Bengals D/ST fantasy outlook: Start or sit in the Wild Card round?

The Cincinnati Bengals will enter Saturday’s games as the second most expensive defense and special teams unit from a fantasy football perspective of the teams playing in the first day of the Wild Card round. If you’re considering adding them to your roster, here’s a look at what to expect from the Bengals.

Fantasy Football analysis: Bengals D/ST ($2,900)

Cincinnati ranks No. 18 defensively in yards per game allowed, and they will go up against a Las Vegas Raiders offense that checks in at No. 11 in that category. The Bengals will return a number of their defensive players that were held out of a meaningless Week 18 matchup last weekend, and many of them were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Cincinnati should be fresh heading into this game with so many players resting two weeks between games.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

The Bengals are worthy of being selected to your roster on Saturday especially because of their ability to stop the run as they rank No. 5 in opponent rushing yards per game. If they can limit Josh Jacobs, it will be up to Derek Carr to lead the Raiders. Cincinnati has struggled to defend the pass, but they definitely have value considering the Raiders fought for their playoff lives last weekend while Cincinnati rested for the playoffs.