The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Denver Broncos in Week 17. 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 17?
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 17?
Brown has reached 20 touches in three straight games and has an 88.2% catch rate in December. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase get the attention for the success of this offense, but Brown has been critical for this team to make its late-season run.
I’ve lowered expectations due to a matchup against the second-best red zone and yards-per-play defense in the league, but not to the point where there is a decision to be made. You made a great pick at the draft, and you’re reaping the rewards – don’t stop now!
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Chase Brown’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 17
As of Saturday, Brown is projected to score 17 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 19.9 rushing attempts for 81.5 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 1.6 receptions for 40.8 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Broncos' Defense
The Denver Broncos continue to lead the way in the season-long rankings, but their defense delivered one of its worst performances in the Thursday night collapse against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Denver's Defense+ grade of 69.6 (D+) was its second-worst in a game all season, trailing only the Week 9 debacle against the Baltimore Ravens. The pass defense was particularly rough, posting its second-worst success rate (37.8%) and EPA per dropback (-0.54) of the season, largely due to a rough second half.
Even with that rough outing, Denver still ranks first in defensive EPA per dropback, the most valuable area where a defense can excel. Last year's unit ranked 25th in the same category, which is the primary reason why this unit continues to lead the defensive rankings for the season.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head over to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Chase Brown’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 3:45 PM ET on Saturday, December 28. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. DAL)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at SF)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (at HOU)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at WAS)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (at MIN)
6) Jonathan Taylor | IND (at NYG)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. DEN)
8) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. ARI)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at CLE)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. CAR)
11) James Conner | ARI (at LAR)
12) James Cook | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Tyjae Spears | TEN (at JAX)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at BUF)
15) Joe Mixon | HOU (vs. BAL)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at CHI)
17) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. GB)
18) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. MIA)
19) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
20) D'Andre Swift | CHI (vs. SEA)
21) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at PHI)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. IND)
23) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. DET)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. LAC)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. CAR)
26) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at NE)
27) Alexander Mattison | LV (at NO)
28) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at PIT)
30) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at NE)
31) Tank Bigsby | JAX (vs. TEN)
32) Javonte Williams | DEN (at CIN)
33) Kendre Miller | NO (vs. LV)
34) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. KC)
35) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
36) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at NO)
37) Kareem Hunt | KC (at PIT)
38) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. IND)
39) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at WAS)
40) Audric Estimé | DEN (at CIN)
41) Ray Davis | BUF (vs. NYJ)
42) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at CLE)
43) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. LAC)
44) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. DAL)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (at SF)
46) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. ARI)
49) Roschon Johnson | CHI (vs. SEA)
50) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at BUF)
51) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. DET)
52) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (vs. ATL)
53) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at BUF)
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (at CIN)
55) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (vs. MIA)
56) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. LV)
57) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. KC)
58) Emanuel Wilson | GB (at MIN)
59) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (at LAR)
60) Chris Brooks | GB (at MIN)
61) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (vs. MIA)
62) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (vs. DET)
63) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at HOU)
64) Trey Benson | ARI (at LAR)
65) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at TB)
66) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. CAR)
67) Israel Abanikanda | SF (vs. DET)
68) Michael Carter | ARI (at LAR)
69) Samaje Perine | KC (at PIT)
70) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (at PHI)
71) Mike Boone | CAR (at TB)
72) Khalil Herbert | CIN (vs. DEN)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (vs. BAL)
74) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at CLE)
75) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. DET)
76) Trey Sermon | IND (at NYG)
77) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
78) Sione Vaki | DET (at SF)
79) Hunter Luepke | DAL (at PHI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (vs. BAL)
81) Alec Ingold | MIA (at CLE)
82) Tyler Goodson | IND (at NYG)
83) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at NE)
84) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at CHI)
85) Jordan Mims | NO (vs. LV)
86) Rasheen Ali | BAL (at HOU)
87) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. GB)
88) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. GB)
89) Michael Burton | DEN (at CIN)
90) Julius Chestnut | TEN (at JAX)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. IND)
92) Dylan Laube | LV (at NO)
93) Adam Prentice | NO (vs. LV)
94) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at HOU)
95) Carson Steele | KC (at PIT)
96) Keilan Robinson | JAX (vs. TEN)
97) Darrynton Evans | BUF (vs. NYJ)
98) Blake Watson | DEN (at CIN)
99) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at PIT)
Broncos at Bengals Trends and Insights
Denver Broncos
Team: Christmas Eve marks 100 days since a QB not named Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Justin Herbert defeated the Broncos.
Offense: In Weeks 8-13, Denver recorded 50.6% of its third downs, a rate that has plummeted to 36.7% over the past two weeks (11-of-30).
Defense: The Broncos have posted a sub-28% blitz rate six times this season – they’ve done in five of their past six games.
Fantasy: Marvin Mims has a catch of more than 35 yards in four of his past five games – if you’re swinging for the fences, a matchup with a bottom-10 defense in terms of completions and touchdown rate on balls thrown 10+ yards downfield is a decent place to look.
Betting: The Broncos have covered five of six games on extended rest since the beginning of last season. The only one of those games that came on the road was in Buffalo in Week 10 last season, a 24-22 outright win as a seven-point underdog.
Cincinnati Bengals
Team: The Bengals have a 3+ game win streak in December (or later) in four straight seasons.
QB: You know that Joe Burrow is the first ever with 250 passing yards and three passing TDs in seven straight – extend his numbers from those games for a full season, and he’s posting a 5,430-yard 58-TD season (for reference, 2007 Tom Brady’s 17-game pace: 5,106 yards and 53 TDs.
Offense: Cincinnati scored on “just” 36.4% of their drives over the weekend, their lowest rate since Week 8.
Defense: Cincinnati has allowed under 1.5 points per possession three times this season – two of which have come against the Browns.
Fantasy: Ja’Marr Chase is seeking a seventh straight game with 18+ PPR points. Since 2013, only twice (Cooper Kupp in 2021 and Davante Adams in 2020) has a receiver had a longer such streak in a single season.
Betting: The Bengals are one of two teams (Patriots) playing a home game on short rest against a team on an extended week. The ATS results for teams in such spots are pretty flat, but overs have cashed in seven of the past 10.