This week's nationally televised game that most football fans won't be able to watch has the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers. While this lacks any marquee value thanks to the Bengals' being led by QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and RB Cedric Benson, the game does offer fantasy players the option of starting their Steelers against one of the worst teams in the NFL.
A closer look, though, may cause some hesitation. The Bengals have been second only to the Steelers in RYA over their past three games. Despite that very impressive stat, I would be more focused on their 27th ranked PYA to inform the decision to start or sit RB Willie Parker. Assuming the Steelers passing game racks up yardage at will, I expect Parker to be able to accummulate enough yards to make him a good start.
As for the Bengals skills players, none need to be started if they weren't already. I can't imagine a QB situation so bad that Ryan Fitzpatrick is a legitimate possibility. If he was, then I'd fish in the free agent pool for a better match-up. Trent Edwards, Sage Rosenfels and Marc Bulger face much better match-ups.
As for RB Cedric Benson, he did receive a very impressive 29 touches in last week's tie with the Phialdelphia Eagles. Benson is a serious consideration tostart with that workload, as would be any RB. However, he managed just 79 totals yards. Isn't 2.7 yards per touch disqualifying?
| Team | RYA Rank | RYA | PYA Rank | PYA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 62.7 | 7 | 178.7 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 68 | 27 | 268.5 |