Houston Texans - Fantasy News

Steelers vs. Texans Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Adam Markowitz

12/22/17

NFL

Houston Texans

DeAndre Hopkins

Houston Texans fans don't really have a lot to celebrate on Christmas. Their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16 was supposed to have massive playoff implications. Instead, the Texans are playing for pride while the Steelers are merely trying to hold off the Jaguars for the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

The Steelers are generally predictable with Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell stealing all of the headlines. But with Brown nursing an ankle injury and out for the rest of the regular season, opportunities could arise for Dober Fantasy players on Christmas Day.

Pittsburgh Steelers Week 16 Projected Fantasy Points
Le'Veon Bell: 21.5 PFP
Ben Roethlisberger: 17.5 PFP
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 11.0 PFP
Chris Boswell: 10.0 PFP
Martavis Bryant: 8.5 PFP
Jesse James: 6.5 PFP

Houston Texans Week 16 Projected Fantasy Points
DeAndre Hopkins: 16.5 PFP
T.J. Yates: 11.5 PFP
Lamar Miller: 11.0 PFP
Will Fuller: 9.5 PFP
Ka'imi Fairbairn: 6.5 PFP
Andre Ellington: 5.5 PFP
Stephen Anderson: 5.0 PFP

Start 'Em: Jesse James (6.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 5.34

If the Steelers don't end up getting to the Super Bowl, James is going to be remembered as the goat of the season for his drop in the end zone against the Patriots.

Still, James is a great play for Dober Play Cards this week. With Brown out, all those targets have to go somewhere. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant are the logical options, but James had five targets last week from Ben Roethlisberger. No one else on the team had more than six.

We also wouldn't be shocked to see Big Ben target James at least once or twice in the red zone to try to atone for last week's drop.

Sit 'Em: Le'Veon Bell (21.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 20.51

If the Jaguars lose and the Patriots win on Christmas Eve, the Steelers basically have nothing left to play for the rest of the year. They'll still need one more win to lock up a first-round bye, but at some point, they need to give Bell a little bit of rest for the playoff push.

With James Conner out for the season, Fitzgerald Touissant is the only other back in the backfield of any note.

Bell is going to need to score at least one touchdown to get to this Projected Fantasy Points total, and even that might not be enough. This is just far too much of an ask for Bell in a game that might not end up meaning all that much.

Start 'Em: DeAndre Hopkins (16.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 18.09

We're not a big fan of asking wide receivers to tally more than 16.5 Dober Fantasy Points, but T.J. Yates only seems to have eyes for Hopkins. Of his 31 pass attempts, Yates targeted "Nuk" 13 times last week against Jacksonville.

The Texans don't figure to put up much of a fight in this game, and that's going to cause Yates to put the ball in the air a ton. If Yates is going to target Hopkins with almost half of his throws again, he could get to this Projected Fantasy Points total even without finding the end zone.

Sit 'Em: Lamar Miller (11.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 11.77

Miller is dealing with a knee injury. He isn't on the injury report, but the fact that he's playing hurt at the end of the season in a game that means nothing to the team isn't encouraging.

In fact, in last week's blowout loss to Jacksonville, Alfred Blue had more touches than Miller.

The likelihood that the Texans get beaten by 38 points for a second straight week is slim, but Miller is still going to split this backfield with Blue. He's going to need to score a touchdown to beat his Projected Fantasy Points total in all likelihood, and he hasn't done so in three straight games.