The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tough matchup ahead of them as they hit the road to take on the New England Patriots for their Week 9 matchup. Pittsburgh (2-5) is struggling this season, and a matchup with the Patriots doesn't look good for them. New England (6-2) hasn't looked quite as good as they have in recent seasons, but they're still among the best teams in the league.
Fantasy football start/sit advice Week 9: Patriots vs. Steelers
We take a look at who you should start and who you should sit in Week 9 when the New England Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Both teams have their fantasy options, and we’re going to give you some start and sit advice for both, starting with the home team:
Patriots
Start: Rob Gronkowski, Stevan Ridley
We're not going to talk about Tom Brady much. He's been disappointing this season, but if he's your quarterback, then you're probably going to start him. He might not have a big game this week, but he probably won't throw interceptions and should perform pretty decent.
Gronkowski is a strong, strong option this week. He came on strong last week and he looks good. He’ll be Brady’s top target and the Steelers won’t be able to do anything about it. Ridley should get the lion’s share of the carries against a bad Pittsburgh rush defense.
Deep Start: Julian Edelman
Pittsburgh’s pass defense is among the best in the NFL. They probably won’t be able to contain Gronkowski, as mentioned above, but Edelman and Amendola could certainly be stopped at this point.
The Steelers don’t have a great rush defense, but those carries will go to Ridley, as noted above. Amendola has to prove he can do something post-injury and actually stay healthy before he earns the confidence of fantasy owners.
Steelers
Start: Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown
The Patriots do not have a good rush defense by any means. In fact, it’s downright poor. Bell has played well this season and should continue that with a strong game against New England. Brown is an excellent wide receiver and is always a must-start at this point.
Deep Start: Ben Roethlisberger
Roethlisberger is probably your starting quarterback, just like Brady. You’re probably going to start him either way, but officially, he’s a deep start given New England’s stellar pass defense.
Sit: Jericho Cotchery, Heath Miller
New England’s pass defense isn’t going to let a whole lot through. Brown is a must-start, but neither of these players project to get much done in the passing game. They should both sit unless Miller is your top tight end option.
• Week 9 fantasy football rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
• Week 9 fantasy football waiver wire: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
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