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The Week 5 matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys features two teams looking to continue their winning ways. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati’s Week 4 game against the Miami Dolphins was over at halftime. Wide receiver A.J. Green had a lot to do with that, finishing the evening with 10 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. The effort marked the second time this season that Green was able to catch at least 10 passes and collect at least 170 yards. He’s a beast. Repeating his success against Dallas in Week 5, however, will be a tougher challenge. The Cowboys rank sixth in the NFL against fantasy wide receivers this year. Still, Green gets a ton of targets in the Bengals’ passing game and he’s a top-flight receiver. He’s capable of posting up huge numbers no matter who the opponent is.
Perhaps running back Jeremy Hill will help take some of the pressure off Green. He’s out-touching Giovani Bernard 38-23 over the last two weeks. Those 38 touches have resulted in 168 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. That’s not bad at all. As good as Dallas is against the pass, it’s doing even better against the run. Only three teams in the NFL give up fewer points to running backs this season then the Cowboys. Hill’s getting No. 1 running back volume, but he will be hard-pressed to surpass his projections on the road in Week 5.
Dallas Cowboys
It’s too bad wide receiver Dez Bryant is on the sidelines with a fractured knee, because the Bengals aren’t the greatest when it comes to defending opposing fantasy receivers. The good news for Dallas is that rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott has arrived. He has 278 rushing yards in the last two weeks combined and he’s up against a Bengals defense that only ranks in the middle of the pack against the run. He is averaging 28.5 carries per game, which is plenty of touches. With a fantastic offensive line in front of him, it’s clear that Dallas is a run-first team for now. Elliott should be among the league’s top performers once again this week.
He should also get support from quarterback Dak Prescott and the passing game on Sunday despite the fact the team’s receiving corps is depleted. Prescott is not-so-quietly making the case for being the Cowboys’ starting quarterback even when Tony Romo returns from injury. From a fantasy perspective, he’s holding his own and garnering consideration as a starter in deeper leagues. In Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers, Prescott took care of the football, threw two touchdowns, and amassed 245 passing yards. He may not explode for 400 yards any given week the way some of the league’s elite passers do, but Prescott can scramble and find the open man. If he continues to progress against Cincinnati, Prescott will further instill confidence in the fantasy community.