Steelers vs. Browns Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 14

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 14 matchup between the Steelers and Browns.

Find a breakdown of every Week 14 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Quarterback

Jameis Winston: Monday night was the complete “Jameis experience.” 

He threw for a franchise-record 497 yards and four touchdowns on the road against a good Denver defense.

He also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns and another in the end zone. 

Winston has thrown the ball over 40 times in four of his five starts, except the game in the snow against Pittsburgh in Week 12.

Since Winston took over as the starter, the Browns have dropped back to pass on 68.4% of their plays, 3rd in the league.

They are 3% over their pass rate expectations over that span. 

Winston has also thrown for over 8 yards per pass attempt in four of his five starts to go with all of that passing volume. 

That has created a high-ceiling outcome for him, similar to how Joe Flacco operated to close last season with the Browns.

Winston has been a top-10 scorer in three of those starts, with three 20-point games for fantasy purposes. 

The Browns are road underdogs against the Pittsburgh team with strong defensive metrics. Objectively, we have to respect the spot, which has some downside.

Winston was 18-of-27 for 219 yards without a touchdown when these teams played two weeks ago.

The Steelers have not allowed a QB1 scoring week on the season and have faced Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Jayden Daniels since Week 10 as part of the sample, which includes Winston himself.

The Steelers are also expected to get Alex Highsmith back this week, who has missed the past four games.

Highsmith leads the team with a 15.5% pressure rate on his pass rush snaps.

Winston has completed 44.4% of passes under pressure (25th) with a 22.9% sack rate (21st) and a 3.7% interception rate (26th).

However, these teams have been playing higher-scoring games under both new quarterbacks, and they combined for 43 points (this total opened at 42.5 points) in inclement conditions.

The Browns are a good bet to throw the football a ton as a road dog, leaving Winston in play as a boom-or-bust QB2.

Russell Wilson: Wilson has not been as reckless or as volume-driven as Winston from a “real football” stance, but his fantasy results have been just as volatile.

Wilson has plenty of upside, finishing as a top-10 scorer in three of his six starts.

He also has three starts as QB17 or lower.

Wilson has thrown for over 9 yards per pass attempt in four of his six starts, ranking 2nd in the NFL in yards per pass attempt (8.7 Y/A) since taking over with 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Unlike Winston, the Steelers have had a 51.3% dropback rate since Wilson took over, which is 29th in the league.

They have thrown the ball 6% below expectations and 9% below expectations on first downs.

Wilson is in the same boom-or-bust fantasy area as Winston but does not have the same projected volume playing as a home favorite. 

Wilson’s matchup is just as boom-or-bust, however.

Cleveland has allowed passers a 61.6% completion rate (4th), but they give up huge gains when allowing completed passes.

The Browns allow a league-high 12.9 yards per completed pass with a 4.5% touchdown rate (20th).

Wilson was efficient when these teams played in Week 12, completing 21-of-28 passes (75%) for 270 yards (9.6 Y/A) with a touchdown in the snow, closing that week as QB17 (13.8 points).

Running Back

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