X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Will Joe Burrow Playing This Week? Bengals QB Injury Update vs. 49ers

Is Joe playing this week versus the 49ers, or is Joe Burrow injured? Should I start Joe Burrow if he plays? Read the injury updates for Burrow for Week 14.

It's Week 14 and it's time to put up or shut up. Many of us out there are playing for our fantasy football playoff lives. Some of the lucky ones probably already have one of those elusive playoff spots wrapped up and are now fighting for the all-important first-round bye. Then there are some of you who may be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but looking to ruin some of your friend's weekends! I respect them all! They're all important and they're all fun. There's even something very, very sweet about getting to play spoiler and ruining someone else's playoff chances. So don't quit now!

All of this talk about getting into the playoffs or ruining someone's weekend brings us to Joe Burrow and what the crap are fantasy managers supposed to do with him? He's currently the QB11 on the season and QB12 in terms of points per game. He's averaging 18.36 points per game, which is actually closer to QB13, Derek Carr (17.60 PPG), than it is to QB11, Kirk Cousins (20.05). To make matters worse, he hasn't been all that good recently. He has not scored more than 19 points since Week 8.

Now he's dealing with a dislocated pinky finger on his throwing hand that happened during his Week 13 loss to the Chargers. There was a big change in his efficiency following the injury, which was to be expected. Prior to the injury, he was completing 73% of his passes and that dropped to 55% after. Fantasy managers should expect him to be in a better position if he plays this weekend, but how should fantasy managers be handling Joe Burrow this week? Let's dive in.

 

Is Joe Burrow Playing In Week 14 Against the 49ers?

The short answer is yes. Joe Burrow will be under center this weekend when the Bengals face off against the San Francisco 49ers. There's never really been any doubt about that. The Bengals are currently projected as the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture with a 7-5 record. It's the same record as the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Chargers and the seventh-seeded Buffalo Bills. Needless to say, the Bengals are playing for their playoff lives and every game counts. Fantasy managers can count on Burrow being active this weekend.

While Burrow didn't practice on Wednesday, that should have been expected. The Bengals have indicated they're going to give Burrow as much time as possible to heal. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect Burrow to practice today either, but will most likely ramp up his practice status to a limited session on Friday. It's nothing to fret about. If you're in a position where you need to trust Burrow, he'll be playing. What he does for you is a different question entirely.

Should I Start Joe Burrow if He's Active?

This is really the big question this week. There's really no doubt Burrow is playing unless something drastic changes. The 49ers are not the best of matchups for quarterbacks. They've allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to opposing signal-callers this season at just 17.9. Since their bye week in Week 6, they have been really dialed in too. Not a single quarterback has thrown for more than two touchdowns and no one else has surpassed 250 yards.

  • Week 13 – Russell Wilson: 30/37 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, 16.74 fantasy points.
  • Week 12 – Kirk Cousins: 20/32 for 238 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, 15.52 points.
  • Week 11 – Trevor Lawrence: 16/25 for 158 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 8.62 points.
  • Week 10 – Matthew Stafford: 26/41 for 243 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, 9.82 points.
  • Week.9 – Colt McCoy: 22/26 for 249 yards with one touchdown and 0 interceptions, 16.26 points.
  • Week 8 – Justin Fields: 19/27 for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception, nine points (Fields also had 103 rushing yards and a score on the ground, which brought his point total to 25.3. Fantasy managers shouldn't be counting on Burrow providing that kind of rushing value).
  • Week 7 – Carson Wentz: 17/26 for 150 yards with two touchdowns and 0 interceptions, 10 points (Wentz added 23 rushing yards and a score to bring his total to 18.3).

The former Tiger has 69 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season, which is to say fantasy managers should not be counting on that upside if they're putting him into their starting lineup. Just 9% of Burrow's total points have come from rushing; it's just not part of his game. If we look at only the passing production from the quarterbacks since the 49ers' bye, they are averaging just 12.28 points to opposing quarterbacks. Even if we include the rushing stats, the 49ers have given up just 15.79 points to quarterbacks since their bye week. The 12.28 PPG average would be the second-lowest in the NFL and the 15.79 would rank as the third-fewest. Needless to say, it's not exactly a good matchup at all.

