Kansas City Chiefs - Fantasy News

Steelers vs. Chiefs Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

10/11/17

NFL

Kansas City Chiefs

Kareem Hunt

The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the most intriguing matchups in the NFL this week.

The Steelers have scuffled to start the season. Despite having top-notch offensive weapons, Pittsburgh has averaged just 19.8 points per game. However unimpressive their start to the season has been, the Steelers are still in first place in the AFC North and 2-0 against divisional opponents.

Meanwhile, Kansas City just keeps rolling, winning again in Week 5 to bring its record to 5-0. The Chief defense has been decidedly mediocre, but the offense and special teams have done just enough to put games out of reach.

We’ve identified several players to target and fade on Dober Play Cards for this matchup of potential playoff teams.

Pittsburgh Steelers Week 6 Projected Fantasy Points
Le’Veon Bell: 17.5 PFP
Antonio Brown: 17.0 PFP
Ben Roethlisberger: 13.5 PFP
Martavis Bryant: 8.5 PFP
Chris Boswell: 8.0 PFP
Jesse James: 7.0 PFP
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 7.0 PFP

Kansas City Chiefs Week 6 Projected Fantasy Points
Kareem Hunt: 21.0 PFP
Alex Smith: 20.5 PFP
Harrison Butker: 12.0 PFP
Travis Kelce: 12.0 PFP
Tyreek Hill: 11.0 PFP
Albert Wilson: 5.5 PFP
Charcandrick West: 5.5 PFP

Start 'Em: Ben Roethlisberger (13.5 PFP)

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that Roethlisberger has been a disaster so far in 2017. Though he has tremendous receivers, Big Ben is averaging just 258 yards per game and has thrown six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Coming off a disastrous five-interception home effort against the Jaguars, it’s certainly counter-intuitive to target him in Dober Fantasy games this week. But that is exactly what we are doing. Kansas City’s highly respected defense has been an absolute turnstile this year. The Chiefs do not have the speed in the secondary to keep up with Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, and we expect both of them to get loose for big plays in this matchup. Look for Roethlisberger to bounce back in this game.

Sit 'Em: Jesse James (7.0 PFP)

In his last 12 regular season games, James has eclipsed 7.0 Dober Fantasy Points just once. Unless he’s scoring touchdowns, he doesn’t provide much fantasy production, and The Outlaw hasn’t scored since Week 1 against the Browns. The Chiefs have some of the best linebackers in football and have yet to give up a touchdown to a tight end this season. With so many better options on offense, it’s unlikely that Pittsburgh decides to prominently feature the lumbering tight end. Fade James until his PFP regresses to a more reasonable number.

Start 'Em: Kareem Hunt (21.0 PFP)

You don’t need us to tell you that Hunt has been one of the best players in fantasy football through five games. While he has cooled off after a blistering start to the season, this is a mouth-watering matchup for the rookie. This Pittsburgh defense is about as far as you can get from the Iron Curtain of years gone by. The Steelers have given up 683 rushing yards, which is the fifth-most in the league. They’ve also allowed six touchdowns on the ground, including two to Leonard Fournette in Week 5. Andy Reid would love nothing more than to give the ball to Hunt 30-something times and watch him rack up 150-plus yards from scrimmage with a touchdown or two.

Sit 'Em: Tyreek Hill (11.0 PFP)

Five games into the season, Hill is exactly who we thought he was. He has the game-breaking agility and speed to take any play to the house. However, he struggles to get open on short and intermediate routes, and he doesn’t really profile as a No. 1 receiver. This will be a tough matchup for him, as Pittsburgh has given up just three passing touchdowns in 2017. With Chris Conley out for the season and Travis Kelce potentially out with a concussion, the Steelers secondary will be blanketing Hill no matter where he lines up in the formation. We wouldn’t bet on Hill getting into the end zone this week.