The Cincinnati Bengals continue to run away with the AFC North after dismantling the Cleveland Browns 31-10 on Thursday night at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati to advance to 8-0 and expand their division lead to four games heading into Sunday’s games.
The Bengals offense ranks third in scoring with 28.6 points per game, thanks in large part to emerging tight end Tyler Eifert and wide receiver A.J. Green.
Eifert scored three times Thursday and hauled in five catches on six targets with 53 yards, enhancing his must-start viability at an otherwise weak fantasy position. The 25-year-old is averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game, narrowly second to New England Patriots superstar Rob Gronkowski’s 14.8.
Eifert is just nine yards shy of his career-high 445 mark set during his rookie season in 2013. Yet entering Week 9, he is still available in 5.8 percent of leagues.
Halfway through the season, he’s proved to be a must-start commodity and should have another strong outing against the Houston Texans’ 19th-ranked pass defense.
Green also had 53 yards receiving vs. Cleveland via four catches on six targets with no scores. The fifth-year wideout has reached the end zone only four times this year, with half those coming in a monster game against the Baltimore Ravens in which he tallied 227 yards.
Green has been reliable but not among the elite fantasy receivers, such as the Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald and New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr., who both have seven scores.
More alarming is that Green didn’t have a catch until midway through the second quarter on Thursday, and it was only his second target. He still remains in the WR1 mix but isn’t necessarily fulfilling the expectations of those who drafted him in the second to third rounds.
Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu had a nice 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter Thursday, but it was only his first score this season and came on a reverse run.
Sanu is owned in just 1.9 percent of leagues and for good reason. He had just three catches for 25 yards on Thursday, bringing his season total to 295 yards (36.8 per game).
Unless quarterback Andy Dalton finds his number in the coming weeks or Green goes down with an injury, Sanu is a certain must-avoid regardless of matchup.
All stats courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues.
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