The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 9 matchup between the Bengals and Raiders.

Find a breakdown of every Week 9 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Las VegasRank@CincinnatiRank
7.5Spread-7.5
18.75Implied Total26.25
1826Points/Gm24.411
26.327Points All./Gm25.423
61.122Plays/Gm57.431
60.512Opp. Plays/Gm67.131
4.728Off. Yards/Play5.713
5.310Def. Yards/Play5.315
36.40%28Rush%38.56%27
63.60%5Pass%61.44%6
46.90%21Opp. Rush %47.86%24
53.10%12Opp. Pass %52.14%9

  • The Bengals have led for 40.9% of their offensive snaps (13th in the league), the highest rate for a team with a losing record.
  • The Raiders have led for 9.6% of their second-half plays, the lowest rate in the league.
  • The Raiders have run a play down double-digit points in every game this season, and they are the only team in the league to do that.
  • The Bengals have only trailed for 33.3% of their offensive snaps, the 6th-lowest rate in the league.
  • The Bengals are 31st in rushing EPA as a defense (-10.1).
  • The Raiders are dead last in the league with -60.8 EPA on rushing plays.
  • The average length of touchdown against the Raiders is 8.4 yards, the lowest in the league.
  • The average length of touchdown against the Bengals is 9.9 yards, 3rd in the league.

Trust = spike production for that player

Quarterback

Joe Burrow: Burrow has cooled off the past three weeks after a blistering run in Weeks 2-5.

On Sunday, he threw for 6.3 yards per pass attempt, his fewest in a game since the season opener.

The absence of Tee Higgins was felt. 

On 163 dropbacks with Higgins on the field this season, Burrow has averaged 8.8 Y/A with 12 touchdowns,

On 131 dropbacks with Higgins off the field this season, Burrow has averaged 6.1 Y/A with 3 touchdowns.

With Higgins out, Burrow is as a back-end QB1.

The Raiders have not been horrible as a pass defense outside of that no-show against Andy Dalton

Las Vegas is 11th in passing points allowed per game (12.3) but is a tick worse in passing points allowed per attempt (0.407).

Mobile quarterbacks have killed the Raiders, so they have allowed Bo Nix (6.9 rushing points) and Justin Fields (17.9 rushing points) to have QB1 scoring weeks.

That said, this is not a matchup from which we will hide.

They still allowed the best game Patrick Mahomes has had (18.2 points) since the start of the season last week 

The Bengals have a high team total and are massive favorites. 

Gardner Minshew: Minshew was serviceable for 2QB gamers last week, completing 24-of-30 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns.

It was the first game in which Minshew threw multiple touchdowns.

He was still QB19 (15 points) on the week, his highest week on the season.

That leaves Minshew as a back-end QB2 for gamers, with the Raiders as large underdogs on the road.

Running Back

To continue reading this article

and gain access to The Worksheet and all of Rich’s regular content, including positional rankings, DFS picks, and chats, click below to learn more about our fantasy package

Learn More
Already a Subscriber?Log In

More Week 9 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:

MatchupTime
Texans @ Jets -- FREEThursday Night Football
Cowboys @ FalconsSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Dolphins @ BillsSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Raiders @ BengalsSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Chargers @ BrownsSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Patriots @ TitansSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Commanders @ GiantsSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Saints @ PanthersSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Broncos @ RavensSunday -- 1 p.m. ET
Jaguars @ EaglesSunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET
Bears @ CardinalsSunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET
Lions @ PackersSunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET
Rams @ SeahawksSunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET
Colts @ VikingsSunday Night Football
Bucs @ Chiefs -- FREEMonday Night Football