On the season, Burrow has only five games with more than 20 points, and three of those games included matchups against Jacksonville, Detroit, and the New York Jets. He's been held to under 15 points on three occasions and has been under 10 points twice. The question of whether or not he can be trusted is a difficult one because outside of Superflex leagues where Burrow is the QB2, there probably hasn't been a ton of trust with him even when he's been healthy.

Looking at PPG averages of other quarterbacks in the games they started and finished (this is an important distinction for Tua Tagovailoa and Jimmy Garoppolo), there are seven other quarterbacks below Burrow who are within two points from his PPG. Those include Derek Carr, Tua, Jimmy G, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, Carson Wentz, and Taylor Heinicke.

Another factor to determining Burrow's trust level this weekend is the health of wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins has been playing incredibly in the last two games, and if he is out or not 100%, there's a good chance that could impact the passing game. Not to mention, Burrow himself is unlikely to be 100%. The question of what to do with Burrow this weekend likely depends on what your other options are. There's no question he's going to play, but being less than 100% in a tough matchup without possibly his No. 2 receiver is concerning. Fantasy managers will need to continue to follow not only Burrow's practice schedule but Tee Higgins' as well.

 

Can I Trust The Bengals Wide Receivers In Week 14?

There's no denying the health and effectiveness of their quarterback are going to impact the receivers. As previously mentioned, Burrow's completion percentage dropped almost 20 points following the injury. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect such a drastic hindrance after Burrow having a week off, but it's possible the injury will still affect his ability to grip the ball as well as he'd like to.

The 49ers are pretty much middle of the pack in terms of points per game to opposing wide receivers this season, allowing 22.6 points per game, which is the 14th-highest. Just like the quarterback position, the 49ers have been tough on receivers since the bye week. There have been only two receivers since Week 7 to surpass 100 yards against them. Those two were Michael Pittman Jr. and Cooper Kupp, who has been pretty much superhuman all year long.

They managed to hold Justin Jefferson to 83 scoreless yards and Darnell Mooney to 64 scoreless yards. Since Week 7, they've allowed only two receivers to find the end zone against them. Michael Pittman once again and Adam Thielen, who scored twice. In their last seven games, out of his team's top-two receivers, half of them have failed to surpass 55 yards and only four have gone over 75 – Christian Kirk being the fourth (91 yards).

Ja'Marr Chase is an absolute must-start, as is Higgins as long as he's active, but Tyler Boyd is best left on fantasy benches right now with the way the 49ers' defense is playing. If Higgins is inactive, Boyd could be utilized as a low-end starter, but expectations should be tempered.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Injury News

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

LeBron James9 mins ago

Listed As Probable For Game 1
Ben Sheppard15 mins ago

Probable For Saturday's Game 1
Jacob Lopez16 mins ago

Recalled From Triple-A
NFL18 mins ago

Kolton Miller Absent From Raiders' Voluntary Offseason Program
Kevin Durant21 mins ago

To Houston Already Losing Steam
Matt Canterino33 mins ago

Twins Designate Matt Canterino For Assignment
Lauri Markkanen35 mins ago

Wants To Stay With The Jazz
NFL42 mins ago

Ross Blacklock Let Go By New York
Mickey Gasper43 mins ago

Sent To Triple-A St. Paul
Bennedict Mathurin49 mins ago

Expected To Play In Game 1 Saturday
Nicky Lopez54 mins ago

Designated For Assignment
Josh Smith55 mins ago

Still Out Of Lineup Friday Night
Pascal Siakam57 mins ago

Available For Playoff Opener
Zach Neto1 hour ago

Reinstated From Injury List, Will Make Season Debut Friday
Tyrese Haliburton1 hour ago

