Tag: Chase Brown

5 Bengals players to watch in Week 11 vs. Chargers

Despite their under-.500 record, the Bengals are still littered with talent all over the field, particularly on offense.

It’s been a difficult season for the Cincinnati Bengals, who sit at 4-6 after another heartbreaking loss in Week 10. Don’t let the record fool you though, this is still a dangerous football team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

It may be the biggest challenge of the year for Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Another loss and the Bengals may lose any hope of sneaking into the postseason. Here are some players from the Bengals that the Chargers must keep an eye on this upcoming weekend:

WR Ja’Marr Chase

Let’s start with the best player on the field. Chase is one of the best wideouts in all of football, and he’s been exceptional in 2024. Heading into Week 11, he leads the NFL in catches (66), receiving yards (981), and receiving touchdowns (10). While the team’s record isn’t what they expected it to be, Chase has been nothing short of phenomenal.

TE Mike Gesicki

Gesicki has turned into an underrated signing for Cincinnati. In 10 contests, his 383 receiving yards ranks eighth amongst tight ends. With Tee Higgins out due to injury recently, Gesicki has turned into a nice secondary option in the passing game. The former Penn State product is second on the team in receiving yards behind Chase. He has 16 catches, 203 receiving yards, and two touchdowns over the last three games.

OT Orlando Brown

Brown signed a massive $64 million deal back in 2023, and it’s come with mixed results thus far. He’s been solid for the Bengals, but not quite worth that kind of money. The trenches will be a deciding factor in this weekend’s game, and that starts with Brown against the Chargers’ stellar pass rushers. Los Angeles tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks (31), so this will be a huge matchup to watch.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson continues to fly under the radar around the NFL. He’s been a monster this season, as he leads the league in sacks (11.0) and is a frontrunner for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Hendrickson has added in 28 total tackles, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble. The Chargers have two legitimate offensive tackles, but they will be put to the test against this front.

CB Mike Hilton

Hilton is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, and he’s proved that again in 2024. His matchup against Ladd McConkey will be a deciding factor in this AFC matchup. Hilton always plays a physical brand of football and is known for being an exceptional blitzer as well.

Key things to know about Chargers’ Week 11 opponent: Bengals

Here are some important things to know about the Bengals ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Chargers.

The Chargers are at home to face the Bengals in primetime on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5:20 p.m. PT.

To get you prepped for the Week 11 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

How things are going…

The Bengals are 4-6 on the season. Cincinnati has one-point losses to the Chiefs and Ravens.

Prolific passing attack

Jesse Minter will have his work cut out against Joe Burrow and company. The Bengals rank fourth in passing offense, averaging 254.8 yards per game. Burrow leads in the NFL with 2,672 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s only thrown four interceptions.

Brace for Chase

Burrow’s top target, Ja’Marr Chase, has been a terror to opposing defenses. Chase leads the league in receptions (66), receiving yards (981) and touchdowns (10).

Rough rushing offense

The Bengals have had success through the air, but the same can’t be said about their ground game. Cincinnati is 29th in rushing yards per game (89.7). Chase Brown is the team’s lead back. They acquired Khalil Herbert last week from the Bears after Zack Moss sustained a season-ending neck injury.

Dreadful defense

The Bengals have been able to score points, but they’ve struggled to prevent them, as they’ve allowed 26.2 PPG (26th). Cincinnati ranks 23rd and 17th in pass and rush defense, respectively. However, their issues have been in critical situations. The team ranks 31st in red zone percentage (71.88%) and 29th in third-down conversion percentage (45.80%).

Look out for…

Chase. This will be the biggest test for the Chargers’ cornerbacks this season. He’s capable of taking over a game with his big-play ability.

Bengals hosting veteran RB Leonard Fournette for a workout

The Cincinnati Bengals are hosting veteran running back Leonard Fournette for a workout, according to Tom Pelissero, as the team is still looking for more help in the backfield and could add the 29-year-old to the practice squad. The Bengals went …

The Cincinnati Bengals are hosting veteran running back Leonard Fournette for a workout, according to Tom Pelissero, as the team is still looking for more help in the backfield and could add the 29-year-old to the practice squad.

The Bengals went out at the trade deadline and added Khalil Herbert after Zack Moss was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury, but Fournette could soon be another option behind Chase Brown.

Fournette, a former No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft, has been in the league for seven seasons, but only played in two games last year with the Buffalo Bills, rushing for 40 yards on 12 attempts. With the Jaguars and Buccaneers for six seasons, Fournette played in 79 games and ran for 4,478 yards and 34 touchdowns while catching 312 passes for 2,219 yards and seven touchdowns through the air.

Without much depth at running back right now, the Bengals could be hoping that Fournette would provide some more at a position where they are 29th in the league in rushing yards with just 89.7 per game.

