Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 PM ET
Location: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Network: CBS
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson: SIT
Five of Deshaun Watson‘s seven touchdown passes came in the first three weeks of the season, and he hasn’t thrown one since Week 5. Sure, you can look to last week’s 308-yard passing performance and think “yay!”, I guess. But it was just his second game over 250 passing yards this year, one fewer than the number of interceptions he’s thrown. I think we’ll see Shedeur Sanders before the second half of the season.
Running Back
Quinshon Judkins: FLEX, RB3
Dylan Sampson: SIT
Jaleel McLaughlin: SIT
Quinshon Judkins has two 20+ point games in his last three thanks to three trips to the end zone over that span and ranks fifth in the league with an 84% carry share. The Steelers aren’t a great matchup and have given up just three rushing touchdowns all season. This one’s easy: volume-based FLEX with little chance of scoring this week. Dylan Sampson may carry some PPR value as the team’s primary pass catching back, but I’d like to see him replicate last week’s involvement before I feel comfortable labeling him as a floor-based FLEX.
Wide Receiver
KC Concepcion Jr: START, WR3
Denzel Boston: START, WR3
Jerry Jeudy: SIT
KC Concepcion Jr. easily had his best performance as a pro against the Titans, catching eight of 10 targets for 129 receiving yards and chipped in 23 more on three carries. He’s seen six or more targets in five of seven games, enough to make him a FLEX option along with Denzel Boston, whose range of outcomes is much larger. The good thing for Boston is the Steelers have allowed 12 completions of 20+ air yards, sixth-most in the league.
Tight End
Harold Fannin Jr.: SIT
Harold Fannin Jr. finally broke out with 91 yards last week, but he put up 1.4 and 1.9 points in the two games before that. Pittsburgh allows the ninth-fewest points to tight ends, so I’m not chasing one big game.
Defense/Special Teams
Cleveland Browns: START
An implied total of 39.5. A Cleveland defense with the sixth-most sacks per game. A Pittsburgh offense tied for the third-most sacks taken.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: SIT, QB2 (Startable in Superflex)
An Aaron Rodgers Haiku Sequence
Three scores last meeting,
and two ninety-nine passing.
Still his season high.
The same defense waits.
Nothing has gotten better.
Start him, expect less.
Running Back
Jaylen Warren: START, RB2
Rico Dowdle: FLEX, RB3
Lew Nichols: SIT
Jaylen Warren is certainly the Steelers’ lead back with or without Rico Dowdle on the field, but Warren’s ceiling drops significantly. Warren’s snap share decreases by 30% when Dowdle plays, and his fantasy points per game are cut in more than half (24.3 with, 11.6 without). Warren remains the more productive of the two and a high end RB2 for fantasy, with Dowdle a back end RB2/RB3 in a suboptimal matchup.
Wide Receiver
DK Metcalf: START, WR3
Germie Bernard: START, WR3
Ben Skowronek: SIT
Pittsburgh throws it over 4o times a game and yet nobody is a WR2. Germie Bernard and DK Metcalf have split the targets almost exactly down the middle the last three weeks, 8.7 to 8.3, and Rodgers is turning all that volume into 242 yards a game with no 300-yard day all season. Cleveland has allowed the sixth-fewest points to receivers over that same stretch. Start them as WR3s if you’re ok with floor plays.
Tight End
Pat Freiermuth: The gLoB
Pat Freiermuth has a total of 7.1 fantasy points over his last two games and only scored double digits when he catches a touchdown. Say it with me now… gLoB
Defense/Special Teams
Pittsburgh Steelers: START
The Browns give up the most sacks per game in the league and score the fifth-fewest points. Easy start.