hard to get a clear read on Ertz and Goedert’s split at tight end. On three less targets than Goedert, Ertz has four less catches and 70 less yards. Both have a touchdown catch though. Both may be in line for a good outing against this defense without many targets for Wentz to go to, but Goedert has the clear edge here.

Bengals defense: Wentz and this offense have turned the ball over at least three times in the first two weeks. That bodes pretty well for this defense, but you really shouldn’t be starting them unless you missed out on better streaming options.

Eagles defense: This defense hasn’t been bad, but they have been put in terrible situations by their offense’s turnovers. The Bengals found a little bit of a rhythm Thursday night, but all it takes is one rookie mistake for them to be worth playing.

Just sit them

Other Bengals’ WRs: If I had to pick one Bengals’ wide receiver to speculate on going forward it may be Mike Thomas. He caught a touchdown last week, and Burrow seems to love to look his way. Tee Higgins is a close second, but it is probably time to release John Ross to the waiver wire until something changes. I wouldn’t feel great about playing any of these guys in Week 3 given how well Burrow spreads the ball around after his main targets. You’re playing touchdown roulette at that point.