RADIO
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is going to play this week for the first time since injuring his knee in Week 3 against the St. Louis Rams. This means that for the the first time in the 2015 season, the Steelers will have their entire offense intact to begin a game with Big Ben, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant (suspension), and Leveon Bell (suspension) leading the way for this high powered, star-studded offense.
In the first two full games before Big Ben was injured he looked good and threw for a combined 720 yards and four touchdowns. The Steelers play the Cincinnati Benagls in Week 8 which seems like a tough match-up, but the Bengals are average in passing defense so far in 2015 so feel free to start Ben as a low QB1.
Le' Veon Bell will benefit from the return of Roethlisberger as the Bengals defense will have to respect to passing game a lot more than if third stringer Landry Jones was starting. This should allow the run game to be even better. As always, Bell should be started as an elite RB1 and no further analysis is needed here.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown (and his owners) are the most happy that Big Ben's absence is over. In the first two games before the Roethlisberger injury, Antonio caught a combined 18 receptions for a whopping 328 yards and two touchdowns.
After the injury to Ben, Brown struggled mightily for the first three games as he did not eclipse over 50 yards in any contest. Last week he finally had his Antonio Brown-like day with 124 yards receiving. Look for Ben and Brown to pick up where they left off and start Brown as an elite WR1.
Martavis Bryant came back from suspension in Week 6. In his first two games back without Ben, he has been solid with nine catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns. With Antonio Brown getting a lot of attention from the Bengals defense, it should open up a lot of opportunity for the 6'5'' wide receiver - especially with his knack for catching red zone touchdowns. Feel free to roll with Bryant as a WR2 and feel comfortable he will produce up to standard.
