After a strange game against the Buffalo Bills in which they dominated the first half and looked like the Carolina Panthers in the second, the Steelers face off against their divisional arch-rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, this week. Let's take a look at ESPN's fantasy football rankings as a starting point to determine how the Steelers might do this week.
Ben Roethlisberger (No. 8 among quarterbacks). Roethlisberger looked out of sorts throughout much of the Steelers' game against the Bills, throwing poor balls and giving the Buffalo defense ample time to sack him. He also re-injured his foot during the game and will miss practice on Wednesday as he walks around in a protective boot. He's supposed to be ready to play for Sunday, but if you have another good option, you might consider benching him. If you do choose to start Roethlisberger, be sure to keep tabs on his health throughout the week.
Rashard Mendenhall (No. 9 among running backs). Mendenhall picked up 151 yards on a career-high 36 carries against the Bills. These are good signs for the Ravens game, particularly if Roethlisberger isn't totally healthy. Start him.
Mike Wallace (No. 8 among wide receivers). After three straight games with 100 or more yards receiving, Wallace came back to earth on Sunday, with only three catches for 33 yards. Still, he's a very clear start at this point, and there's no reason to think his emergence this season hasn't been for real.
Hines Ward (No. 40 among wide receivers). Ward and Wallace switched places Sunday, as Ward put up his third hundred-yard game of the season and was very involved in the offense, particularly in the first half. Still, he's a much worse fantasy option than Wallace at this point. While Ward is worth considering for your third receiver slot, there might be better, more consistent options available, especially since Ward faces a tougher pass defense this week. The No. 40 ranking is telling - if you're in a 12-team league and you have three starting receiver slots, that means the league has 36 receiver slots, and you should probably be starting someone else.
Heath Miller (No. 25 among tight ends). Miller had a nice game against Buffalo, recording four catches and making a nice third-down grab to keep a drive alive, but as ever, he's still only a good fantasy option in a very deep league.
Steelers (No. 1 among defenses). The Steelers give up lots of yards through the air but are extremely stingy on the ground. Joe Flacco has the talent to exploit the Steelers' secondary, but the Steelers defense is still a strong start - the Ravens/Steelers matchup isn't likely to be a shootout.
Shaun Suisham (kicker). ESPN doesn't post rankings for kickers, but if they did, Suisham would get a huge bump this week, after going 4-for-4 in 40+ yard field goals and not really breaking a sweat doing it. It isn't necessarily hard to find a fantasy kicker you're happy with, but Suisham would be a fun player to consider grabbing.