Oct 20, 2012
The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have their top option (Rashard Mendenhall) for their crucial matchup with the Bengals on Sunday night football this weekend. Their reliable pass catching backup (Issac Redman) has also been ruled out of action, leaving a trio of relatively unknown running backs set to handle the load against the divisional foe. But who will have the greatest fantasy impact?
Jonathan Dwyer is expected to get the start, and while he is likely to split the carries with two other capable backs, he has the most upside. His size (5’11″ 229 lbs) makes him a good bet to receive the goal line touches, and while he is a long shot to break of a long run, Dwyer should out produce the other options based on sheer volume and quality of touches.
The lack of an explosive runner figures to raise the ceiling on Ben Roethlisberger, as he faces a middle of the rode Cincinnati pass defense. Another reason to like Big Ben this weekend is the fact that he has more rushing touchdowns against Cincy than any other team, so there is the chance that he takes on a Cam Newton like role and becomes the Steelers short yardage running back.
