The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 3 matchup between the Patriots and Steelers.
Find a breakdown of every Week 3 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Pittsburgh | Rank | @ | New England | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.5 | Spread | 1.5 | ||
| 23.0 | Implied Total | 21.5 | ||
| 25.5 | 8 | Points/Gm | 23.0 | 14 |
| 31.5 | 29 | Points All./Gm | 23.5 | 19 |
| 56.5 | 25 | Plays/Gm | 61.5 | 16 |
| 63.0 | 20 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 57.0 | 9 |
| 4.8 | 25 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 14 |
| 6.3 | 29 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.6 | 31 |
| 36.28% | 25 | Rush% | 38.21% | 23 |
| 63.72% | 8 | Pass% | 61.79% | 10 |
| 53.97% | 31 | Opp. Rush % | 34.21% | 5 |
| 46.03% | 2 | Opp. Pass % | 65.79% | 28 |
- Pittsburgh has allowed a league-high 22 plays of 15 or more yards through two weeks.
- New England has allowed a league-high 13 plays of 20 or more yards through two weeks.
- 84.3% of the yardage allowed by New England has been via passing, the highest rate in the league.
- The Steelers have a 50.4% success rate on defense, ahead of only the Dolphins (50%).
- Pittsburgh is averaging 3.9 plays per first down, 29th in the league.
- Pittsburgh has allowed a first down every 2.9 plays on defense, 31st in the league.
Trust = spike production for that player
Quarterback
Drake Maye: Maye bounced back last week, closing as the QB4 (26.3 points).
He connected on 19 of 23 passes (82.6%) for 230 yards (10.0 Y/A) with 2 touchdowns passing.
Maye took advantage of a Miami defense we are targeting early on, but New England incorporated a few things in Week 2 that stand out beyond the matchup that we would love to see moving forward.
After a 28.3% motion rate in Week 1 (30th), the Patriots used motion on 56.7% of Maye’s dropbacks in Week 2.
With pre-snap movement, Maye has completed 22 of 27 passes (81.5%) for 10.4 yards per attempt and 2 touchdowns over both games.
Without it, he is 27 of 42 (64.3%) for 5.6 Y/A with a touchdown and an interception.
Even factoring in Miami’s defense, Maye only threw for 6.1 Y/A on 13 dropbacks without motion compared to 12.5 Y/A on his dropbacks using it.
The Patriots also used Maye’s legs more in Week 2.
He rushed 10 times for 31 yards and a touchdown.
I prefer to use Maye as an upside QB2 since New England has had one well-coached game against what we believe is a bad defense and one lackluster game against another soft defense.
That said, if you have been trotting out Maye in 1QB leagues, this is not a spot that appears as daunting as assumed entering the year.
Pittsburgh has been shredded for 9.9 yards per pass attempt by Justin Fields and 8.9 yards per attempt by Sam Darnold.
Each of those passers has looked drastically worse in their other games when not facing this defense.
Pittsburgh has been bludgeoned on the defensive side of the ball.
They came into last week missing Joey Porter Jr, DeShon Elliott, and Derrick Harmon.
They left with Alex Highsmith and Isaiahh Loudermilk suffering high ankle sprains.
Aaron Rodgers: This passing offense was more on par with offseason expectations in Week 2.
After Rodgers ended Week 1 as the QB7 (25.7 points), he finished Week 2 as the QB26 (10.4 points).
After completing 73.3% of his passes for 8.1 Y/A and 4 touchdowns in the opener, Rodgers completed 54.5% of his passes for 6.2 Y/A with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions on Sunday.
The truth of this offense is somewhere in between the two results.
Week 1 came against a Jets defense that looked more than suspect to start the season, while we respected Seattle’s defense as potentially one of the best entering the season.
This week, Rodgers and this passing game get another good-looking spot to chase.
New England has allowed strong QB2 outings to both Geno Smith (17.5 points) and Tua Tagovailoa (18.6 points), who each have struggled in their non-Patriot matchups.
The Patriots have allowed a league-high 10.3 yards per pass attempt, a league-high 12.2 yards per completion, and a 75.8% completion rate (30th).
Running Back
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More Week 3 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Dolphins @ Bills | Thursday Night Football |
| Packers @ Browns | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bengals @ Vikings | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Eagles | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jets @ Bucs | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Commanders | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Falcons @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Jaguars | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ Bears | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ 49ers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ Giants | Sunday Night Football |
| Lions @ Ravens | Monday Night Football |
