DraftKings Showdown-Thursday Night Football Browns vs Steelers

DraftKings Showdown-Low-End Sleepers

Steelers Defense/Special Teams

One of the best defenses at forcing turnovers facing off against a quarterback that is towards the top of the league in turnovers makes for a pretty clear choice here. While they did not turn the ball over last week against Buffalo, the Browns have been handing the ball to the other team all season.

Ever since the acquisition of Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Dolphins, the Steelers defense has been on a tear. They have at least three takeaways in each of their last five games and have at least one takeaway in each and every game that they have played since week one.

Additionally, the new edition of the Steel Curtain has racked up 33 sacks to this point on the season. That is 3.66 sacks per game over their first nine games of the season. The Browns offensive line hasn’t exactly been stellar, so that number has a great chance of jumping up this week.

While the Browns offense has seemed to found its way in recent weeks, and the Steelers may give up a decent amount of yards and points, their takeaways always keep them fantasy relevant. Even if they lose, their fantasy defense could be among the highest scoring of the week. And if you think that the Browns won’t be able to handle the pressure and will revert back to their old ways on Thursday, I wouldn’t talk you out of making the PIT D/ST your Captain for the night.

Rashard Higgins WR CLE-$4,400

There was officially a Rashard Higgins sighting last week! For those outside of Cleveland that don’t know, this man has been the center of a ton of talk around the city as it relates to the team’s struggles and the coaching staff.

Higgins suffered a knee injury during the Browns week one loss to the Titans. After rehabbing and expressing his health and readiness to play, Higgins still found himself sitting on the bench and not in the game. As a receiver that has a visibly clear rapport with Baker Mayfield, it made fans scratch their heads wondering why the coaching staff chose not to play him when he says that he is healthy and ready to play.

While we still don’t have those answers, Higgins was finally able to take advantage of a little playing time to score the game-winning touchdown for the Browns in their victory over the Bills on Sunday. Although receiver Antonio Callaway was suspended for the game because he showed up late, Higgins did see the field on 47% of the offensive snaps.

With Callaway likely returning this week, it is unclear as to how the playing time will shake out for the Browns receivers. It is very possible that his late-game TD, as well as the noise from the fans, other coaches and Higgins himself, have earned Higgins is WR3 role back. If that is the case and he sees the field a lot against the Steelers, his connection with Mayfield and his cheap price tag would make him a popular pick for me.

Austin Seibert K CLE-$3,800, Chris Boswell K PIT-$4,000

Kickers are people, too! And yes, you can draft them into your Showdown lineup despite there not being a kicker slot in a typical DraftKings lineup.

I think this game could come down to the kickers. Neither team’s offense has been a consistent beacon of success this season. While both have shown spurts and may be finding their groove, the defenses are strong enough to hold the offense out of the end zone.

That is just how most AFC North games seem to go. A grit-and-grind, defensive battle that ends up being close at the end. Sure, that’s not always the case, but I think the kickers will be involved pretty heavily on Thursday night, making both of them viable fantasy options.

Which one you pick is just a matter of personal preference or how you think the game is going to play out. If you think one team is more likely to score a large amount of points and be up big early, take their kicker. If you think both offenses will score touchdowns pretty easily and you’d rather have an offensive player filling that roster spot, don’t take any. If you believe that both offenses will be able to move the ball sufficiently to score a decent amount of points but may get stopped short of the end zone a few times, I would be okay with taking both kickers.

I’m leaning Seibert here because I think the Browns ultimately score more points and have a better chance of kicking more field goals as well. The Steelers may be able to punch it in when in the red zone or score touchdowns on big plays a bit easier than the Browns (did you see the Browns last week not score a touchdown with eight tries from the one-yard line?). The Browns will move the ball pretty well, score a couple touchdowns, but also get into field goal range a few times and actually take the points. Browns win 24-14.

Others to consider: Browns D/ST-4,600, Demetrius Harris TE CLE-$4,200, Antonio Callaway WR CLE-$2,800, Johnny Holton WR PIT-$200

Thank you for reading and good luck to you in this game, this week and for the rest of the season. Be sure to stay tuned for DraftKings Showdown pieces for each primetime game, and don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter @ajf3524 for any personalized fantasy advice.