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The Washington Football Team will be trying to give the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season when play each other on Monday evening at Heinz Field. The Football Team is in the thick of the NFC East division crown, while the Steelers are looking to sweep the NFC East and hold onto the top spot in the AFC playoff standings.
Washington (4-7) is coming off of a dominating Thanksgiving performance, where they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 41-16. Washington rookie running back Antonio Gibson was the MVP with a game-high 115 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns. He was also had five receptions for 21 yards. While Gibson was dominating on the ground, veteran quarterback Alex Smith hooked up with wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who had seven receptions for 92 yards.
Defensively, Washington held Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott to 32 yards on 10 carries, which was one of his worst games this season. Football Team cornerback Ronald Darby struggled covering wide receiver Amari Cooper, who had seven receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. But he was Dallas’s lone bright spot as Washington’s defense had two takeaways, two defensive/special teams touchdowns, and four sacks.
As for Pittsburgh (11-0), they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 19-14 in a rescheduled Wednesday matinee contest. The Steelers and Ravens were suppose to play on Thursday, but because of numerous positive COVID-19 tests, the game was re-scheduled twice. On the football field, the Steelers’ defense did not have many issues with a undermanned Ravens’ squad. Pittsburgh forced starter Robert Griffin III into an interception, which they returned for a touchdown, and recovered a fumble early in the first quarter.
Offensively, the Steelers were without starting running back James Conner due to COVID-19 but they still got solid production from Benny Snell, who had 93 total yards on 19 touches. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 36-of-51 passes for 266 yards and a touchdown. His lone touchdown pass went to wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had eight receptions for 37 yards.
TV Info
Date: Sunday, Dec. 6
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Broadcast map
Notable Statistical rankings (Football Outsiders)
Washington: #21 Overall — #27 offense, #5 defense, #21 special teams
Steelers: #2 Overall — #15 offense, #1 defense, #12 special teams
DraftKings Sportsbook odds
Washington: +8.5, +320
Steelers: -8.5, -420
Total: Not yet available
Fantasy football start/sit advice
Washington
Antonio Gibson, RB, $6,800
Outside of James Robinson, Antonio Gibson has been the second-best rookie running back in fantasy football this season. Gibson had his second-best game, coincidentally, against the Cowboys, recording 136 total yards on 26 touches and three touchdowns. That performance on Thanksgiving netted the rookie running back a season-high 31.6 fantasy football points, which is RB1 territory.
On Monday, Gibson will be trying to produce his fourth-straight double-digit point game against a phenomenal Steelers’ run defense. This season, Pittsburgh is allowing 105.7 rushing yards but only 12.8 fantasy points to opposing running backs per game.
Terry McLaurin, WR, $6,800
With the Steelers being pretty good at stopping the run this season, WFT quarterback Alex Smith will likely have to make some tough throws and make sure to feed McLaurin often. This season, the second-year wide receiver already has 69 receptions for 963 and three touchdowns. Even though he doesn't have many touchdowns this season, McLaurin has been a reliable WR2/WR3 play. In Week 13, McLaurin will be trying to out do last week’s 9.2 fantasy performance against a Steelers defense that is allowing 23.2 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Steelers
Diontae Johnson, WR, $6,500
Diontae Johnson has been one of the Steelers’ most consistent wide receivers over the last three weeks. The second-year wide receiver has 26 receptions (40 targets) for 273 yards and a touchdown during that time. In regards to fantasy, he’s scored 17.6, 11.1, and 4.6 points, respectively. The former Toledo Rocket should be able to get back into the double-digit next week, especially if Smith-Schuster or Chase Claypool will draw the attention of Ronald Darby.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, $5,800
It’s been a relatively quiet season for the energetic and fun wide receiver out of USC. Smith-Schuster has six touchdowns through 12 weeks, but still hasn’t put up a 100-yard receiving game. Around this time last year, the former USC wideout at least had one 100-yard performance under his belt. That being said, Smith-Schuster could finally reach the century mark against Ronald Darby, who had trouble defending Amari Cooper (112 yards, 1 TD) on Thanksgiving.