Fantasy Football Week 13 Start Decisions Involving Ravens and Bengals: Joe Burrow, Mark Andrews, Andrei Iosivas and More

We have one final Thanksgiving game to go over for you. Let's look at the top fantasy football options from the Ravens and Bengals.

We already looked over fantasy options from the Lions and Packers game, plus the Chiefs and Cowboys clash.

Having trouble deciding who to start? Let the FantasySP start/sit tool help you make a decision.

Quarterbacks

This will be a fun quarterback matchup, as Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson will square off.

Burrow hasn't played since week 2, but is expected to play. If he cannot go, it'll be Joe Flacco getting another start. Burrow has practiced more than Flacco this week. Jackson was on the injury report early this week, but practiced in full on Tuesday and will be good to go for Thursday.

It'll be a great fantasy matchup for Jackson, as the Bengals allow 20 fantasy points per game so far. Baltimore allows 17 fantasy points per game, which is a pretty average mark overall.

I have Jackson ranked fourth among quarterbacks for week 13. Burrow is the No. 8 QB in my eyes. Both are good standard league options, but Jackson is more trustworthy as he's not coming off a long layoff.

Running Backs

Derrick Henry powers the Baltimore backfield, while Chase Brown leads the Bengals. Keaton Mitchell has been getting the backup work for the Ravens, with no clear backup in Cincy, but it is likely to be Samaje Perine if he's cleared from his injury.

The Baltimore backs have the best fantasy matchup possible, as Cincinnati allows fantasy backs to score 32 points per game. The Ravens are still an above-average test for the Cincinnati backs, with Baltimore giving up 23 points per contest.

In the super favorable matchup, I have Henry way up at No. 6 for week 13 - that's about as high as he's ranked since the first couple weeks. I have Brown ranked 16th, although I think he's capable of finishing higher than that, especially if he can find the end zone.

Henry and Brown are both good starting options in all fantasy leagues. Mitchell and Perine are just deep-league options, but with no teams on byes, there's probably better options available in most setups.

Wide Receivers

Cincinnati will be without Tee Higgins, but does get Ja'Marr Chase back after his one-game suspension. Rashod Bateman is the only wideout on the injury report for Baltimore, but isn't that big of a fantasy threat this season.

Chase will power the Bengals' passing game, with help from No. 2 wideout Andrei Iosivas. Without Chase last week, and Higgins going down, Mitchell Tinsley also played a good amount of snaps - and ended up scoring a touchdown. Tinsley is the best guess for who will be WR3 for Cincy.

Zay Flowers has been the top Baltimore wide receiver all season. Bateman, DeAndre Hopkins, Tylan Wallace and Devontez Walker have helped out here and there.

The Cincinnati players finally have the better fantasy matchup here, as Baltimore allows opposing fantasy wide receivers to score 35 fantasy points per game. Cincinnati allows just 29 fantasy points per game, which is a below-average matchup.

Chase is easily the top fantasy wideout in this contest, and Flowers is another good option. I have Chase ranked third among wideouts for week 13, and Flowers checks in 17th. That means both are good starting options in all leagues.

After those two, I'd want to take Iosivas. He's closer to being a standard league option than you might think, especially with Burrow back there. I like starting Iosivas in deeper leagues, with that pretty favorable matchup in mind.

If Bateman can play, I'd take him next, but he's not even a starter in all deeper leagues. Hopkins could take his place if Bateman is out.

If Bateman plays, I'd then rank Tinsley before Hopkins, Wallace and Walker. Tinsley should only be started in really deep leagues, and the same goes for Hopkins. Wallace and Walker are guys I'd avoid in all setups, if I could.

Tight Ends

Mark Andrews is the top tight end for Baltimore still. Isaiah Likely also helps out here and there.

Cincinnati plays several tight ends. Last week, Drew Sample (34), Mike Gesicki (28), Noah Fant (18) and Tanner Hudson (14) led the way in snaps.

Andrews is the best fantasy tight end in the game, and it's not all that close. Add in a stellar matchup and you have a great fantasy starting option in Andrews.

Cincy allows a whopping 23 fantasy points per game to tight ends, and that's the most in the league, by a wide margin. Baltimore allows just 11 points per game, which is one of the tougher tests in the league.

I have Andrews as the No. 6 fantasy TE because of his stellar matchup. No Cincinnati tight ends made my top-25 list.

Likely is involved enough for some deep-league usage, but those need to be pretty deep leagues. Maybe he will surprise in the really favorable matchup. 

As for which Bengal tight end to trust, last week it was Gesicki who was the best fantasy asset, so he's my top guy for week 13. I'd only consider him in deeper leagues, and try to avoid him in the tougher matchup.

Sample, Fant and Hudson are three more tight ends you can avoid in week 13. Even with Higgins out, it's hard to see any of them doing too much with Chase and Iosivas leading the way, and Brown helping out from the backfield.

Defenses/Special Teams

The Ravens DST has improved over the course of the season, and is projected for six fantasy points in week 13. The Bengals DST has been terrible all year, and is set for only four points this coming week.

Baltimore's DST is starting in 71% of leagues, which seems like too high of a number. This is still a good Bengals' offense, especially with Burrow back there. Cincy is capable of going off at any time, so I'd check out my other options before starting Baltimore this week.

Cincinnati is a DST to avoid way more times than not. Baltimore's offense hasn't been anything special of late, but I'm not betting on the Bengals' defense slowing anyone at this point. Look elsewhere for fantasy DST help.

Kickers

Tyler Loop does the kicking for the Ravens, while Evan McPherson boots it for the Bengals. Loop is projected for nine fantasy points, while McPherson sits at just seven projected points.

Loop is starting in 80% of leagues, while McPherson is at 17% started. I too like Loop more, but McPherson deserves more love now that Burrow is back.

In a game with an over/under of 52 points, I wouldn't mind starting either kicker for week 13.

Trending Start Decisions

There's a few trending decisions on the FantasySP tool right now, so let's go over those before wrapping things up. 

Burrow is pitted against Jaxson Dart, with fantasy owners starting Burrow over the rookie. The projections like Dart for now, but that could change when Burrow is cleared to play. I like Burrow more this week, with him ranking eighth and Dart at No. 16.

Iosivas is in a trending decision with Stefon Diggs, which is probably a closer matchup than you think. Diggs is starting over him every time, with both guys starting 22% of the time. The projections have Diggs over Iosivas easily. I have Diggs ranked 23rd for this week, so I have him bouncing back. Iosivas is outside my top 30, but he's still a flex-level option this week, so don't dismiss him.

Jackson is in a trending decision with Drake Maye, with fantasy owners liking Maye ever so slightly. The projections favor Jackson barely, and so do I, with Jackson ranked fourth and Maye fifth.

Jackson is preferred over Matthew Stafford in another trending decision. The projections again like Jackson, but this time by a lot. I have Stafford ranked seventh, so while he's close to Jackson, I prefer the Baltimore QB this week.

Andrews is up against Juwan Johnson in one trending decision, and Kyle Pitts Sr. in another.

Andrews is preferred over Johnson, with both starting in 29% of leagues. The projections like Andrews by a point, and I like him more too. I have Andrews sixth and Johnson ranked 11th.

Andrews is even more liked over Pitts, with fantasy owners starting both in just 4% of leagues. The projections like Andrews again, and with Pitts ranked 13th, I clearly like Andrews more too.