Returning From Two-Game Absence Saturday
Cade Cunningham1 hour ago

Available For Game 1 Against Knicks
Shohei Ohtani1 hour ago

Out Of Friday's Lineup For Birth Of First Child
Josh Hart1 hour ago

Back In Knicks Lineup Saturday
Eugenio Suárez1 hour ago

Eugenio Suarez Hits Grand Slam In Friday Afternoon's Loss
OG Anunoby1 hour ago

Good To Go For Game 1
Ian Happ1 hour ago

Hits Grand Slam In Massive Day At The Plate
Jalen Brunson1 hour ago

Available For Saturday's Game 1
Jazz Chisholm Jr.2 hours ago

Suspended For One Game, Will Appeal And Is Playing Friday
Karl-Anthony Towns2 hours ago

Returning To Action Saturday
Kyle Tucker2 hours ago

Hits Go-Ahead Homer In Cubs Win
Pelle Larsson2 hours ago

Good To Go Friday
Nikola Jović2 hours ago

Nikola Jovic Available Friday
Carson Kelly2 hours ago

Crushes Two Homers In Crazy Cubs Win
Trae Young2 hours ago

Officially Active On Friday
Giannis Antetokounmpo2 hours ago

Not On Game 1 Injury Report
NFL2 hours ago

Raiders Considering Drafting A Quarterback
Damian Lillard2 hours ago

Officially Out For Game 1
Irv Smith2 hours ago

Sticking With Texans
Ryan Lindgren2 hours ago

Set To Return Saturday
NFL2 hours ago

Texans Expected To Draft Wide Receivers
Greg Dortch3 hours ago

Returning To Cardinals
Josh Manson3 hours ago

Available For Game 1
Mark Andrews3 hours ago

Could Be Traded Soon
Ondrej Palat3 hours ago

To Return For Start Of Playoffs
David Savard3 hours ago

Will Retire After Playoffs
Gavin Sheets3 hours ago

In Padres Lineup Against Astros
NFL3 hours ago

Raiders, Falcons Could Have Interest In Jalen Ramsey
Robert Thomas3 hours ago

Good To Go Saturday
Shea Langeliers3 hours ago

Back In Lineup On Friday
Matthew Tkachuk3 hours ago

Expected To Return For Game 1
3 hours ago

Raiders Are High On Ashton Jeanty
Alex Verdugo3 hours ago

Hitting Leadoff In Season Debut On Friday
Jason Robertson3 hours ago

Considered Week-To-Week
Rome Odunze3 hours ago

To Hopefully Get More Involved
Dylan Moore3 hours ago

Not In Lineup On Friday
NFL4 hours ago

Dolphins Could Draft A Quarterback
Parker Meadows4 hours ago

Cleared To Begin Throwing Program
James Cook4 hours ago

Could Stay Away From Voluntary Workouts
Chandler Simpson4 hours ago

Called Up By Rays
Alex Bregman5 hours ago

Back From Paternity Leave
Noah Davis5 hours ago

Dodgers Recall Noah Davis From Triple-A
Brooks Raley5 hours ago

Throws Bullpen, Drawing Interest From Several Teams
Pelle Larsson8 hours ago

Upgraded To Probable Against Hawks
Kevin Love8 hours ago

Away From The Team For Personal Reasons
Nikola Jović8 hours ago

Nikola Jovic Unlikely To Play Even If He's Available On Friday
Leon Draisaitl11 hours ago

Wins First Rocket Richard Trophy
Nikita Kucherov11 hours ago

Bags Third Art Ross Trophy
Bryan Rust11 hours ago

Scores Twice In Season-Ending Win
Igor Shesterkin11 hours ago

Shuts Out Lightning With 27 Saves
Dylan Cozens12 hours ago

Picks Up Three Points In Regular-Season Finale
Matvei Michkov12 hours ago

Caps Off Rookie Campaign With Three-Point Effort
Brady Tkachuk12 hours ago

Makes Early Exit For Precautionary Reasons
Jake Tonges20 hours ago

Signs Exclusive-Rights Tender
Denver Broncos20 hours ago

Broncos To Focus On RB Position In Next Week's Draft
Drew Lock20 hours ago

Sam Howell, Drew Lock Expected To Compete For Backup Job
New York Giants20 hours ago

Giants Leaning Toward Taking Best Player Available At No. 3
New Orleans Saints21 hours ago