Steelers fans react to AFC North showdown in Week 10

In Week 10, the Ravens a staged comeback to beat the Bengals in Week 10, leaving Steelers fans disappointed with divisional implications.

In the AFC North, true classics never fade away—the rivalry games simply grow more dynamic. This was evident in the second meeting between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10 on Thursday Night Football.

Steelers fans, who may have been rooting for Cincinnati to help further Pittsburgh’s lead in the divisional race over the Ravens, were likely disappointed by what can only be described as a miraculous comeback by Baltimore.

With 13:21 remaining in the third quarter, Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to his WR1, Ja’Marr Chase, putting Cincinnati up 21-7. However, Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey forced Bengals RB Chase Brown to fumble the football with less than seven minutes left in the third quarter, setting the stage for a terrifying Baltimore comeback.

Four second-half Ravens touchdowns gave the team a 35-28 lead with less than two minutes remaining. A failed two-point conversion ultimately spelled the Bengals’ fate, securing a 35-34 Ravens victory in Week 10. While disappointing to say the least, here are some of the best Steelers fans’ reactions to this outstanding game.

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AFC North rival strengthens run game with RB trade at deadline

The Cincinnati Bengals have made a trade with the Chicago Bears to acquire RB Khalil Herbert in an attempt to solve their running game woes.

The trade deadline is finally here, and it appears the Cincinnati Bengals, AFC North rivals of Pittsburgh, couldn’t wait any longer for today’s festivities, as the team has made a trade with the Chicago Bears to acquire RB Khalil Herbert in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick, per insider Tom Pelissero.

The trade came just one day after Cincinnati’s Head Coach Zac Taylor announced that the team’s RB Zack Moss would be out indefinitely with a neck injury. This move boosts not only their run game but also the depth behind newly announced starting RB Chase Brown.

Considered by many to be dark horse candidates to challenge the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North divisional title race, the 4-5 Bengals have bolstered what was once one of their weakest areas on offense, creating a two-headed RB monster with the addition of Herbert.

Will Pittsburgh make a blockbuster trade at the deadline to keep up with the rest of the AFC, or will the team see the deadline as an opportunity to acquire solid depth?

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Former Bengals RB Joe Mixon keeps putting up huge games with new team

Former Bengals RB Joe Mixon is a great fit with his new squad.

Over the offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals made the decision to move on from running back Joe Mixon, who had been with the team for six seasons.

Mixon was traded to the Houston Texans, and outside of dealing with an injury for a few weeks, he has shown that he is still a great back in his age-28 season. In three games this year, he has 52 carries for 286 yards and two touchdowns.

Two of his three games have gone over 100 yards rushing, the only one that he didn’t being the game he was injured in by a hip-drop tackle, forcing him to sit out in the Texans next three games.

The Bengals haven’t been off to a great start, and whether Mixon being in the backfield would have had any effect on that can’t be determined, but the team is currently 26th in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 100.2 in six weeks.

The combination of Zack Moss and Chase Brown has been one that is improving as the offense as a whole starts to find its groove, but Mixon still seems to be the very talented runner that he was with Cincinnati for the past six years.

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Bengals player getting drink poured on him leads to NFLPA investigation

A Panthers fans who poured a drink on a Bengals player will be investigated.

The Cincinnati Bengals entered hostile territory and stole a win from Carolina Panthers fans in Week 4.

At least one Panthers fan, presumably, anyway, took their frustrations out on Bengals running back Chase Brown by appearing to dump a drink on his head while the second-year player went back to the locker room.

According to ESPN’s Ben Baby, the NFL Players Association will investigate the matter.

“We’ll see if we can identify the person and then we’ll go from there,” Michael Thomas, an NFLPA player director, told Baby. “But that should never happen to a player.”

Ted Karras, Cincinnati’s lead player representative with the NFLPA, said the video would be reviewed, too.

For his part, after scoring two touchdowns, Chase just laughed off the entire situation in the locker room:

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Carolina Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bengals game recap: Everything we know

The Panthers’ hopes for an actual winning streak were scratched on Sunday.

After a triumphant showing in Week 3, the Carolina Panthers fell a bit short of stringing together a winning streak on Sunday.

Here’s everything we know from the team’s Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals . . .

Final score: Bengals 34, Panthers 24

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Keys to the game

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
  • Poor tackling from the Panthers defense opened up quite a few big-play opportunities for the Bengals. The most lethal instance came around the midway point of the second quarter, when Cincinnati wideout Ja’Marr Chase bounced off multiple would-be tacklers en route to a 63-yard touchdown.
  • The suboptimal form also leaked onto the ground, where the Bengals rushed for 141 yards and two scores. Second-year running back Chase Brown led the way for Cincinnati with 80 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Carolina’s ability to establish the run on their end kept them alive. The Panthers grounded and pounded for 155 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts.

It was over when . . .

