The NFL is back for Week 2! Thursday Night Football opens the week with the first Battle of Ohio of 2020. The Cleveland Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals, with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NFL Network. Both teams are 0-1.
The Bengals lost 16-13 to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, but got some solid play from No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow. He made plenty of rookie mistakes, but showed his wheels on a rushing touchdown and almost brought the team back on a late game drive.
Meanwhile, the Browns lost 38-6 to the Baltimore Ravens in a game that wasn’t close after the first quarter. The most interesting takeaway for Cleveland was that Kareem Hunt finished the day with more touches than Nick Chubb, both on the ground and through the air. It is something fantasy football managers will have to consider.
Matchups are going to be key, but it helps to see what the analytics are saying about potential performances. Looking at fantasy projections for season-long leagues (1/2 PPR setting), you can’t really go wrong with most of your big name pieces. And for deeper leagues, Joe Burrow might be an intriguing value if he keeps up on the ground.
I’m hoping for a fun one tonight, but we’ll see if the offenses can get on track. I think the Browns win and cover in a low scoring matchup, but there’s still room for some fantasy value. Here are Week 1 fantasy points projections to help you further improve your chances to get off to a strong start.
Cincinnati Bengals
QB Joe Burrow: 16.0
RB Joe Mixon: 13.9
WR A.J. Green: 11.5
WR Tyler Boyd: 9.5
WR John Ross: 6.2
TE C.J. Uzomah: 5.2
K Randy Bullock: 7.1
D/ST: 5.8
Cleveland Browns
QB Baker Mayfield: 15.1
RB Nick Chubb: 13.1
RB Kareem Hunt: 11.8
WR Odell Beckham Jr.: 11.1
WR Jarvis Landry: 10.5
TE Austin Hooper: 6.5
K COdy Parkey: 7.3
D/ST: 6.9