Does James Conner have a top-15 performance vs. Bengals?

James Conner could have a big game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon.

The Pittsburgh Steelers need to be ready for a feisty Cincinnati Bengals team coming off a bye this weekend. Pittsburgh may have the best record in the NFL as the last undefeated team in the league at 8-0, but this is a franchise notorious for playing down to its competition’s level under head coach Mike Tomlin. If they want to avoid being upset, James Conner has to have a big game.

The Fantasy Footballers debated if Conner will have a top-10 fantasy performance first. Deeming that was not happening because Conner has only been a top-10 fantasy performer only a handful of times this year, the guys kicked it down to top-15. That threshold is a bit more interesting because Conner has routinely been an RB2 in most fantasy football leagues every week.

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So with the performance threshold lowered by five, we have to wonder if Conner is a bona-fide RB2 this week or did we see a change of guard at the running back position in Pittsburgh? We know Benny Snell can serve as a featured back at times. What is even more interesting is Anthony McFarland seemed to get more run vs. the Dallas Cowboys last weekend than Conner did.

We have not gotten consistent RB1 games out of James Conner this season

The good news for fantasy owners of Conner is this was his worst performance since the Week 1 opener on Monday Night Football vs. the New York Giants. Conner only had six carries for nine yards in that game. He immediately bounced back with his first of three, 100-yard rushing performances vs. the Denver Broncos in Week 2. What can we expect out of Conner in Week 10?

Look for this to be a top-five fantasy performance out of Conner this season. It seems as though it is more likely he’ll approach 100 yards on the ground than to be in the 20 again like he was last week vs. the Cowboys. In truth, it is all about how many carries Conner will get. If he gets 16 or more, he rushes for at least 82 yards. If he is under that, he will not do better than 47 yards.

Ultimately, with this game being at home vs. the Steelers and going against a rookie quarterback in Joe Burrow, the Steelers are going to want to dictate terms with a strong ground game. This increases the likelihood of Conner surpassing the 16-carry threshold on his quest to 100 yards on the ground. If he gets a touchdown in one of those 16 carries, he will absolutely be top-15 Sunday.