Fantasy football advice, Week 10: Who to start/sit for Browns vs. Bengals on Thursday Night Football

In seven of the eight NFL divisions, the worst team has a record of 3-5 or lower. The eighth division, the AFC North, has no such dregs; its worst team is at 5-4. Thursday night, two teams doing even better than that face off, with the first-place Cincinnati Bengals, at 5-2-1, take on the third-place Cleveland Browns, who are 5-3.

The Browns will be without tight end Jordan Cameron, who is ruled out with a concussion, for a second straight week. Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins will be a game-time decision as he deals with a thigh/knee injury, though he is expected to be on the field. Like the Browns with Cameron, the Bengals will likely be without running back Giovani Bernard for a second straight week, as he continues to deal with a hip injury. Tight end Jermaine Gresham was also on the week's injury report with a knee injury, but he's expected to be fine for the game.

Start 'em: The Browns' offense is just competent enough to give Billy Cundiff plenty of kicking chances; he has at least seven fantasy points in seven of eight games this season.

Start 'em?: Figuring out what is going on in the Cleveland running game is a fool's errand. Each of Terrance West, Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell has taken turns being the best, worst, middle and forgotten man in the rotation. Right now, for this week, it looks like West is an RB2, Tate is a low-end flex play and Crowell is an afterthought, but that could flip at any moment. ... Andrew Hawkins had played himself into reasonable WR2/flex consideration, but after a rough Week 9 game and an injury, he's back to being a big question mark. ... The Bengals' offense has been improving of late, so -- even though the Browns' defense has been improving as well -- the defense can't be more than a question mark.

Sit 'em: He hasn't done enough to get benched (yet?), but Brian Hoyer has been miles away from helpful in fantasy this season, averaging 13.5 fantasy points a game. He's a low-end QB2 at best. ... There aren't enough looks in the Browns' passing game to really count on Miles Austin, Travis Benjamin or Taylor Gabriel, even if Hawkins is a surprise scratch. ... Gary Barnidge and Jim Dray are the Browns' fill-ins at tight end with Jordan Cameron out, but neither is fantasy-relevant.

Start 'em: Even with Bernard likely out again, Jeremy Hill is exceptionally unlikely to repeat his monster Week 9 performance, but he still profiles as a high-end RB2 at worst. ... A.J. Green is back on the field, so he's back in all lineups; if you take out Week 2, when he was injured inside the first few minutes, he's put up double-digit fantasy points in every game he's played. After a midseason lull, the Bengals' defense has bounced back of late, and looks like a relevant unit again.

Start 'em?: Through eight games, Andy Dalton hasn't had a 20-point fantasy game yet; through eight last year, he had three. His upside is higher with Green back, but he's still very hard to rely on. ... Green's return takes Mohamed Sanu from a reasonable WR2 to a low-end flex play at best. ... Mike Nugent's performance has bounced up and down way too many times this year to be listed among the top kickers.

Start in every league: Billy Cundiff, Jeremy Hill, A.J. Green, Cincinnati defense
Start if you're desperate: Terrance West, Ben Tate, Isaiah Crowell, Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland defense, Andy Dalton, Mohamed Sanu, Mike Nugent
Bench: Brian Hoyer, Miles Austin, Travis Benjamin, Taylor Gabriel, Gary Barnidge, Jim Dray, Jermaine Gresham