After a nice Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, hopes were high for the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, and they completely fell apart. Interestingly (or not), the score of both games was 26-10, with Tennessee putting up one of each score over the two weeks. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals have looked strong in back-to-back wins opening the season.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 3: Titans vs. Bengals
Which Titans team is for real? And will the Bengals continue their unbeaten ways?
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Sunday, the two teams play in Cincinnati at 1 p.m. ET, and while there aren’t as many fantasy-relevant players in this game as there are in some others, there will be some names to watch:
Titans
Start in every league: Delanie Walker
Start if you're desperate: Kendall Wright, Defense/special teams
I was very skeptical of Walker entering the season, but he’s looked outstanding through two games. He’s a clear low-end starter among tight ends now.
Wright has been disappointing and inconsistent so far. He is still the team’s No. 1, and wouldn’t be a terrible flex play, but man, you want to see more. ... The Titans’ defense was really good in Week 1, but couldn’t get much going in Week 2. With the Cincinnati injuries, the defense might get to face a struggling offense Sunday.
If Locker couldn’t put up a huge game against Dallas, it’s hard to count on him to do it against a good Cincinnati defense. ... The Tennessee running game group of Greene, Sankey and McCluster is a fantasy black hole. ... Hunter has been the most-targeted Tennessee wide receiver so far, but he hasn’t caught many of them. He’ll either break out soon or they’ll stop trying. ... Succop might have a tough time getting opportunities if Tennessee can’t move the ball.
Bengals
Start in every league: Giovani Bernard, A.J. Green, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Andy Dalton, Mike Nugent
Bench: Jeremy Hill, Mohamed Sanu, Jermaine Gresham
All that preseason worry about Bernard seems pretty silly now, as he has 32 fantasy points through two games. ... When our rankings came out earlier this week, I didn’t even bother ranking Green, thinking he wouldn’t play, but at this point it looks like he will, and if he’s on the field, you have to use him. ... The Bengals’ defense has been fine so far, and doesn’t face a particularly potent offense Sunday.
Green’s rise to “probable” also brings Dalton from definite do-not-start status to reasonable QB2 levels. ... Nugent has already missed four field goals this season, which is fairly incredible, but he still ought to get a fair number of kicking opportunities.
Hill's stock definitely shot up after 96 total yards and a score in Week 2, but his usage went way up as the Bengals pulled away from the Falcons; in a closer game, they'd definitely stick with Bernard. You can't count on the Bengals winning that handily every week. ... Sanu was a reasonable low-end fantasy option when it looked like Green would be out; now that it looks like Green will play, that's all changed. ... Even with Tyler Eifert out, Gresham put up only two points last week. He's not really an option.
