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The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football to close out Week 8, and they’re hoping for a romp. The Dolphins are winless and trading away assets however they can. The Steelers aren’t a particularly good team without Ben Roethlisberger, but they are decidedly better than Miami.
And so, we come to the potential game script. If Pittsburgh wins going away, the ground game is likely to be plenty busy. James Conner will get the bulk of the work, but after a strong pre-bye week outing, rookie Benny Snell Jr. could be in line for a busy night.
James Conner injured his quad in Week 6 and departed at the end of the third quarter. Snell finished the game with 17 rushes for 75 yards and a touchdown, along with a 14-yard reception. Conner finished the night with 41 rushing yards and 78 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions.
Conner had the bye week to get healthy, so more than likely he’ll be good for a normal workload. Snell’s opportunities tonight are a complete crap shoot, so you should generally avoid using him if you can. That being said, if you’re coming down to the wire and need a running back late, there is a decent chance Snell gets enough work to justify a spot start. Not enough if you have better options, but if you were going to roll the dice on a backup running back, it would be against the Dolphins.