Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 10
Fantasy

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 10

John Laghezza breaks down the AFC North clash between the Bengals and the Steelers for the Week 10 fantasy football slate.

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Elite primetime games for the win! Classic AFC North divisional rivalry between the Steelers and Bengals, two six-win teams tied for first place with 50 implied points on the board … Let’s go!

Bengals vs. Steelers Matchup Breakdown For Week 10 Fantasy Football

*Fantasy Football Rankings listed are Fantasy Life's half-PPR consensus ranks at the time of writing.

PIT_steelers-logo.svgPittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Preview For Week 10

A bye week interrupted Pittsburgh amidst a four-game win streak, so you know old man Aaron Rodgers is just champing at the bit to get back out there to face this Bengals secondary — they just let both Tyler Huntley and Cam Ward throw for +298 yards apiece. Curious to see if the Steelers return to the pass-heavy approach from earlier this season, or the 49% rush rate witnessed in two games before the break. Perhaps PIT perceived a matchup advantage in the trenches, something I’d likely grant them again versus this Cincinnati front seven, allowing some of the worst defensive run metrics on the board (0.05 EPA/attempt, 5.0 yards/carry, 3.61 yards after contact/rush, 11 +20-yard attempts, 11.4% explosive rush rate). I’m dialing down my Rodgers projections at a second glance.

Pittsburgh moves slowly; their 6.8-second average play clock at the snap’s the lowest in the NFL by some margin. So if we’re asserting a more run-heavy attack, that’s going to take critical dropbacks off the ledger. Strike one. DK Metcalf’s 8.0 targets/game helped keep him above water somewhat, but that doesn’t handwave the six separate finishes outside the top-36. Not 100% sure that’s necessarily strike three since Cincy can push anyone on offense — it’s just that this PIT offense could become one of the harder to predict on any given Sunday.

Jaylen Warren got a chance to show us exactly what he can do when awarded the lead role — and there’s no putting that black and yellow toothpaste back in the tube. Currently tied for RB7 in fantasy points/game (17.7), Warren’s pairing crazy rushing metrics (5.9 yards/carry, 4.14 yards after contact/rush, 0.10 EPA/attempt, 11.8% explosive rush rate) with 13.4% of all team targets. Additionally, when accounting for the new elevated rush rate mentioned earlier, there’s enough volume for Warren to average 16 points/game, even with Rico Dowdle back at full health. Expect PIT to try to control the flow of the game via the run … the best way to defend Joe Burrow is to keep him off the field in the first place.

  • Start: Jaylen Warren (RB12), DK Metcalf (WR20)
  • Sit: Aaron Rodgers (QB15)
  • Sleeper: Germie Bernard (WR27), Pat Freiermuth (TE15)

CIN_bengals-logo.svgCincinnati Bengals Fantasy Preview For Week 10

Spent so much time hammering home the point that Pittsburgh’s going to try and control the pace of play via the run because right now this Bengals’ offense is unconscious. Joe Burrow simply cannot be stopped. Check this out … he’s thrown more TDs in the last four games than 25 other starting QBs all season. Crazy. In fact, his most recent (271-3-0; 3-7-1) outing at Atlanta wasn’t only his fourth top-3 finish in five contests, but at 24.9 fantasy points/game, Joey B just eked out the GOAT Josh Allen for the top QB spot by a bit.

When my children ask what joy is, my reply's simple … starting a Bengals double stack every weekend in fantasy football. Obviously. Not only do we get access to the NFL’s top unit in terms of passing success rate (54.1%), but an ungodly amount of the offense flows through its top WR duo. The pair of alpha wideouts combine for +48% of targets, +58% of receiving, and an incredible +73% of air yards. Wow. Consequently, two monsters feasting to that extent essentially eliminate any other CIN pass catcher from fantasy relevance, unless, of course, you want to try and time a Mike Gesicki TD. Good luck with that, especially against a solid Steeler D.

Now the hard part. Well, not for me since I’m so stubborn and fully determined to go down with the Chase Brown ship. Where do we even begin describing this never-ending frustration? Brown commands 71.4% of backfield opportunities (10th among RBs) on one of the NFL’s premier offenses, yet ranks 21st in points/game. Somehow, we’re entering Week 10 without a single RB1 finish, and let’s just say the social media commentary hasn’t been kind. Narratives built around overly split-work miss some of the forest for the trees, if you ask me — Brown’s attempted triple the goal-to-go carries than backup Samaje Perine, as well as five times the goal-line rushes. He’s just not getting them into the paint … yet. Anything can happen, but I’m standing firm that anyone who sells off Chase Brown before their deadline will regret it big time.

  • Start: Joe Burrow (RB4), Chase Brown (RB14), Ja’Marr Chase (WR2), Tee Higgins (WR5)
  • Sit: Dohnte Meyers (WR60)
  • Sleeper: Mike Gesicki (TE17)

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