The Steelers are home to several of fantasy football’s elite players. That’s no secret, and it’s not really news, either.
What’s worth noting, however, is just how dominant Pittsburgh was on Sunday night — in the context of fantasy, that is.
In PPR scoring formats, a full lineup comprised of the top-scoring Steelers would have produced 161.8 points. That’s a figure that very likely would have knocked a lot of fantasy managers out of the playoffs, if they had to face such a collective.
Before anyone gets any wild ideas about assembling an all-Steelers lineup for fantasy championship season, understand that such a lofty score is a white whale of sorts. This kind of thing is unpredictable and unreliable.
Regardless, it’s fascinating to see one NFL team produce so many fantasy points in a single week. Here’s how the Steelers pulled off the curious fantasy feat.
QB
Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t the strongest of fantasy options through much of the season, but he’s been on fire since the Week 9 bye. He’s averaging 24.8 points over his last five games.
Against the Ravens on Sunday, he put up 28.7 thanks to his third career 500-yard passing game.
RB
The season’s leading scorer at his position, Le’Veon Bell also put up a Week 14-high 39.5 points against Baltimore. With 125 total yards and nine catches and three touchdowns, he was unstoppable.
Even fullback got into the scoring mix with a one-yard TD catch, his first fantasy contribution of the year.
WR
Antonio Brown, the overall fantasy football PPR points leader with 305.9, had himself a day. He caught 11 passes for 213 yards, scoring 32.3 points even without finding the end zone.
Filling in for the injured Juju Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant got in the mix with six catches for 33 yards and 9.3 points overall.
TE
Both Steelers tight ends were in the mix Sunday, especially Jesse James. He snagged 10 receptions for 97 yards, giving him 19.7 points. Vance McDonald caught four passes for 52 yards and a respectable (for a TE) 9.2 points.
D/ST and K
While the Steelers defense posted a poor minus-three for the evening, kicker Chris Boswell more than made up for it. He went 4-for-4 on field goals — from 46, 24, 43 and 52 yards — and 3-for-3 on extra points for 19 fantasy points.
