Bengals vs. Ravens TNF Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Diontae Johnson, Chase Brown, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Tee Higgins, more

Week 10 for Thursday Night Football brings us the first rematch between two opponents for this prime-time spot in 2024. If you recall, the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens competed in an offensive explosion in Week 5 that eventually saw the Ravens eke out a 41-38 win. Joe Burrow threw five touchdowns in that game. Lamar Jackson threw four touchdowns with Derrick Henry accounting for the other.

If this rematch is anything like the game in Week 5, we could be in store for one of the best Thursday games of the season. The Bengals are 4-5 and in desperate need of a win to boost their playoff chances. The Ravens are 6-3 and are trying to pass the Pittsburgh Steelers for supremacy in the AFC North.

Buckle up, it's going to be a good one. I will bring you Thursday Night Football analysis all year, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Let's dive into this next awesome Thursday night matchup for Week 10 of the 2024 season. Good luck, RotoBallers!

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Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens - 8:15 p.m. EST

Notable Injuries:

• Zack Moss (RB - CIN) - OUT - Neck
• Tee Higgins (WR - CIN) - Doubtful - Quadriceps
• Erick All Jr. (TE - CIN) - OUT - Knee
• Keaton Mitchell (RB - BAL) - Questionable - Knee
• Isaiah Likely (TE - BAL) - OUT - Hamstring

Bengals vs. Ravens Matchup Breakdown

This game should come down to how both offenses perform. Both the Bengals and the Ravens are in the bottom half of the league in passing touchdowns per game, opponent passing yards per game, and opponent passing first downs per game. The stage is set for another passing explosion and the opportunity to fly past the 52.5 total.

Wear your purple and get to the Bank❕

🎟: https://t.co/x2QPMMI4s9 pic.twitter.com/hjnaqithKB

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 5, 2024

The losses for Cincinnati (Erick All Jr. and perhaps Tee Higgins) can still be overcome by the fact that Baltimore is bottom five in almost all relevant passing defense statistics in 2024 as it has struggled with secondary injuries all year. Baltimore has reinforced its passing attack with Diontae Johnson and the reemergence of Mark Andrews.

I will be shocked if this is a low-scoring affair, and as we will see below, just about all of the passing pieces of these offenses are in play for Week 10.

Must-Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Joe Burrow (QB, CIN)

Coming off a game where he threw for 250 yards and five touchdowns, Joe Burrow has a BETTER matchup this week based on the weak passing defense statistics put up by Baltimore this year.

Burrow's other five-touchdown game came against this same Baltimore team in Week 5, and you can be assured that Burrow will put it in the air somewhere around 35 or 40 times on Thursday night.

Even if he does not have Tee Higgins, there are plenty of pass-catching weapons for him to smash, as we saw last week.

Joe Burrow Pass TD
7 of 25+ yards (most in NFL)
5 of 40+ yards (most in NFL)
Can get you in from ANYWHERE @PaulHembo 🫡🫡

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 4, 2024

Ja'Marr Chase (WR, CIN)

You don't need me or anyone else to tell you that Ja'Marr Chase is a must-start in this high-octane matchup. He is sixth in targets, sixth in routes run, and sixth in red-zone targets among wide receivers. He also had 10 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns in Week 5 against the Ravens.

Chase Brown (RB, CIN)

With all due respect to Khalil Herbert, who has been in Cincinnati for about five minutes now, Chase Brown is going to have at least one more massive bell-cow game and it's going to come on Thursday night. Brown touched the ball 32 times last week for 157 yards and a touchdown. And even with Baltimore's pass-funnel defense, Brown has shown he can excel in the passing game as well.

Lamar Jackson (QB, BAL)

Lamar Jackson has one game over his last seven contests with fewer than 20 standard fantasy points, and in that game, it was 19.9. He is the top quarterback in 2024 by a sizable margin and the Bengals allow the sixth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position this year. Don't overthink it. Just start him.

