Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals Week 2: Complete Fantasy Football ... - Bleacher Report

The Cincinnati Bengals will take on their second divisional opponent in two weeks when the Cleveland Browns come to town in Week 2.

The two 0-1 teams are led by quarterbacks with a combined 18 regular-season NFL starts. Fantasy owners are probably only interested in one side of this matchup.

That side wears tiger stripes on its helmets.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Andy Dalton owns 17 of those 18 starts. With the Cleveland Browns Joe Haden sidelined (I wouldn’t touch the Browns defense this week), Dalton should have some success at home in Week 2.

A.J. Green is primed to go off on whomever Cleveland matches up with him. He reeled in just five of his 11 targets last week against the Baltimore Ravens’ defense.

But the Browns are not the Ravens.

Andrew Hawkins had nine targets in Baltimore and caught eight of them. He could be a sneaky PPR play, but is extremely risky given that he has not put together back-to-back fantasy-relevant performances yet.

Think Randall Cobb when you consider playing Hawkins this early in the season.

If the Bengals get up early and feed the ball to BenJarvus Green-Ellis throughout the second half, the Law Firm could have a big fantasy day. He put up 90 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against the Ravens in Week 1.

Again, these Browns are not the Ravens.

Cleveland allowed 14 targets to tight ends against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. Clay Harbor and Brent Celek caught seven of those for 81 yards and a touchdown. There are worse tight end options than Jermaine Gresham this week.

With the way the Browns came out last week, the Bengals should be a confident play as a fantasy defense in Week 2. They’ll be at home against a Browns team that turned the ball over four times in Cleveland in Week 1.

Cleveland Browns

Please, don’t start Brandon Weeden as your fantasy quarterback this week.

Even if you have faith in him. Just don’t do it.

Let him show you something first.

Ray Rice gashed the Bengals defense last week, gaining 68 yards and two scores on just 10 carries. Because of that, Trent Richardson deserves a mulligan this week.

He’s going to get the ball.

But if the Bengals stack the box, he should find it difficult to take it anywhere. I see him as a No. 3 fantasy RB for Week 2.

Finally, I wouldn’t start any of the Browns’ receivers or tight ends until we see the Cleveland passing game show signs of life.