New England Patriots - Fantasy News

Patriots at Steelers Start 'Em / Sit 'Em

by Aaron Bowers

12/15/17

NFL

New England Patriots

Chris Hogan

Week 15 features the game of the year in the AFC when the New England Patriots visit the Pittsburgh Steelers. This contest will almost assuredly decide which squad gets home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

After a slow start to the season, New England went on a roll winning eight consecutive games. The Patriots failed to show up this past Monday night, though, losing to the Miami Dolphins 27-20. They have dominated the Steelers in the Tom Brady era, going 10-2 against Pittsburgh with the Michigan product at the helm.

Like New England, Pittsburgh also started the season slowly. However, the Steelers have ripped off eight straight wins and have scored more than 30 points in three of their last four games. Their defense has struggled lately, giving up a combined 86 points to the Packers, Bengals and Ravens.   

New England Patriots Week 15 Projected Fantasy Points
Tom Brady: 19.5 PFP
Rob Gronkowski: 14.5 PFP
Brandin Cooks: 12.5 PFP
Rex Burkhead: 11.0 PFP
Chris Hogan: 11.0 PFP
Dion Lewis: 10.5 PFP
Stephen Gostkowski: 10.0 PFP
Danny Amendola: 8.0 PFP
James White: 7.5 PFP

Pittsburgh Steelers Week 15 Projected Fantasy Points
Antonio Brown: 19.5 PFP
Ben Roethlisberger: 19.0 PFP
Le’Veon Bell: 17.5 PFP
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 10.5 PFP
Chris Boswell: 9.5 PFP
Martavis Bryant: 7.5 PFP
Jesse James: 6.5 PFP

Start 'Em: Dion Lewis (10.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 8.88

Since Mike Gillislee became a healthy scratch in Week 9, Lewis leads all New England running backs in snaps and touches. He has scored more than 10.5 DFP three times in his last five games and now takes aim at a Pittsburgh defense that has struggled against running backs recently. In their last three games, the Steelers have allowed 27.5 DFP to Jamaal Williams, 10.6 to Giovani Bernard and 23.6 to Alex Collins. Lewis is as good or better than all of those guys and offers considerable upside catching the ball out of the backfield. This looks like a great opportunity for him to go off against a Pittsburgh linebacker unit that has struggled without Ryan Shazier.

Sit 'Em: Chris Hogan (11.0 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 10.29

There was a stretch early this season when Hogan looked like one of the best receivers in fantasy football. From Weeks 2 to 5, Hogan scored 16.3, 20.8, 14.5 and 17.4 DFP. However, in the other five games Hogan has played, he has a total of 12 receptions for 159 yards with no touchdowns. This New England offense is loaded with weapons and Hogan is just another mouth to feed for Brady. In any one game, any Patriots player could go off. But coming back from injury against a Pittsburgh secondary giving up the seventh-fewest DFP per game to wide receivers, Hogan is a logical fade at such a high PFP.

Start 'Em: Le’Veon Bell (17.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 18.85

Each of the last three weeks we’ve recommended Bell as a start, and each of the last three weeks he’s comfortably eclipsed his PFP. Though he was mostly bottled up on the ground against Baltimore, he still caught nine passes for 77 yards while scoring three total touchdowns. The way to attack New England is on the ground and with running backs out of the backfield, and Kenyan Drake just shredded the Pats for 21.8 DFP on Monday night. Bell is unquestionably the best player in the world at the running back position, so look for him to have a huge game at home as the Steelers try to keep pace with the prolific Patriots offense.

Sit 'Em: Martavis Bryant (7.5 PFP)
Dober Fantasy Points Per Game: 6.32

Once thought of as one of the “Killer B’s,” Bryant has been a huge disappointment in 2017. Known for scoring long touchdowns, he has found the end zone just twice this season, and both were fewer than 30 yards in length. He’s scored more than 7.5 DFP twice in 12 games and usually ranks third or fourth on the team in targets. Bryant is a disgruntled receiver losing snaps and targets to the younger, more talented JuJu Smith-Schuster and we recommend fading a player with such a poor track record of success this season.