What to do with Ben Roethlisberger in Week 1 fantasy football

The last time Ben Roethlisberger quarterbacked the Steelers offense, he lit up defenses with some help from Antonio Brown. With everything that the WR went through in recent history, it’s easy to forget that was just two seasons ago. Now, Big Ben returns to the playing field with some reconstructed elbow tendons in his 38-year-old throwing arm. He’ll still have JuJu Smith-Schuster to chuck the ball to, but will he slide back into his league-leading passing yardage ways?

Fantasy Football analysis: Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Preseason would typically give us something to chew on in situations like this, but we weren’t afforded that luxury this time around. So we’re heading into Week 1 a bit blind as Ben and the Steelers (-5.5) visit the New York Giants. This will be the first of two Monday night games, so we’ll all be able to watch Roethlisberger take center stage against Daniel Jones. Pittsburgh will be itching to climb back to AFC North contender status, and this is a great place to start.

The Giants allowed the fifth-most passing yards in the league last season, and were one of eight teams to give up 30 or more touchdowns through the air. With a more threatening offense due to having virtually no injury concerns, New York has the potential to get into some shootouts this season. Still, while it’s a tantalizing spot for Big Ben’s return, there are far too many question marks and plenty of other reliable options at the QB position to justify starting him.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

Sit in single-QB formats. Start only as QB2.