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Despite being down 31-14 with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Panthers made a ballgame out of it. Carolina chipped away with a 21-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver Diontae Johnson, and then a 48-yard field goal from kicker Eddy Piñeiro.

But the Bengals put the comeback on ice, forcing a three-and-out of the Panthers offense with under five minutes left in the game. Cincinnati then proceeded to bleed clock, giving way to a 46-yard field goal from Evan McPherson for a 34-24 lead at the 1:14 mark.

Players of the game

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
  • RB Chuba Hubbard: 18 carries, 104 yards, touchdown, four receptions, 17 receiving yards
  • WR Diontae Johnson: seven receptions, 83 yards, touchdown
  • S Xavier Woods: 10 tackles, interception

What’s next?

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Panthers (1-3) will travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (2-2) in Week 5.

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10 sleeper running backs for 2024 fantasy football season

Blake Corum headlines this list of fantasy football sleeper running backs for the 2024 NFL season.

Welcome back, football!

The 2024 NFL season will kick off on Thursday night, which also marks the start of the fantasy football season. To help you win your league, we’ve put together a list of 10 sleeper running backs to target in your fantasy football drafts.

Keep in mind that we’re using the term “sleeper” to mean a player we expect to outperform their average draft position this fall. That doesn’t mean these players are necessarily unknown, just drafted lower than they should be. That represents great value for managers who pick them at the right spot.

So, keep an eye on these ten sleeper running backs as they approach their ADP places in your fantasy football drafts this summer.

1. RB Alvin Kamara (ADP 46): He’s not the fantasy monster he once was, but Kamara could prove to be a big steal at RB17 after finishing as RB3 in PPR points per game (17.9) last year.

2. RB Javonte Williams (ADP 77): Getting a clear-cut starter at RB27 is a steal. Williams lost 11 pounds this offseason and coach Sean Payton has said he looks like “a completely different player.” Now another year removed from his 2022 knee injury, Williams is healthy and the clear RB1 in Denver.

3. RB Jonathon Brooks (APD 93): Understand that Brooks will miss at least the first four games of the season on the PUP list as he continues to recover from his ACL injury. He might not pay dividends until the second half of the season, but he would be the perfect use of an IR spot early in the season. Brooks is being drafted as RB34.

4. RB Jerome Ford (ADP 105): He will start at least the first four games of the season while Nick Chubb is on the PUP list. Chubb is recovering from a serious knee injury, but he’s being drafted as RB30 while Ford is going off the board as RB35. That should be flipped. Ford averaged 12.4 PPG last season, a serviceable number for RB3/flex, and depending on your roster, perhaps even an RB2. Getting him at RB35 should be a good value.

5. RB Chase Brown (ADP 104): Following the Joe Mixon departure, Brown might be the next man up in Cincinnati’s backfield. Zack Moss hurts his value, but a potential starter being drafted as RB37 is an intriguing option.

6. RB Trey Benson (ADP 113): If James Conner is ever sidelined, Benson will be the next man up. Conner has never played a full 16- or 17-game season and Arizona just used a third-round pick on Benson. He’s being drafted as RB39.

7. RB Blake Corum (ADP 111): Corum is arguably the most important sleeper and handcuff running back in fantasy football this year. He should have standalone value in L.A.’s offense and if Kyren Williams misses time like he did in each of his first two seasons, Corum’s stock will skyrocket. He’s currently being drafted as RB40.

8. RB J.K. Dobbins (ADP 120): Dobbins will likely be the lead running back for the Chargers this fall and if he stays healthy, Dobbins should easily finish higher than his RB41 ADP.

9. RB Tyler Allgeier (ADP 141): Similar to Corum, Allgeier already has standalone value, and if anything happens to Bijan Robinson, Allgeier’s stock will skyrocket. He’s a value at RB48 even as a rotational option.

10. RB Jaylen Wright (ADP 139): He’s currently behind De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert on the depth chart, but Wright’s speed should lead to him getting opportunities sooner than later. And once again, if there are injuries ahead of him, Wright’s stock will increase. He’s a flyer at RB48 with big upside.

For more fantasy football coverage, check out our fantasy football hub.

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Bengals breakout candidate Chase Brown rips huge TD run in training camp

Bengals breakout candidate Chase Brown with a huge play in the first practice.

It didn’t take long for Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown to turn some heads at training camp.

In fact, he did just that with a big touchdown near the end of the summer’s first practice.

With Joe Burrow notably lined up under center (again, expect to see more of that all season), Brown zipped through the line of scrimmage and hit the burners to outrun every defender on the way to the endzone.

This one is notable for Bengals fans looking at a new backfield next season with Joe Mixon gone. While the team added Zack Moss in free agency, Brown had an untimely injury derail what should’ve been a much higher snap count as a rookie last year.

If he’s doing this and healthy, Brown might just lead the whole backfield in touches next season.

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