The smart money this preseason was predicting a last-place finish for Cincinnati in the AFC North. That's no knock on Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, and A.J. ("Jeremiah," not "Joe," unfortunately) Green. It's reality in a division that has three legitimate postseason contenders. And the smart money is also on Cleveland to finish third. Baltimore seems like a near-lock for the top 2, while Pittsburgh's defense and a healthy Big Ben should be enough to be included in the top 2.
So while tonight's contest won't quite have the weight of Bernie Kosar vs. Boomer Esiason, it will feature two of the most promising young QBs in the league. And tonight, Baker Mayfield will get the better of his rookie counterpart. This is a rebound game, plain and simple. Cleveland never had a chance against the more talented and exploitative Ravens.
I saw one fantasy prognosticator label the Bengals DST as a "sneaky start" in Week 2. Nonsense. Expect 30+ combined touches for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, totaling 160+ yards. Expect at minimum a 275/2 line for Mayfield (in other words, 19+ points). Expect bounce-back performances for OBJ and Austin Hooper, with or without Jarvis Landry.
I say this as someone who's facing Chubb and OBJ. Not happy about it. Not happy at all. But I don't make predictions based on what I want to happen. Cincy will not pressure Mayfield the way Baltimore did, and Mayfield is a much different quarterback when he has time--as most QBs are, except Mayfield still has plenty of growth to do. This has the makings of a 35-10 game. The "sneaky start" is actually Cleveland's DST, which has a lower consensus Week 2 ranking than Cincinnati's DST, which is a bit odd to me. I love the Browns as a back-end DST1 at worst.
So while tonight's contest won't quite have the weight of Bernie Kosar vs. Boomer Esiason, it will feature two of the most promising young QBs in the league. And tonight, Baker Mayfield will get the better of his rookie counterpart. This is a rebound game, plain and simple. Cleveland never had a chance against the more talented and exploitative Ravens.
I saw one fantasy prognosticator label the Bengals DST as a "sneaky start" in Week 2. Nonsense. Expect 30+ combined touches for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, totaling 160+ yards. Expect at minimum a 275/2 line for Mayfield (in other words, 19+ points). Expect bounce-back performances for OBJ and Austin Hooper, with or without Jarvis Landry.
I say this as someone who's facing Chubb and OBJ. Not happy about it. Not happy at all. But I don't make predictions based on what I want to happen. Cincy will not pressure Mayfield the way Baltimore did, and Mayfield is a much different quarterback when he has time--as most QBs are, except Mayfield still has plenty of growth to do. This has the makings of a 35-10 game. The "sneaky start" is actually Cleveland's DST, which has a lower consensus Week 2 ranking than Cincinnati's DST, which is a bit odd to me. I love the Browns as a back-end DST1 at worst.