The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Chase Brown.
Is Chase Brown Playing in Week 9?
Brown is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bengals’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Chase Brown in Week 9?
The Raiders allow the most goal-to-go drives per game. Last week, Chase Brown pushed across a four-yard score, indicating that the valuable carries might well be his (nine red-zone touches over his past five games).
The concern, of course, is a lack of efficiency. Brown has 27 carries for 76 yards over the past two weeks, and if you remove a single one, his ypc average over that stretch tanks to 2.1.
I like the Bengals in this game, and if that’s going to prove accurate, Brown’s 14-16 touches will land him as a usable fantasy piece. With that being my stance, I have him ranked as my RB25 this week, ahead of players like J.K. Dobbins and Javonte Williams, two backs with slightly more stable roles.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 9 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Chase Brown’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 9
Brown is projected to score 13.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.7 rushing attempts for 64.3 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 1.3 receptions for 32.1 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insights: Las Vegas Raiders Defense
It has been a pretty poor season for the Raiders’ defense, outside of a couple of relatively promising results against the more middling offenses they have faced. This unit was completely pulled apart by the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, which should be fairly telling in itself.
The combination of being in the bottom 10 when it comes to getting pressure without blitzing, forcing turnovers, and red-zone defense is far from ideal. The rest of the numbers are not a disaster by any means, but those three are a part of the core elements that defenses need to do well in order to have success.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Chase Brown’s Week 9 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals Insights
Las Vegas Raiders
Team: The NFL team average is 4.5 yards per carry—the Raiders failed to reach 3.5 in five of eight games last season (Week 8: 21 carries for 33 yards).
QB: Gardner Minshew’s average depth of throw over his past four appearances (ending with Sunday’s mark against the Chiefs): 8.3 – 7.7 – 6.2 – 4.6.
Offense: The Raiders either scored or went three-and-out on every drive on Sunday against the Chiefs.
Defense: Before Sunday, the Raiders hadn’t allowed more than five third-down conversions in a game this season (28.9% conversion rate). Amidst Kermit Gate, Patrick Mahomes picked up 12-of-16 (75%) opportunities.
Fantasy: What made Jakobi Meyers great on Sunday? A season-low 5.8% aDOT and 42.2% slot usage (under 23% in each of his two games before his injury).
Betting: The Raiders have covered five of their past seven road games, with three of those covers coming by more than six points.
Cincinnati Bengals
Team: The Bengals have three wins this season – against the Panthers, Giants, and Browns.
QB: Joe Burrow’s red zone completion percentage is down to 53.7% from 67.4% last season
Offense: The Bengals have averaged under 5.0 yards per play three times this season, two of which have come in the past two weeks.
Defense: Cincinnati blitzed 28.6% of the time on Sunday (their highest since Week 3), but created pressure on a season-low 13.6% of Philadelphia dropbacks.
Fantasy: With Tee Higgins sidelined, Mike Gesicki’s role reappeared. The tight end had twice as many targets on Sunday (eight) as he had in the month prior.
Betting: The Bengals are 0-4 ATS at home this season, failing to cover three of those games by double figures.
