Thursday Night Football Fantasy Versus: Steelers vs. Titans Preview 

Thursday Night Football for Week 6 might not be the sexiest match-up ever, but both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans have a few fantasy players worth debating over. We all know about the struggles of Chris Johnson this year, outside of his week 4 flukey game in which he scored 14 fantasy points, he has a combined eight total fantasy points in the four other games, and he put up a solid zero points for fantasy owners last week.

In our latest Fantasy Versus Decision Maker on Sunday night, we correctly predicted five of the six match-ups, the only one we lost was Bilal Powell versus Shonn Greene, where Powell scored one point to Greene’s three. Not a huge difference there.

Now let’s take a look a a few match-up for tonight’s game:

Quarterbacks

Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) vs. Matt Hasselbeck (Titans)

While filling in for Jake Locker (shoulder) last week, Hasselbeck struggled mightily with only eleven fantasy points. If he had a rough game against a average Vikings defense, you’d think it won’t get any better tonight against a much better Steelers defense.

Tennessee is giving up the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Yeah, I’m going to go with Roethlisberger.

Running Backs

Chris Johnson (Titans) vs. Rashard Mendenhall (Steelers)

Mendenhall (knee) returned to action last week after missing the teams first four games, and he looked pretty good. With only 16 touches on the day, Mendenhall totaled 101 total yards and one touchdown for a team high 16 fantasy points. Now I don’t expect him to become the work horse back he has been in the past just yet, he should still see plenty of touches to make an impact on your fantasy team.

Ugh, what to say about Chris Johnson. His offensive line is terrible and he is running like he doesn’t care anymore.

Even with Mendenhall splitting carries, I’d still take him over Johnson everyday.

If you’re desperate, I could see Isaac Redman having a decent day, as the Titans are giving up the 5th most fantasy points to running backs thus far.

Wide Receivers

 Mike Wallace (Steelers) vs. Antonio Brown (Steelers)

 As I’ve mentioned before this Tennessee defense is pretty bad, so if you have either of these receivers you should be starting them regardless.

But for tonight’s match-up I’ll roll with Brown over Wallace.

Kenny Britt (Titans) vs. Kendall Wright (Titans) vs. Nate Washington (Titans) vs. Emmanuel Sanders (Steelers)

 Wright has been a pleasant surprise this season and has looked the best outta this bunch, although Washington has the most fantasy points. Sanders had seven targets last week, but has yet to haul in more than 4 catches in one game this season.

I’m still not sure what to make of Britt, however I was surprised when he played last week given he didn’t practice all week and was listed as doubtful. He practiced in full this week and is listed as probable tonight.

Obviously Britt has the most upside, but until he proves it I can’t rank him first out of this group.

I’ll rank them Wright, Britt, Sanders, and Washington for tonight.

Tight Ends

Heath Miller (Steelers) vs. Jared Cook (Titans)

I’m not buying all of this Health Miller is a top 8 tight end talk. If you remember last year he kind of did the same thing, got off to a good start and fizzled down the stretch. You can’t predict touchdowns, and I think that’s what you’re banking on.

I like Cook over Miller, mainly because Tennessee figures to be down most of the game and they’ll be throwing a ton.

Kickers

Rob Bironas (Titans) vs. Shaun Suisham (Steelers)

 Bironas has not attempted a field goal in the past two weeks, and has missed two field goals this season.

Suisham is a perfect 8-of-8 on the season, and Pittsburgh figures to score a ton. I’ll roll with Suisham.

Team Defenses

Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST vs. Tennessee Titans D/ST

Although Pittsburgh’s defense is not the same as it once was and Tennessee’s defense/special teams has more fantasy points then them this season, I’m still going with Pitt hands down.

About the author: Trevor Gunn

Trevor Gunn has been involved in fantasy sports for over 10 years, and brings extensive football knowledge to NFLSoup. In addition to his fantasy football expertise, Gunn also covers the NBA at NBASoup.com. Follow him on Twitter @NFLSoupTrevor.