Sunday Night Football DFS Breakdown: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets

The Steelers (4-2) and the Jets (2-4) both find their seasons at crossroads, though arriving from different places and finding themselves at their current points for different reasons. The Steelers have generally been one of the league's better teams, though driven by defense to offset a struggling offense. Those offensive struggles led the Steelers to (re)name Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback over Justin Fields, who led the Steelers to their 4-2 record while Wilson dealt with a calf injury. How Wilson fares could hold major sway over how the Steelers season goes from here, but facing the desperate and cornered Jets squad pits Wilson against a tough matchup in his 2024 debut. The Jets are facing at least a month of Must Win games, meanwhile, and just added major firepower with the trade addition of Davante Adams. The Jets are favored by 2.0 points with a low over/under of 43.0.

QUARTERBACKS

There's substantial anticipation for the debut of Russell Wilson ($9400 DK, $14000 FD), but the Jets are one of the league's toughest matchups and Wilson was a mostly unwanted free agent for a reason. Justin Fields ($9800 DK, $14000 FD) might steal some snaps, too, though presumably as a rushing specialist for the most part. If Wilson plays well here it would be very impressive, because it frankly doesn't seem likely.

Aaron Rodgers ($9600 DK, $14500 FD) projects better than Wilson, in no small part because of this week's trade for Davante Adams. With Adams and Garrett Wilson at his disposal, Rodgers has no excuses even against good defenses, though the Steelers certainly are that. The Jets offensive line has been less than steady, and the Pittsburgh pass rush can be as vicious as any. Still, no more excuses for Rodgers now that Adams is there.

RUNNING BACKS

Breece Hall ($10400 DK, $15500 FD) reminded everyone last week that he's one of the best running backs in the NFL, and with that perhaps the Jets remembered that they need to give Hall the ball often to have realistic playoff ambitions. The Steelers run defense is one of the best in the league to this point, and Hall probably will have to grind out the yardage initially, but Hall has already proven his ability to produce in difficult conditions. Braelon Allen ($3800 DK, $10000 FD) remains busy enough as the clear RB2 behind Hall, so Allen is a candidate to do something useful for fantasy investors if the right opportunity arises.

Najee Harris ($9000 DK, $12000 FD) is the clear starter for the Steelers but Jaylen Warren ($4000 DK, $8000 FD) means more to the Steelers offense than most backup runners. That Warren has struggled early in 2024 is likely part of why the Steelers offense has disappointed so far. When the Steelers are winning games the way they want to there are carries for both Harris and Warren. That Warren tends to be more active as a receiver is another reason to consider Warren as a viable piece of the Steelers backfield.

WIDE RECEIVERS + TIGHT ENDS

Davante Adams ($10000 DK, $13000 FD) should be immediately busy even though he just joined the Jets this week. He and Rodgers don't need the practice time. With that said, the Jets would be wise to keep Garrett Wilson ($9200 DK, $13500 FD) as busy as Adams. The way the Jets ascend as an offense is by both of these wideouts thriving, rather than one simply producing at the expense of the other. Allen Lazard ($7400 DK, $8500 FD) should remain the primary slot receiver and WR3, so he's a candidate to continue producing despite the arrival of Adams. Tight end Tyler Conklin ($4400 DK, $8000 FD) is probably the fourth-best bet for targets among the Jets route runners, though he's playing hurt through a hip issue. If Conklin isn't quite himself then TE2 Jeremy Ruckert ($1600 DK, $6000 FD) can pick up some of the slack. Xavier Gipson ($200 DK, $5500 FD) rarely plays on offense at this point, but can pop up from time to time and should be the Jets' primary returner.

George Pickens ($8400 DK, $11000 FD) gets a tough defensive matchup here, but the switch to Wilson should benefit Pickens. Justin Fields just does not pass as reliably as Wilson does, so that theoretically does something to offset the otherwise difficult matchup. Plus, it's not as if the Steelers can rely on bit-part wideouts like Van Jefferson ($2000 DK, $7000 FD) and Calvin Austin ($2400 DK, $7500 FD), though those two are always candidates to pop up infrequently. Rather than Jefferson or Austin the best bet to draw targets after Pickens is probably tight end Pat Freiermuth ($6400 DK, $9500 FD), who might also benefit from the switch to Wilson. Darnell Washington plays starter-level snaps himself at tight end, but he has only seven targets on 210 snaps. TE3 Connor Heyward has six targets to his name so far.

KICKERS

Chris Boswell ($5200 DK, $9500 FD) has quietly been an elite kicker for the past eight years, and so far in 2024 he's showing no signs of slowing down. Boswell has already raced his way to six field goals made beyond 50 yards, and on just seven attempts. The Steelers might continue to need to call on Boswell from long range, and why would they avoid it? Boswell has made 27 of his last 32 attempts beyond 50 yards – a memorable accomplishment.

Greg Zuerlein ($5000 DK, $8500 FD) by contrast, appears to be in the midst of decline. Windy conditions were a factor last week, but after missing his two field goal attempts in Week 6 Zuerlein is down to just 8 of 12 on field goal attempts this year. If Zuerlein can bounce back this might be good timing for the Jets, because Pittsburgh has a way of making games close. In the event of a close game, the Jets could use a good showing from Zuerlein.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Either defense in this game could be productive, as they're both strong and neither offense has been compelling to this point. The Jets ($4200 DK, $9000 FD) are the favored team even on the road, so if that projection proves correct then they might be in an advantageous position, perhaps forcing Wilson into a bad game with sacks and turnovers.

The Steelers ($4800 DK, $9000 FD) defense almost always shows up, even when the offense doesn't. If the Jets defense thrives in this game, it doesn't mean the Steelers defense can't show up in the cashing category themselves. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are both dominant edge rushers, and the three down linemen (Cameron Heyward, Keanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi) are all disruptive, too.