By Winsto (09/29/2022)
The Scare
If you missed the main story with Cincinnati’s 27 to 15 victory over Miami, Tua Tagovailoa went down with a scary head injury with about 6 minutes left in the 1st half. He was carted off the field and transported to a Cincinnati hospital. The good news, as of this writing, is that he has consciousness, movement in his extremities, and has been discharged from the hospital. The plan is for him to travel back home with the team. We here at FantasyRooster.com wish him a speedy recovery. We love fantasy football, but sometimes we lose sight of how physical/violent the game of football can be. We should always try to appreciate the risks these players are taking by playing this game, and thus, try to appreciate the players, even if/when they do not always score us as many fantasy points as we hope for.
The Good
Tee Higgins has been rock solid since week 1, and he continued that trend with 7 receptions for 124 yards and a TD. With defenses focusing on Ja’Marr Chase, Higgins will consistently have opportunities. I don’t see why this cannot continue, keeping Higgins as a solid WR2.
Speaking of Chase, he helped salvage his day with a late 36 yard reception, bringing his total to 4 catches for 81 yards. He has been a slight disappointment so far this season, but that is mostly due to defenses focusing on him. His play making ability is elite, so don’t try to be cute and take him out of your line-up. Better days will come.
Joe Burrow also throw a late TD to help give him a solid night, throwing for 287 yards and 2 TDs. He is a back-end QB 1 with upside.
As for Hayden Hurst, he scored. Owners should be happy with that.
Joe Mixon owners probably have concerns, though he was able to rush for 61 yards on 24 (2.5 ypc) carries and a TD, and also adding 4 receptions for 13 yards. That is an okay night. The concern, however, is his yards per carry this season has not been efficient, with a 2.8 ypc going into this game. This Cincinnati offensive line has been rebuilt from last year, but the run-blocking has not been stellar. As long as Mixon continues to receive volume, he will at the very least, be a solid RB2. The hope for Mixon owners is his offensive line gets better.
On the Miami side, there was not much to write home about, other than Tyreek Hill doing Tyreek Hill things, with 10 receptions for 160 yards (109 yards coming from Teddy Bridgewater). The assumption here is that Tua will miss some time. It looked like Bridgewater looked Hill’s way often, but the question remains as to whether a Bridgewater led offense can sustain both Hill and Jaylen Waddle. So far, Hill looks to have the advantage, but this is a fluid situation.
The Less than Good
Jaylen Waddle’s streak of solid scoring came to an end, as he was only to haul in 2 catches for 39 yards. As stated above, Waddle and Hill coexisting a WR1s in a Bridgewater led offense may be problematic. One of them can succeed each week, but which one is anyone’s guess. I will give Hill the slight edge, based on how often Bridgewater looked his way in this game.
Chase Edmonds owners, despite the TD, are probably uneasy right now. He dropped a sure TD earlier in the game, and he averaged 1.2 ypc on 5 rushes–that’s 6 rushing yards for those of you who do not excel in mathematics. In addition, Raheem Mostert had 15 carries for 69 yards. Simply put, there is no one in this backfield that you can really trust to start. With Edmonds, he had 65 total yards in Week 1 (which is not very exciting in itself), but has not topped 41 total yards since. He also saw Mostert get some goal line work. Since Mostert has his injury history, I do not foresee Miami relying mainly on Mostert, and Edmonds has not run away with this job. This is a committee through and through, and my guess is it will cause fantasy owners headaches. In deeper leagues, both Edmonds and Mostert can both be viewed as risky flexes.
For those of you who still have to start Mike Gesicki, I am sorry. Mind you, I think he is a solid player, but he is simply not being used enough to warrant usage, unless you are in a very deep league, where the waiver wire options at TE are as bleak as a Houston championship this season. (No offense, Houston fans; it’s simply a rebuilding year to pave the way for greatness down the road.)
For Tua, he went went for 110 yards passing and an INT before the injury in the 2nd quarter. He should have had a TD pass, but Edmonds failed to haul it in.
As for Miami’s QB situation, it will be interesting to see how they play it as long as Tua is out. Miami’s next two games are against NYJ and Minnesota. Teddy Bridgewater is who he is, a capable back-up QB. He could be useful in 2 QB leagues. I admit I am interested to see whether or not Miami takes a look at 3rd string QB, Skylar Thompson, who made some noise in the preseason.