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Fantasy Football Week 12: Which Steelers to start/sit

Cleveland presents a big challenge to the Steelers' offense, and considering the weather, it may be a week to avoid Pittsburgh players.

By Neal Coolong
Jared Wickerham
Start

Ben Roethlisberger - Sometimes you just have to ride the hot hand. Granted, Cleveland's defense is vastly superior to Detroit's in terms of the passing game, but with what looks on paper like another bleak Steelers running performance, Roethlisberger could be forced to take matters into his own hands.

Antonio Brown - You start the league's leading pass-catcher. A difficult match-up for him, but odds are excellent he'll receive another 10 targets today, and one slip by a Browns defender could lead to a big gain for Brown.

On the Fence

Le'Veon Bell - The running game isn't likely to produce much, but Bell is still the Steelers' primary guy at the goal line, and he'll get 20 touches, come hell or high water. That said, Cleveland's defense is stout enough against the run, Bell may factor only minimally in that phase, cutting down a lot of his yardage.

Jerricho Cotchery - Another red zone target, but a red zone target on a team that struggles in the red zone. Cotchery has been huge for the Steelers this year, and this might be the game teams start to focus a bit more on him, instead of the single coverage he's been getting all season.

Shaun Suisham - He kicks very well anywhere except Oakland, and against a tough Browns defense, he may be the biggest offensive threat the Steelers have. Then again, the weather is bad (cold, swirling winds) and the Steelers may not get close enough to use him in his ideal range.

Steelers defense - Jason Campbell was mauled by Cincinnati last weekend, and the Steelers are picking up more turnovers as the season grows older. Cleveland's offense has struggled to score points this year as well. It's a risky start but it's not a terrible play.

Don't Start

Emmanuel Sanders - It's tempting to bump him up to the fence, but an injury last week (he's probable to play) as well as a low catch-to-target ratio (42-of-76) makes him too great of a risk.

Heath Miller - We're most likely to get burned here, but Miller's hands haven't been the strongest all season, and teams still shadow him everywhere in the red zone.

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