Ah yes, the battle of Ohio. I wasn’t disappointed in Joe Burrow, but man, Joe Mixon, dude… not cool. As for the Browns, no pun intended, but woof. It’s like Groundhog Day, right? All of this talent, yet here we are… I guess the second verse, same as the first. Maybe there is something with the uniform since it seems that it doesn’t matter who the players are, the result remains the same.
Granted, the matchup against Baltimore wasn’t easy, but to only come away with six points when you have the individual pieces on offense that they do is just inexcusable. Yet, I continue to believe that they will eventually put it together. That being said, I think there is an opportunity for retribution this weekend by a disappointing member of Bengals and a majority of Browns. Nonetheless, let’s get past our frustration. The beauty of DFS is the ability to get past our frustrations and move on with a clean slate.
Joe Burrow wasn’t bad. If it wasn’t for Randy Bullock pulling a calf muscle attempting a game tying field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, who knows how we would be viewing Joe Burrow’s first game. He was 23-36 for 193 yards, and ran 8 times for 46 yards and a score. Even though he put his team in a position to tie the game late, he looked rattled at times — which shouldn’t be a shock — and the Browns have a chance to get to him more than the Chargers did in week one. I thought he looked good on the final drive and the Bengals have to be happy with what they saw. He was composed and made smart reads.
Spread: Cleveland -6
O/U: 43.5 points
Money Line: Cleveland -255, Cincinnati +215
Both Browns RB’s are worth rostering
We got more of an even split between Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and it could be that way going forward. The challenge with a new head coach and offensive scheme is you never know how the offense is going to look until they get out there, and no preseason made this year makes it so unpredictable. I think we need to realize that Hunt could limit Chubb’s ceiling just a bit in DFS, especially on DraftKings where it’s a full 1-point per reception.
If there’s one saving grace to the Browns getting blown out in Week 1 and the game script not allowing much for Chubb (he only carried the ball ten times), the price drop on Chubb and the Bengals gave up 155 rushing yards vs. the Chargers. I’d pounce on both.
I’m going down with the OBJ ship
This is more out of stubbornness than anything, I refuse to jump off and then have him go nuclear, but I know he is one of the more maddening players in the fantasy football world. It’s weird because I’m becoming less of a believer of Baker Mayfield every week, but yet I can’t quit OBJ. I mean, eventually he has to come through, right?
He led the Browns in targets in Week 1, and with David Njoku out with a knee injury, I expect a little spillover. The smart play is to fade Mayfield, but if he ever gets it together, OBJ will be a beneficiary. Because of the Week 1 stinker, he’s another Brown we can get with a lower price
Joe Mixon has to rebound
This is what it’s come to. I look at a guy who went 19-69 and caught one pass as a disappointment, especially considering that Burrow was making his NFL debut. While the Ravens didn’t put up great humbers against Cleveland in Week 1, let’s look at last year where in his two games against the Browns he went for a combined 49-308-3. Yum.
Overall, I think we have some fun and interesting DFS plays that could put up some decent nights. Let’s do it!
