Bengals vs. Cardinals: Week 5 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Joshua Dobbs, James Conner, Marquise Brown

Welcome to our Bengals vs. Cardinals fantasy football start 'em, sit' em matchups analysis article for Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season.

Read our matchups analysis, player breakdowns, and lineup recommendations for the matchup and set those winning lineups. Good luck RotoBallers!

Cincinnati Bengals at Arizona Cardinals

Spread: Bengals -3.0
Implied Total: Bengals (23.5) vs. Cardinals (20.5)
Pace: Bengals (14th) vs. Cardinals (12th)
Bengals Off. DVOA: -12.4% Pass (28th), -3.3% Rush (14th)
Cardinals Off. DVOA: 38.5% Pass (6th), 10.4% Rush (5th)
Bengals Def. DVOA: 11.8% Pass (19th), 8.9% Rush (30th)
Cardinals Def. DVOA: 31.4% Pass (30th), 3.8% Rush (27th)

Matchups We Love

Cardinals WRs

Marquise Brown and Michael Wilson may turn out to be two of the most underrated fantasy options entering the season. We knew the talent of Brown, but few believed in the Arizona passing attack. With Kyler Murray sidelined and Colt McCoy as the presumed backup, things were grim, but Joshua Dobbs has vastly exceeded expectations, thrusting these two into relevance. Brown has a targets-per-route run of 27% with a yards-per-route run of 2.03 while Wilson comes in at 18% and 2.49, both of which are impressive for a rookie wideout. The matchup is decent and because the Bengals offense can't sustain drives, they should have plenty of chances to score points.

Marquise Brown ranks 15th in the NFL in target share for WRs at 27%.

Did the same thing last year in games without DeAndre Hopkins.

Against all odds in this Cardinals offense, he is performing like a low-end WR2 with 14.5 points per game and the schedule improves.

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 2, 2023

James Conner (RB, ARI)

The Bengals are even worse against the run, that'll happen when you get rocked by Derrick Henry. They rank 30th in run defense DVOA and in rushing yards per attempt allowed. Conner's performance against the 49ers was mediocre, but that's to be expected. He's averaging 5.1 yards per carry on the season with the 10th-best elusive rating. The issue he ran into last week was Emari Demercado taking away receiving work. The rookie ran one more route and earned two more targets than Conner. It shouldn't factor in much against the Bengals because it'll be more competitive, but it's worth monitoring for future matchups. Conner lands inside the top 24.

Ja'Marr Chase (WR, CIN)

It's hard to love anyone on the Cincinnati offense right now the way Joe Burrow is playing, but Chase has a knack for getting open. He ranks eighth in separation among all receivers. Plus the team will likely be without Tee Higgins, which would ensure a massive target share. The Cardinals are a great matchup, which does make Tyler Boyd an intriguing flex option given his historical success when Higgins is out.

Bengals WR Tee Higgins (ribs) returned to practice on a limited basis today and is questionable to play Sunday at the Cardinals.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 6, 2023

Matchups We Hate

Joe Burrow (QB, CIN)

It's not fun to place a player of his caliber in this section, particularly when the matchup isn't difficult, but his calf is a major concern. Failing the way he did against Tennessee with only 165 passing yards and three total points on offense craters my confidence. Arizona is playing inspired football, evidenced by their upset of Dallas, so it's best to search for other quarterbacks this week.

Other Matchups

Joe Mixon (RB, CIN)

Mixon leads the NFL with 77.6% of teams' rushing attempts, but he's 29th with only an 8.6% target share. It's a little odd given that Burrow is so limited in terms of his mobility. You would expect more checkdowns, but it hasn't worked out that way so far. The matchup should allow him to turn his volume into top-24 production. The issue is his touchdown upside is lower than usual the way the offense is struggling.

Joshua Dobbs (QB, ARI)

Dobbs has been sneaky good on the ground. He's run for the fourth-most yards (141) on the fifth-most attempts (24). It's clear the coaching staff view his legs as a weapon, adding an element of explosiveness to the offense. He's also averaging over 200 passing yards and one passing touchdown per game. Against the Bengals, he's a nice streamer. He's also an example of someone I'd start over Burrow this week.

Zach Ertz (TE, ARI)

We know the deal with Ertz: tons of volume, minimal yards after the catch ability (2.1 per reception). At the tight end position, he's someone you can count for a floor, especially in full-PPR formats.

Notable Injuries

Tee Higgins (rib)
Kyler Murray (knee)

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