Joe Burrow

In his first game back, Burrow finished as the QB11 for the week. The high-end moments were there as Burrow had an 8.7% hero throw rate, while he also had spots where the rust was evident. Burrow also had only a 56.5% highly accurate throw rate and a 67.4% catchable target rate. Burrow will round back into form with more snaps in the coming weeks. This week will be a good litmus test. The Bills' pass defense has been one of the best in the league for the last few weeks. Since Week 9, Buffalo has allowed the eighth-fewest yards per attempt, the second-lowest passer rating, the tenth-fewest passing touchdowns (tied), and the second-lowest CPOE. Burrow could still be a QB1 this week, but he'll need to raise the bar of his play-to-play consistency quickly.

The coldest QB in the league travels to Buffalo to embrace frozen temperatures. After a huge win against the Ravens, Burrow try to will try to will the Bengals to another huge win against the reigning MVP. Last time we saw Burrow in Buffalo was the 2022 divisional round win, where he passed for 242 yards and two scores, while rushing six times for 30 yards. That was a while ago, and this year the Bills have been the second-best defense against fantasy QBs. Averaging the fewest passing yards per game (177.3) and the second fewest passing touchdowns per game (1), it'll be a tough task for the king of the jungle. With Tee Higgins still in concussion protocol, his return is still up in the air. Hopefully, Burrow will have his full complement of weapons to keep the Bengals in the fight against Jos Allen and company.

Joe Burrow scored 19.2 fantasy points in his debut back from injury. He completed 24 of 46 pass attempts for 261 yards and two touchdowns in the Bengals' win on Thanksgiving night. Burrow completed just half his passes when given a clean pocket but went 7 for 12 for 83 yards and a touchdown when facing pressure. When taking more than 2.5 seconds to throw the ball, Burrow completed 16 of 27 for 203 yards and both his touchdowns (NGS).
Solid, no doubt...but not an earth-shattering performance you missed out on if you waited a week to play him. And he left production on the table, given his XFP output was 28.9 points. Have faith in starting him next week with no hesitation.