Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 15: Bengals vs. Steelers
After years of looking up at the Steelers in the division, the Bengals gett o look the other way for once this year.
The Cincinnati Bengals have been a different team on the road than they have been at home in 2013. A team that is 6-0 at home is only 3-4 on the road, though that combined 9-4 record still has them firmly atop the AFC North. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been perennial division contenders, have slipped to also-ran status this year, coming into Sunday with a 5-8 record. The teams play their second matchup of the year Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh. Here's a look at the fantasy players to worry about in the game:
Bengals
Start in every league: A.J. Green, Defense/special teams
Start if you're desperate: Andy Dalton, Giovani Bernard, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
Bench: Marvin Jones, Tyler Eifert, Jermaine Gresham, Mike Nugent
After five straight hundred-yard games in Weeks 6-10, Green hasn’t topped 83 since, though his overall performance has generally been fine thanks to his touchdown-scoring ability. He’s still clearly a top-five wide receiver. ... Despite all the injuries in Cincinnati, the Bengals’ defense has stayed near the top of the fantasy leaderboard. No reason to expect that to change now.
Yeah, Dalton has a 30-point day last Sunday, and he had three straight of 24 of more earlier. Around those games, he’s been pretty pedestrian, and that might be an optimistic term. He’s too much of a gamble. ... Bernard has put up a low of one, a high of 21 on the season. In the fantasy playoffs, you want reliability, and he’s not that. If you have to use him as a flex, it’s not the end of the world, but you don’t want him as the cornerstone of your office. ... Anyone starting Green-Ellis is basically just hoping for a touchdown, and that’s never a fun thing to need to have.
Jones finally offered another big game Sunday, but overall he’s been very disappointing since his four-score game in Week 8. Stay away. .... If you can start “Bengals’ tight end” in fantasy, the Eifert/Gresham combination might be okay, but individually, they just don’t do enough. ... Nugent has yet to have a game of more than two field goals all season.
Steelers
Start in every league: Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown
Start if you're desperate: Shaun Suisham
Bench: Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, Heath Miller, Defense/special teams
No one really saw this sort of season coming from Roethlisberger, but the quarterback hasn’t fallen below double-digits since Week 1, and he’s averaged 22.25 point in his last four. He’s made himself a no-question start in all leagues. ... Bell has made himself a no-doubt RB2, with RB1 upside, and you can’t go away from a guy like that, even in a tough matchup. ... Speaking of guys making themselves into more, Brown has gone from a fourth- or fifth-round fantasy draft pick to the fourth- or fifth-best wide receiver overall. He’s averaged 14.7 points in his last six, and has been stellar all year.
Suisham has gone in fits and starts this year: three points per game in Weeks 1-2; 12.5 in Weeks 3-7; five in Weeks 8-9; 11.3 in Weeks 10-12; three in Weeks 13-14. Which one are you getting?
On a three-game scoring streak, Sanders has topped 10 fantasy points in all three. Still, he’s touchdown-reliant, and hasn’t topped 65 receiving yards since Week 9. He’s not worth the risk. ... Take out Cotchery’s enormous Week 9 game, and he’s been very mediocre on the year. ... Miller has been looking up at mediocrity longingly; he still hasn’t topped eight fantasy points in any game this year. ... The Steelers’ defense has had its moments, but the bad ones have been far more common.
• Week 15 fantasy football position rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
