Who Should I Start? Joe Burrow or J.J. McCarthy

Friday, October 9, 12:48 PM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will take on the Miami Dolphins with a hobbled offense in Week 5. Burrow passed for 428 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions in the 17-22 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase left early in that contest with a concussion, and fellow wideout Tee Higgins also left with a groin injury. Burrow will now head into Miami with his two top pass catchers questionable to play. Despite potentially having a diminished receiving corps, the Bengals QB should be in line for a productive game due to the matchup. The Dolphins defense is among the worst in the league, so the Bengals offense should have no issues scoring against them. The only thing that fantasy managers will need to worry about is whether Burrow and the Bengals will need to continue throwing later into the game. The Bengals are heavy road favorites despite the injuries they're dealing with, which is a testament to the weakness of the Miami offense and the improvement of the Cincinnati defense. If the Bengals run out to an early lead, Burrow may be content with handing the ball off to Chase Brown over and over. Burrow is ranked QB5 in our RotoBaller Week 5 rankings, making him a strong QB1 option in a soft matchup. Fantasy managers should still start Burrow without his top weapons, but his ceiling may be lower than usual this week.