Dolphins vs Steelers Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 8

The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 8 Miami Dolphins vs Pittsburgh Steelers Monday Night Football game on October 28, 2019 at 8:15 pm ET.

Miami	Rank	@	Pittsburgh	Rank
14.5		Spread	-14.5
14.25		Implied Total	28.75
10.5	31	Points/Gm	20.5	21
35.2	32	Points All./Gm	21.8	14
59.7	28	Plays/Gm	54.3	32
63.2	15	Opp. Plays/Gm	68	28
33.5%	30	Rush%	40.2%	19
66.5%	3	Pass%	59.8%	14
53.8%	32	Opp. Rush %	42.9%	22
46.2%	1	Opp. Pass %	57.1%	11

The Steelers have won eight consecutive Monday Night Football games, the longest streak in the league.
Pittsburgh leads the league in sack differential (+15) against their opponents.
The Dolphins rank 31st in sack differential (-17) against their opponents.
The Steelers have forced a turnover on 22.7% of their opponent’s possessions, the highest rate in the league.
Miami averages 7.8 fewer first downs per game than their opponents, worst in the league.
The Steelers average 6.5 fewer first downs per game than their opponents, 31st in the league.
Pittsburgh is third in the league in points per play at home (.481).
64.7% of the Steelers’ receiving yardage has been gained after the catch, the highest rate in the league. League average outside of them is 45.5%.

Trust (spike production for that player)

James Conner: Conner was dealing with a quadriceps injury prior to the bye, so we’ll need to monitor him at practice this week. If he’s all set to go, he runs into a stellar matchup against a Miami defense that is allowing 183.3 yards from scrimmage per game (31st). If Conner looks questionable, Benny Snell is coming off 18 touches for 89 yards prior to the bye week in relief of Conner.
JuJu Smith–Schuster: This might the most confident spot Smith-Schuster has remaining on his schedule. Smith-Schuster has more than three receptions in just one of his four games started by Mason Rudolph or Delvin Hodges, but the Dolphins are 28th in points allowed per game (19.4) to opposing WR1s.

Bust (down-week production for that player’s standards)

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick had a strong showing last week as the QB10. 7.3 of his points came from a rushing score, however, the Steelers rank seventh in pressure rate (27%) and fifth in sack rate (8.6%).
Preston Williams: Coming off his best game of the season (6-82), Williams runs into a tall order on the outside against the Steelers. Williams runs 94% of his route son the boundary, where the Steelers rank fourth in the league in points allowed to wideouts.

If You Must (intriguing bench option or deeper league play)

Mason Rudolph: Rudolph has thrown multiple touchdowns in three of his four games played this season while Miami is the only team to allow multiple touchdown passes in every game this season and they have allowed at least 15.6 fantasy points to every quarterback they’ve faced.
DeVante Parker: Parker has been a top-30 scorer in each of the past three games. The common denominator has been he’s also found the end zone in each of those games, but Parker has been used in a more versatile fashion so far this season, running 30% of his routes from LWR, 39% at RWR, and 30% in the slot. The Steelers are fourth in the league in points allowed to boundary wideouts, but last in the league in defending slot wideouts.
Mark Walton: Walton played a season-high 52.1% of snaps last week as the team is actively shopping Kenyan Drake. Walton has been the RB25 (75 YFS) and RB32 (58 YFS) the past two weeks, but like Drake, he has been subbed out at the goal line in both weeks for Kalen Ballage.
Vance McDonald: McDonald has just one top-20 scoring week so far this season, with three or fewer receptions in four of his five games played. He is another bottom-dwelling tight end that requires a leap of faith based on matchup with the Dolphins 23rd in yardage allowed per game (61.5) to opposing tight ends.