The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 17 matchup between the Bengals and Cardinals.
Find a breakdown of every Week 17 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Arizona | Rank | @ | Cincinnati | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | Spread | -7.0 | ||
| 23.25 | Implied Total | 30.25 | ||
| 21.4 | 21 | Points/Gm | 23.9 | 14 |
| 27.6 | 29 | Points All./Gm | 30.5 | 32 |
| 64.5 | 4 | Plays/Gm | 61.1 | 19 |
| 63.0 | 22 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 62.8 | 20 |
| 5.2 | 23 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.2 | 20 |
| 5.6 | 23 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.4 | 32 |
| 34.95% | 32 | Rush% | 35.01% | 31 |
| 65.05% | 1 | Pass% | 64.99% | 2 |
| 44.76% | 20 | Opp. Rush % | 46.92% | 25 |
| 55.24% | 13 | Opp. Pass % | 53.08% | 8 |
- Arizona has lost seven straight games with a league-worst -102 point differential over that span.
- Opponents have scored on 51.7% of their possessions against Arizona over that span, the 2nd-highest rate in the league.
- The Cardinals are the only team without a win against an AFC opponent this season (0-4).
- The Bengals are 0-4 against NFC opponents, tied with the Raiders as the only teams without a win against an NFC opponent.
- Arizona has forced a punt on a league-low 23.8% of opponent possessions.
- The Bengals have forced a punt on 26.1% of possessions, 31st.
- The Bengals have a takeaway on 21.2% of opponent possessions over their past five games (2nd) after 8.6% prior (23rd).
- 79.5% (31 of 39) of the Bengals' touchdowns have been passing touchdowns, the highest rate in the league.
- 73.5% (25 of 34) of Arizona's touchdowns have been passing, 3rd in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Joe Burrow (TRUST): Burrow had his best game of the season on Sunday, setting season-highs in completion percentage (78.1%), passing yards (309), and yards per pass attempt (9.7) to go along with 4 touchdowns.
Burrow has been a QB1 scorer in each of his past two games with Tee Higgins active, something we always call out.
Since the start of last season, Burrow has completed 71.9% of his passes for 8.1 Y/A and a 7.3% touchdown rate with Higgins on the field compared to a 64.9% completion rate, 6.3 Y/A, and a 5.4% touchdown rate without Higgins.
Burrow also took advantage of a great matchup against Miami.
He gets an even better matchup here against a depleted Arizona defense with the highest team total of the week.
The Cardinals were already a defense that had struggled with health to close the season, but they had another lousy run of fortune on Sunday, losing Garrett Williams and Walter Nolen for the rest of the season.
Josh Sweat (who leads the team with 11 sacks) also left with an ankle injury.
Sweat’s status for Week 17 is up in the air.
All of those are significant injuries for a defense that has been brutal to end the year.
Over their past six games, Arizona has allowed a 108.9 rating (31st), a 67% completion rate (26th), 7.8 Y/A (25th), and a league-high 8.4% touchdown rate.
Jacoby Brissett: Things finally came to an end for Brissett’s run as a back-end QB1 on Sunday.
Brissett ended the week as the QB25 (10.6 points), completing 16 of 31 passes (51.6%) for 203 yards (6.5 Y/A) with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
He was rough on early downs, completing 10 of 21 early down passes for 4.0 Y/A.
Brissett had been underperforming his fantasy output for a while (he has averaged 6.5 yards per attempt or fewer in five of his past seven games), but kept getting away with it through immense volume.
He only had 33 dropbacks on Sunday, his fewest in a start this season.
Arizona only ran 56 plays, their second-fewest in a game this season and their fewest since Week 2.
Last week’s game showcased the floor for Brissett.
I prefer to use him as a floor-based QB2, but he is still on the table as a matchup-based QB1/QB2 here if you were using him and survived in leagues.
The Bengals are still 30th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.517) if that volume returns for Brissett.
The Bengals have allowed 8.2 yards per pass attempt (30th) and a 5.9% touchdown rate (29th).
Cincinnati did not allow a touchdown to Quinn Ewers on Sunday, but he still threw for 8.7 Y/A and 260 yards in his first NFL start.
Running Back
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More Week 17 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Cowboys @ Commanders | Christmas Day |
| Lions @ Vikings | Christmas Day |
| Broncos @ Chiefs | Christmas Day |
| Texans @ Chargers | Saturday -- 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Ravens @ Packers | Saturday -- 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Bengals | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bucs @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Patriots @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Bills | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Bears @ 49ers | Sunday Night Football |
| Rams @ Falcons | Monday Night Football |