Ryan Ramczyk Announces His Retirement
Buffalo Bills21 hours ago

Tre'Davious White Reunites With Buffalo
Aaron Rodgers21 hours ago

Willing To Play For $10 Million A Year
Donovan Mitchell22 hours ago

Logs Full Practice On Thursday
Jakob Chychrun1 day ago

Returns Against Penguins
Rasmus Andersson1 day ago

Out Against Kings
Jonathan Huberdeau1 day ago

Sits Out Regular-Season Finale
Ryan Pulock1 day ago

Out On Thursday
Jake Sanderson1 day ago

Back In Action Thursday
Thomas Chabot1 day ago

To Be Rested Against Hurricanes
Claude Giroux1 day ago

Active On Thursday
Dallas Cowboys1 day ago

Cowboys Add Hakeem Adeniji To Offensive-Line Room
Aaron Rodgers1 day ago

Retirement Still An Option For Aaron Rodgers
Lucas Glover2 days ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Daniel Berger2 days ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka2 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
Justin Thomas2 days ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele2 days ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Maverick McNealy2 days ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry2 days ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris2 days ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland2 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns2 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala2 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
Aaron Rai2 days ago

Might Be That Guy For Hilton Head
Robert MacIntyre2 days ago

All Or Nothing At RBC Heritage
Tom Hoge3 days ago

Still Playing Solid Heading To Hilton Head
Nick Dunlap3 days ago

Continues To Have Rough Stretch
Keegan Bradley3 days ago

Looks To Move On From Masters Performance
Matt Fitzpatrick3 days ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Option At RBC Heritage
Patrick Cantlay3 days ago

A Strong Play At RBC Heritage
Jordan Spieth3 days ago

Targets Another Strong RBC Heritage Showing
Collin Morikawa3 days ago

Eyeing Victory At RBC Heritage
Max Homa3 days ago

Breaks Through At The Masters
Alexander Volkanovski3 days ago

Reclaims Featherweight Title
Diego Lopes4 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 314
Paddy Pimblett4 days ago

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Michael Chandler4 days ago

Suffers TKO Loss
MMA4 days ago

Patricio Freire Gets Dominated In His UFC Debut
Yair Rodriguez4 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Bryce Mitchell4 days ago

Gets Submitted At UFC 314
Jean Silva4 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC 314
Dominick Reyes4 days ago

Wins Third Fight In A Row
Austin Dillon4 days ago

Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Ryan Blaney4 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Finishes In The Top 10 After Falling Back Midway At Bristol
Ty Gibbs4 days ago

Earns His First Top-Five Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Chase Briscoe4 days ago

Quietly Scores First Career Top-Five Finish At Bristol
William Byron5 days ago

Denny Hamlin Cuts Into William Byron's Points Lead
William Byron5 days ago

Makes Best Of His Mediocre Qualifying Run With Sixth-Place Finish
Alex Bowman5 days ago

Despite Engine Failure, Alex Bowman's Improved Speed Looks Promising
NASCAR5 days ago

A.J. Allmendinger Enters Playoff Picture With Surprise Bristol Top-10 Finish
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Will Compete For The Win At Bristol
Chase Elliott5 days ago

Is One Of The More Favorable DFS Options Available For Bristol
William Byron5 days ago

Is A Solid DFS Option For Bristol Lineups
Tyler Reddick6 days ago

Could Tyler Reddick Be A Sneaky DFS Option For Bristol?
NASCAR6 days ago

Is Bubba Wallace Worth Rostering For Bristol This Week?
Ross Chastain6 days ago

Could Ross Chastain Be A Worthy DFS Choice For Bristol?
Carson Hocevar6 days ago

Is Carson Hocevar Worth Rostering For Bristol DFS Lineups?
NASCAR6 days ago

Should Fantasy Managers Avoid Rostering A.J. Allmendinger In DFS For Bristol?
Ryan Preece6 days ago

Is Ryan Preece Worth Rostering For Bristol Lineups?
Austin Dillon6 days ago

May Be One Of The Top Value Options For Bristol DFS This Week
Noah Gragson6 days ago

Should DFS Players Consider Noah Gragson For Bristol Lineups?
Riley Herbst6 days ago

Is In Play For Bristol DFS Lineups
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF