Week 10 at Indianapolis Colts
Coming off his bye week, Roethlisberger gets a gift in the form of the Colts—a team he has torn up in recent seasons. In his past three games against the Colts, Roethlisberger has completed 72% of his passes for 1,107 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions. And that was against Indianapolis defenses that might be better than this one, which is ranked 31st in the league in total yards allowed and 32nd in scoring. The Steelers have gone run-heavy with their offense, but Roethlisberger threw 3 TD passes on just 20 attempts against the Colts last season. He's a sneaky good start in this one.
Week 8 at Detroit Lions
Ben Roethlisberger looked more like his old self last week against Cincinnati, throwing 2 touchdown passes early and putting up 224 yards before the Steelers went run-heavy in the second half. The Detroit defense has been opportunistic but it will give up touchdown passes, including 5 in its past two games. Roethlisberger won't have Martavis Bryant as the receiver sits this one out for his social media posts, but Roethlisberger wasn't throwing him the ball, anyway. There are worse starts out there if your QB is on a bye.
Week 7 vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Roethlisberger bounced back from a 5-interception game to throw for 252 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception at Kansas City. Now he gets a Cincinnati defense ranked second in the NFL in passing yards allowed. He had at least 259 yards in each of the two meetings with the Bengals last season and threw for 4 combined touchdowns. But Cincinnati has given up just 5 passing TDs this season. Roethlisberger is a QB2 this week, even playing at home.
Week 6 at Kansas City Chiefs
Roethlisberger threw a career-worst 5 interceptions last week to go along with 0 touchdowns—for the first time in 45 straight home games—and 312 yards. Not all of the interceptions were necessarily his fault, but they are what they are and he now has 6 TDs against 7 interceptions on the season. Roethlisberger had some success against KC in two meetings last season, throwing for over 500 yards with 5 TDs and just 1 interception in two meetings. He had just 221 yards and an interception in the playoffs at Kansas City last season but that was in a steady rainstorm. In seven career meetings with the Chiefs, he has 13 TDs and just 3 interceptions with a passer rating of 118.7. Look for a bounce back game this week. That said, there are better options available.
Week 5 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Roethlisberger threw for 216 yards, 1 touchdown, and a fluky interception that really wasn't his fault last week in Baltimore. The Steelers have played three of their first four games on the road, but return home this week; Roethlisberger has been much better at home in recent years. But he also faces Jacksonville's top-rated pass defense. Jacksonville is the only team in the league that allows more rushing yards (166) than it does passing (147). With LeVeon Bell back on track, don't look for a monster game from Roethlisberger, who has gone 10 straight regular season games without throwing for 300 yards. He's a low-end QB1 in this matchup, even with the first of the bye weeks here.
Week 4 at Baltimore Ravens
Roethlisberger had 235 yards passing and a touchdown last week in another lackluster effort this season that has typified his first three performances. It was his lowest output of the season and the first time he didn't throw 2 TD passes this season. He gets a Baltimore defense this week that was torched by Blake Bortles last week, allowing 244 yards and 4 touchdowns. Roethlisberger threw for at least 264 yards and a touchdown in both games last season against Baltimore. The Ravens have revamped their secondary this season and are missing some defensive linemen. This could be a low-scoring game. Roethlisberger is not a strong start this week on the road.
Week 3 at Chicago Bears
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against Minnesota in a ho-hum game. The good news, however, was that after Martavis Bryant was kind of ignored in Week 1, Roethlisberger got him involved in the deep game and tried a number of deep passes in this game. Bigger days are ahead. The weakness in Chicago's defense is in the secondary, and with Antonio Brown and Bryant both going, Roethlisberger could take advantage. He's not always been at his best on the road, but actually threw for more yards than he had last week with two scores, as well, in Week 1. Roethlisberger should be a solid start.
Week 2 vs. Minnesota Vikings
After a slow start, Ben Roethlisberger remembered to go to his favorite target, Antonio Brown, and wound up throwing for 263 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. Mike Zimmer's defenses have given him fits over the years when he was in Cincinnati, and the Vikings have a talented defense. But Roethlisberger's home/road splits have been well documented in recent years. The Steelers might go a little more run-heavy in this one in an attempt to get Le'Veon Bell going early. But there's too much talent on this offense not to throw the ball. Roethlisberger should put up fantasy QB1 numbers at home this week, despite the matchup. Start him.
Week 1 at Cleveland Browns
Ben Roethlisberger's home/road splits over the past three seasons are no secret. And last season in a game at Cleveland, he threw for just 167 yards and zero touchdowns. But the Steelers were run-heavy at that point and easily won the game by a score of 24-9. Roethlisberger has a new/old toy he'd like to show off in this one in Martavis Bryant. And Le'Veon Bell might not yet be ready to handle a 25-carry workload. The weather also figures to be great, something that never seems to happen when the Steelers play in Cleveland. Look for Roethlisberger and Bryant to try to show the league the receiver is back. Roll the dice with Roethlisberger on the road.
Fantasy Upside
With Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, there might not be a better group surrounding any quarterback in the league. Ben Roethlisberger is better protected better now than at any point in his career, having been sacked a career-low 17 times last season.
Fantasy Downside
The 35-year-old Roethlisberger is prone to missing a game here and there. After playing all 16 games in 2013 and 2014, he's missed six games the past two seasons, though one was a Week 17 coach's decision.
2017 Bottom Line
Roethlisberger isn't going to provide any rushing upside, but he's averaged over 4,200 passing yards the past four seasons. His home/road splits have been much scrutinized the past few seasons, scoring nearly 13 more fantasy points per game at home versus on the road from 2014 to 2016. He's still a top-10 fantasy quarterback option, but be mindful of the tough road matchups and secure another option at the position those weeks.