I don’t think people realize how crazy this actually is 🤯 pic.twitter.com/G1In9Fe73O

— Ravens Tattoo Guy (@RavensTattooGuy) November 4, 2024

Derrick Henry (RB, BAL)

Like Jackson, Derrick Henry has no competition for his spot as the top running back in the league in 2024. His 197 half-PPR fantasy points are 30 more than any other player at the position. Week 5 was, predictably, a smash for Henry when he had almost 100 yards and a touchdown. He seems to be getting stronger and tallied 133 yards and two scores last week.

Zay Flowers (WR, BAL)

Despite playing just 53% of snaps last week, Zay Flowers had the best game of his career in Week 9 with five catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. If Flowers jumps into his normal 70%-80% of snaps this week, he could be in line to dominate again as Jackson's new favorite weapon.

Solid Starts for Fantasy Football Lineups

Mike Gesicki (TE, CIN)

Mike Gesicki led all tight ends in fantasy points in Week 9 with his five catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. That came with just 36% of his team's snaps, so his playing time could go up this week with the loss of Erick All Jr. In his limited time, Gesicki saw six targets and the Ravens have allowed the third-most receiving yards to tight ends this season.

Mike Gesicki Griddy and Ja'Marr Chase losing it 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/MAyDRjOpeK

— WINCINNATI (@WINCINNATI_) November 3, 2024

Mark Andrews (TE, BAL)

To be clear, I will likely be moving Mark Andrews up to must-start status if and when Isaiah Likely is ruled out. Andrews has still only been seeing 50%-55% of snaps in four of the last five games with Likely in the lineup. That would probably jump up to 70% with Likely out, making Andrews a top player at the position once again.

Diontae Johnson (WR, BAL)

In Week 9, Johnson only played in 30% of snaps and ran six routes with his new team. Now with more than a week with Baltimore and several practices under his belt, I anticipate a much bigger role and more targets as the defense for Cincinnati focuses on containing the runners, Flowers, and Andrews.

Consider Sitting for Fantasy Football Lineups

Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor (WRs, BAL)

Rashod Bateman continues to get four or five targets per game, but it hasn't mattered the last two games. Bateman has four catches for 53 yards in that time and might lose his role to Diontae Johnson.

Nelson Agholor had a touchdown in Week 8 but otherwise has been a low-usage player with four out of his last five games with just one catch.

Isaiah Likely (TE, BAL)

UPDATE: Isaiah Likely has officially been ruled out for Thursday Night Football

Having not practiced this week, signs do not look good for Likely playing in Week 10. If he does, his impact has been low lately. He played 30% of snaps last week and had one target.

Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill (RBs, BAL)

Keaton Mitchell potentially returning from his torn ACL in this game would be fantastic, but he is likely to be eased in with the strength of Derrick Henry and Justice Hill.

Hill is always on the field when Baltimore is trailing or in the two-minute drill, but I believe the game script minimizes his impact in this Week 10 game. He played less than 33% of snaps in a game Baltimore won handily last week.

.@_KeatonMitchell ‼️ pic.twitter.com/JQbqm6hQLh

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 5, 2024

Jermaine Burton and Andrei Iosivas (WRs, CIN)

Don't let the touchdown for Iosivas in Week 9 fool you. He had one catch, and it just happened to be in the end zone. This offense will be focused on Chase, Brown, and Gesicki.

Jermaine Burton was part of pajama-gate in Week 9 and is likely now persona non grata in Cincinnati for the time being.

Khalil Herbert (RB, CIN)

Khalil Herbert was just traded to Cincinnati this week after Zack Moss was put on IR with his neck injury. He may be a valuable backup down the stretch to Chase Brown, but he is unlikely to play enough in this game to matter.

Kirksey’s Thursday Night Football Picks

Current Spread: Baltimore Ravens -6.5
Over/Under: 52.5

The injuries on both sides could play a role in this game approaching and passing the 52.5 total, but even if Baltimore is without Isaiah Likely and Cincinnati is without Tee Higgins, there are more than enough weapons on both sides to make this a close, high-scoring game.

Like in Week 5, I don't think the Ravens passing defense can do enough to keep Cincinnati from scoring at the same pace as its offense. That's why I'm rolling with a prediction of Baltimore 31, Cincinnati 27

The Pick: Cincinnati +6.5, OVER 52.5

2024 Record:
Spread (4-5), Over/Under (6-3)

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