Bengals vs. Ravens Picks, Lineup Tips for Daily Fantasy DraftKings for TNF

Even casual NFL fans should be interested in Thursday night's Week 11 opener between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. Both teams made the postseason in 2022 and are in the playoff hunt this year.

The Bengals and Ravens also happen to be AFC North rivals and have traditionally played some heated and very entertaining contests. Baltimore won the first meeting of 2023 in Cincinnati 27-24.

Of course, it never really hurts to make a game a little more interesting, and daily fantasy sports (DFS) games exist for that very reason.

Let's dive into the matchups and some DFS tips for Round 2 of Bengals-Ravens.

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Unlike last Thursday's game between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, this one has no shortage of enticing DFS options. Quarterbacks Joe Burrow ($6.8K) and Lamar Jackson ($7.9K) are two of the more reliable (and pricey) DFS options available for week-long games.

Of the two, Jackson is probably the safer play. Burrow is back to 100 percent following his early-season calf injury, but Baltimore has allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Jackson also provides rushing upside, and the Bengals will be without pass-rusher Sam Hubbard (ankle).

Both defenses have been fairly susceptible to the run this season, with Baltimore allowing an average of 4.1 yards per carry and Cincinnati allowing 5.0 yards per rush.

However, while Baltimore's backfield has the easier matchup, Bengals running back Joe Mixon ($6.1K) is the smarter play.

Mixon tends to handle the majority of Cincinnati's backfield work, and he provides a solid amount of point-per-reception (PPR) upside. The Ravens use a committee approach, and it's hard to know if Gus Edwards ($5.9K), Justice Hill ($4.1K), Keaton Mitchell ($4.8K) or Jackson will wind up as the leading rusher.

Mark Andrews is the clear top play at tight end, even with a hefty $6,700 price point. Irv Smith Jr. ($2.7K) has had unreliable production for Cincinnati, and the Bengals have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.

In Thursday-only DFS games, Mixon and Edwards will probably fill the RB slots in a lot of lineups. However, Ravens rookie running back is a solid budget flex play, even in week-long games.

With a price point of $4,800, Mitchell isn't that expensive, and his breakaway speed gives him a tremendous amount of upside.

The rookie logged his first carry against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 and finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries. He wasn't as productive against the Cleveland Browns last week, but he still tallied 66 scrimmage yards and a score on three carries and one reception.

Given Cincinnati's lackluster run defense, it's not hard to envision Mitchell breaking a big gainer or two on Thursday night. There's some risk-reward with this play, but don't be shocked if Mitchell sees his largest workload of the season against Cincinnati.

"Looking back on it, would we have wanted him out there more? Yes," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Mitchell's light Week 10 workload, per NFL.com's Ryan Mink and Clifton Brown. "I think that'll factor into this gameplan."

Given their price points, it might be hard to justify playing both Ja'Marr Chase ($6.7K) and Tyler Boyd ($5.0) in week-long DFS games. However, it's a solid stack to consider and a strong one for Thursday-only games.

Yes, the Ravens have been terrific at limiting opposing quarterbacks and receivers—they've allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wideouts—but they may also be without starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey (calf).

The Bengals, meanwhile, won't have wide receiver Tee Higgins because of the calf injury he suffered in practice last week. This means that Cincinnati's passing attack will largely flow through Chase and Boyd, who combined for 13 catches, 241 yards and two touchdowns against the Houston Texans last week.

Chase has topped 100 yards in three of the past five games, and Boyd has topped 50 in each of the last two. While their yardage totals weren't impressive in the first meeting with Baltimore—Burrow was at far less than 100 percent then—they did combine for 11 receptions.

The Ravens can't really afford to double-cover both receivers, and as a tandem, Chase and Boyd should be highly productive for fantasy managers.

*Fantasy scoring information from FantasyPros.

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