Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Matchup Preview (9/26/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

It’s been an ugly start to the season for Ben Roethlisberger as he has completed just 62.5% of his passes on 72 attempts for 483 yards and two touchdowns to 1 interception. That’s a putrid touchdown rate of just 2.8%. For reference, his career touchdown rate is 5.0%, and he was at 5.4% last season. There’s likely to be some positive regression throughout the season, but the 39-year-old quarterback cannot lead a top offense at this point in his career.

The Steelers offensive line hasn’t supported Roethlisberger the way he needs with his limited mobility as four of the five starters from last season are no longer with the team. Dan Moore Jr., a rookie fourth-round pick, has been surprisingly solid in his two starts, but the interior trio of Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, and Trai Turner has struggled mightily. If the Steelers offense is going to improve, their offensive line has to find more consistency.

Najee Harris has averaged just 3.2 YPC with just 26 carries for 83 yards with poor blocking in front of him. Harris has played 100% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps, and while his efficiency hasn’t been there to start the season, he flashed his elite upside on a 25-yard touchdown reception last week. Diontae Johnson leads the team with 22 targets, but if he cannot play this week, we’ll see a lot more targets for JuJu Smith-Schuster. I had high hopes for Chase Claypool in his sophomore season, but he has just six catches for 115 yards so far.

Pittsburgh has been successful on the back of its defense so far, mainly due to its two elite pass-rushers in Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt. Heyward has 14 QB pressures so far this season, while Watt has three sacks. Melvin Ingram will be relied on as more of a full-time player in this game if Watt cannot play through his groin injury. Joe Haden, Cameron Sutton, and James Pierre have been a solid trio of cornerbacks so far, along with the elite safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart

QB: Ben Roethlisberger
RB1: Najee Harris
RB2: Benny Snell Jr.
WR1: Diontae Johnson
WR2: Chase Claypool
WR3: JuJu Smith-Schuster
TE1: Eric Ebron
TE2: Pat Freiermuth

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Daily Fantasy Picks

This projects as one of the lowest-scoring games of the week, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be any DFS value. Najee Harris is still worth a look at a lower price tag given his level of involvement in the offense. Joe Mixon is even cheaper on most platforms and should be considered a high-value play, particularly for cash lineups. If Diontae Johnson cannot play, my intrigue in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool will go up significantly. The same goes for Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd if Tee Higgins is unable to play. Those wide receivers are similar evaluations as Smith-Schuster and Boyd have lower upside but are decent PPR plays while Chase and Claypool are the higher-upside players. I wouldn’t play either of the quarterbacks in this matchup, but the Steelers defense is worth a look against Burrow.