The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 2 matchup between the Bengals and Ravens.
Find a breakdown of every Week 2 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
Baltimore | Rank | @ | Cincinnati | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
3.5 | Spread | -3.5 | ||
21.5 | Implied Total | 25.0 | ||
25.0 | 8 | Points/Gm | 3.0 | 31 |
9.0 | 4 | Points All./Gm | 24.0 | 22 |
58.0 | 24 | Plays/Gm | 54.0 | 29 |
72.0 | 27 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 72.0 | 27 |
4.6 | 19 | Off. Yards/Play | 2.6 | 32 |
3.7 | 5 | Def. Yards/Play | 4.9 | 20 |
55.17% | 2 | Rush% | 37.04% | 26 |
44.83% | 31 | Pass% | 62.96% | 7 |
31.94% | 5 | Opp. Rush % | 55.56% | 32 |
68.06% | 28 | Opp. Pass % | 44.44% | 1 |
- The Bengals converted a league-worst 13.3% (2-of-15) third down plays in Week 1. They converted 46.1% of their third downs in 2022 (third in the league).
- 31.6% of the Cincinnati set of downs resulted in a new first down or touchdown, the lowest rate in the league. The next closest team (the Giants) was at 52.0%.
- As a result, the Bengals were the only team in Week 1 to not have a possession in the red zone.
- The Bengals had a drop back rate of just 29.4% on first down plays outside of the fourth quarter, the lowest rate in the league.
- On first-down pass attempts, Joe Burrow was 1-of-7 for six yards.
- Just 15.6% of the Baltimore rushing attempts gained five or more yards in Week 1, the lowest rate in the league.
- The Bengals allowed a league-high 10 rushes of 10 or more yards and a league-high 138 yards on runs of 10 or more yards in Week 1.
- In three games against the Ravens in 2022, Cincinnati scored 33.3% of their drives with 1.80 points per drive.
- Against everyone else, the Bengals scored 43.4% of their drives with 2.43 points per drive.
- The Ravens are 6-1 against the Bengals with Lamar Jackson as their starting quarterback and 0-3 without him since Jackson entered the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: We did not get fireworks in Jackson’s first start in this offense. He ended Week 1 as the QB27 (6.6 points).
The Ravens had three short rushing touchdowns, which did not help his cause, but there were a lot of pulling forces in this one that prevented an explosion in this new offense.
This passing game featured a much shorter passing attack in Week 1.
Jackson averaged 4.6 air yards per pass attempt. Jackson’s career average is 8.6 air yards per attempt, and he has had just one game with a lower depth of target than he did on Sunday.
The Houston offense never forced the Ravens to press the scoreboard (Jackson threw just 11 passes in the second half and four in the final quarter) to limit volume.
The Ravens had both Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum leave the game with injuries. We will monitor their status throughout the week because their absence could be huge.
When Jackson was kept clean on Sunday, he was a perfect 15-of-15 passing for 155 yards (10.3 Y/A). When under pressure, Jackson was 2-of-7 passing for 14 yards with an interception.
The Ravens have posted a good record against the Bengals with Jackson as their starting quarterback, but Cincinnati has given Jackson some issues in recent seasons from a fantasy stance.
Jackson only made one start against the Bengals a year ago, but he was QB15 (14.9 points) in that game.
In four starts against the Bengals since his insane 2019 campaign, Jackson has completed just 53.4% of his passes for 6.1 yards per pass attempt against Lou Anarumo’s defenses.
Jackson has still rushed for 61.5 yards per game in those contests. His legs always give him an out for fantasy. The Bengals just allowed Deshaun Watson to rush for 45 yards and a touchdown.
But I do have some concerns here in accessing a ceiling, especially if Baltimore is down both offensive linemen. Jackson is more of a back-end QB1 for me entering the week.
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