Pittsburgh fans are no doubt excited for Monday night to see No. 7 back in the lineup after his season ended in Week 2 last year. He'll make his grand return in primetime (albeit without fans in MetLife Stadium), and he'll do so against perhaps one of the worst defenses in the NFL and one that ranked second-worst against opposing quarterbacks in 2019. The Giants did add free-agent cornerback James Bradberry from the Carolina Panthers this offseason but they don't have many viable options opposite him after having to move on from 2019 first-round pick DeAndre Baker after his legal troubles this offseason. Roethlisberger is likely dying to throw the football around.
It does make sense if you want to keep an eye on him, for now, to see how the elbow is holding up in his first live-action since the surgery last year. That said, we do currently have Big Ben ranked No. 11 for the week in what should be a very advantageous matchup for the Steelers offense.
Fantasy Upside
There certainly isn't much chance of Ben Roethlisberger going down from 2019, a season in which he only played a game and a half due to an elbow injury. He should be ready for Week 1, and Pittsburgh fans couldn't be happier to have No. 7 back in the lineup after living through Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges for almost 15 weeks. And if Ben can stay healthy, he should provide good value at his current price of a 12th-round pick. The Steelers will likely rely on Roethlisberger's arm to move the ball and get into the hands of receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson.
Fantasy Downside
The concerns are quite clear for a 38-year-old quarterback who has played all 16 games just once in the past five seasons. Age is one. Durability is another, and perhaps the most significant question mark. It's far from a guarantee he will play all 16 games (if we even have 16 games) in 2020. As odd as it may sound, the shorter the season, the better chance he'll have at a full season.
2020 Bottom Line
As our current QB23, you can do worse as a backup option in your fantasy leagues. Based on our schedule-adjusted, positional defensive rankings, Roethlisberger has six games against bottom-ten defenses. Three of those games come in the first six weeks of the season (at NYG, vs. HOU, vs. CLE) and the other three come in the final five weeks of the season (vs. WAS, at CIN, at CLE). So he has some intriguing streamable weeks and has value in a 2QB league. He's not the Big Ben of old, but he still has some juice left in the tank (but that value could be running on fumes soon).
Week 2 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the Steelers offense struggled mightily last week in New England, as he produced 276 yards and no touchdowns with an interception. But better days should be ahead. Roethlisberger gets a Seattle defense this week that just allowed more than 400 passing yards to Andy Dalton. He also had a monster day the last time he played the Seahawks, throwing for 456 yards in Seattle in 2015. Roethlisberger at home also has typically been fantasy gold. He's a borderline QB1 this week.
Week 1 at New England
Ben Roethlisberger heads off to New England to face the Patriots in an unenviable opener. He threw for 235 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 17-10 victory over the Patriots last December. But that game was in Pittsburgh. And the Steelers ran the ball effectively, to the tune of more than 160 yards on the ground. The Patriots figure to try to not let that happen quite as easily this time around. So Roethlisberger will have to throw it more than the 34 attempts he had in that game. But the strength of the Patriots defense is its secondary. Roethlisberger is a tier two starter this week in what promises to be more of a defensive struggle.
Fantasy Upside
Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing attempts and yardage in 2018 while setting a career-high with 34 touchdown passes. With 15 NFL seasons under his belt, he's also trusted to make a lot of his own calls at the line of scrimmage. He's averaged at least 272 yards passing per game every season for the past five years and there's no reason to think he's going to go under that for 2019.
Fantasy Downside
Despite his big yardage totals, Roethlisberger has never produced more than the 34 touchdown passes he had last year. He also is now without Antonio Brown this season, which helped produce a lot of those big yardage seasons. The Steelers feel they have the cast in place to help make up for the loss of Brown, but that could mean leaning more heavily on the running game in 2019, which would affect Roethlisberger's passing numbers.
2019 Bottom Line
Roethlisberger isn't going to give you much as a runner anymore, which hurts his overall value, but he's a player who can single-handedly win you a game if the matchup is right. That's especially been true when he's been at home over the past five or six years. He might not be an every-week starter, but he's just outside the top-12 in fantasy quarterbacks and is a valuable backup who will have several weeks where he outproduces your starter. Even at 37, he should produce 4,500-plus yards and 25-plus touchdowns again in 2019.
Week 17 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Ben Roethlisberger lit the Saints defense up for 380 yards and three touchdowns last week in a big-time road performance. The NFL's passing yards leader has already set the team record for TD passes in a season and could lead the league in passing yardage. He gets a soft Cincinnati defense that has been better since Marvin Lewis took over playcalling duties but is still allowing nearly 290 yards passing per game with 31 touchdowns. Roethlisberger is a very solid QB1 play in a game the Steelers need to win.
Week 16 at New Orleans Saints
The Steelers leaned on their running game last week against the Patriots last week, as Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 235 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. But against the Saints' No. 1 run defense, the plan figures to be to put the ball in the air more often. Roethlisberger has averaged 340 passing yards per game on the road this season, but the Saints have given up just six passing touchdowns in their past six games. It's not the easiest matchup, but Roethlisberger should be a solid QB1 play.
Week 15 vs. New England Patriots
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 282 yards and a pair of score despite missing a quarter and a half last week at Oakland. Don't worry about the rib issue. He'll play this week. He's topped 300 yards in five of his past six games against the Patriots with a low of 281 yards. The Patriots' pass defense also hasn't been good on the road, allowing 13 TD passes in those games despite playing a bad road schedule. Roethlisberger is a solid QB1 play this week.
Week 14 at Oakland Raiders
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 281 yards and a pair of scores last week against the Chargers at home, a decent, but not great, effort. Now, he faces an Oakland defense that has allowed a league-worst 29 touchdown passes despite opposing teams passing just 49 percent of the time. Add to that the fact James Conner will be missing and the Roethlisberger appears to be a very strong start this week on the road, where he's averaged 350 passing yards per game.
Week 13 vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 462 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions last week at Denver. But he returns home for a prime-time matchup, where he's had great success over the years. The Chargers' pass defense is highly ranked, but that's been built on bad quarterbacks. They allowed nine TD passes to the Chiefs, Rams and Seahawks and seven to everyone else. So that good pass defense is built on bad quarterbacking. Roethlisberger should be a nice QB1 start at home.
