Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE
Welcome to Thursday Night Football, Week 6 of the NFL. In what should prove to be the week’s most boring game, the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to the Tennessee Titans‘ ”field of horrors.”
Tennessee, to put it bluntly, is terrible. The Titans barely deserve to be playing in a nationally televised game. I’m sure when this game was set up, this isn’t the matchup they had in mind. The offense has been one of the worst in the NFL and Chris Johnson is one of the biggest fantasy busts this year. Tennessee’s defense is also currently ranked 25th & 28th in passing and rushing yards allowed, respectively.
They are, on average, allowing opponents 36.8 points per game. To put that in laymen’s terms, there are lingerie league teams that could score on them. They have amassed an abysmal 1-4 record and look to be on track to set the league record for most points given up by a defense ever!
On the other side of the field, you have the Steelers coming in with a record of 2-2 and fresh off of the return of Rashard Mendenhall. They look energized as a unit and will roll tonight in Nashville. (Insert country music joke here) Pittsburgh again will be a serious contender for the AFC and will look to overcome some early pitfalls by cementing a statement victory tonight.
Couple those things together (a struggling team vs. a perennial powerhouse) and we have the makings of what should be a blowout in Music City.
So what does this mean to you, the fantasy player? It means if you have a Steeler, you start them.Period. I look for Ben Roethlisberger to have a great game alongside Mendenhall, Heath Miller, Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace.
Tennessee, on the other hand should be lethargic as usual. There isn’t a single player from the Titan side I would start. Chris Johnson** will finally score a touchdown this week but won’t do much else.
Here is how I see it breaking down:
Pittsburgh
Roethlisberger: 24-31, 310 yds, 3 TDs, 0 ints – 24pts
Mendenhall: 23 carries for 90 yards, 3 receptions for 30 yards and a combined 2 TDs – 24pts
Miller: 6 receptions for 70 yards and 1 TD – 13pts
Brown: 9 receptions for 90 yards – 9 pts
Wallace: 9 receptions for 100 yards and 1 TD – 16 pts
Tennessee
Nobody should be listed here, but Johnson: 17 attempts for 60 yards and 1 Td plus 4 receptions for 20 yards – 14pts**
Final Score: 41-10, Pittsburgh
** Full disclosure: I have Johnson in a couple of leagues (I know, I know. But I am starting him at flex and hoping this helps…)
