The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Jaylen Warren.
Is Jaylen Warren Playing in Week 18?
Updated at 6:30 PM ET on Saturday, January 4
Warren is active for tonight's game.
Warren was limited at Tuesday’s practice with a rib injury but upgraded to full on Wednesday and Thursday. He will be fine to play on Saturday.
We’ll continue to monitor the Steelers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Jaylen Warren in Week 18?
Warren’s usage is trending up, and he’s cleared PPR fantasy expectations by over 5% in five of his past seven games.
That’s encouraging; this could be a great spot to continue this late-season breakout if you believe that the Bengals are going to put points on the board early. Warren is the only player to have 45 rushing yards and five receptions in each of his past two games, a role that almost lands you into RB2 status by itself.
The red-zone usage has my eye on Warren. The backup back has six touches inside the 20-yard line over Pittsburgh’s past two games, a nice jump forward for a player who had four such touches in his previous five. Najee Harris has six such touches over that stretch as well, so it’s not as if the high-value touches are all for Warren, but his piece of that pie is certainly growing.
I like the Steelers in this game, and that has me trending toward Harris as the leader of this backfield. That said, I think we have 30 PPR points to distribute, and the pendulum could very much swing in Warren’s favor should Cincinnati land the first body blow.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 18 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jaylen Warren’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Saturday, Warren is projected to score 12.4 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 14.5 rushing attempts for 65.3 yards and 0.4 touchdowns. It also includes 0.9 receptions for 20.5 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Bengals' Defense
After a one-week respite against the non-functional Browns offense, the Bengals came crashing back down to Earth and nearly bungled away their playoff hopes against the Broncos.
The Bengals posted a 72.4 (C-) grade against Denver, marking the 10th time in 16 games that this unit finished outside the top 15 in a given week. Cincinnati really fell apart after a strong start, posting the third-worst Defense+ grade in the second half in Week 17.
The Bengals only generated one turnover, which has typically not been enough for this team to win. Cincinnati improved to 2-7 this season when generating one or fewer takeaways, with the other win being against the Giants.
This defense still needs a hard reset when the offseason arrives. That this team remains alive for a playoff spot entering Week 18 is a testament to the elite play from Joe Burrow and the offense.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Jaylen Warren’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 12:45 AM ET on Saturday, January 4. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 RB PPR Rankings
1) Bijan Robinson | ATL (vs. CAR)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (vs. CLE)
4) Jonathan Taylor | IND (vs. JAX)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (vs. CHI)
6) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. NO)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (at PIT)
8) Aaron Jones | MIN (at DET)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at NYJ)
10) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at LAR)
11) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
12) Breece Hall | NYJ (vs. MIA)
13) Ray Davis | BUF (at NE)
14) D'Andre Swift | CHI (at GB)
15) Rico Dowdle | DAL (vs. WAS)
16) Isaac Guerendo | SF (at ARI)
17) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at LV)
18) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. CIN)
19) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (vs. KC)
20) Joe Mixon | HOU (at TEN)
21) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (at PHI)
22) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. NYG)
23) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. SEA)
24) Tank Bigsby | JAX (at IND)
25) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. CIN)
26) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (at IND)
27) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. BUF)
28) Michael Carter | ARI (vs. SF)
29) Rachaad White | TB (vs. NO)
30) Miles Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
31) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (at BAL)
32) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (vs. CAR)
33) Audric Estimé | DEN (vs. KC)
34) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at LV)
35) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. NYG)
36) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. BUF)
37) Alexander Mattison | LV (vs. LAC)
38) Javonte Williams | DEN (vs. KC)
39) Ty Johnson | BUF (at NE)
40) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at ATL)
41) Devin Singletary | NYG (at PHI)
42) Cam Akers | MIN (at DET)
43) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at NYJ)
44) Roschon Johnson | CHI (at GB)
45) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at LAR)
46) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. MIN)
47) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DAL)
48) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. CIN)
49) Braelon Allen | NYJ (vs. MIA)
50) Julius Chestnut | TEN (vs. HOU)
51) Samaje Perine | KC (at DEN)
52) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (at ARI)
53) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. NO)
54) Jamaal Williams | NO (at TB)
55) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (vs. MIA)
56) Chris Brooks | GB (vs. CHI)
57) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (at BAL)
58) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | NO (at TB)
59) Emanuel Wilson | GB (vs. CHI)
60) Tony Pollard | TEN (vs. HOU)
61) Mike Boone | CAR (at ATL)
62) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (vs. SF)
63) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at DAL)
64) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at TEN)
65) Khalil Herbert | CIN (at PIT)
66) Trey Sermon | IND (vs. JAX)
67) Rasheen Ali | BAL (vs. CLE)
68) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at LV)
69) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (at ARI)
70) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at TEN)
71) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at NYJ)
72) Carson Steele | KC (at DEN)
73) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. MIN)
74) Hunter Luepke | DAL (vs. WAS)
75) Tyler Goodson | IND (vs. JAX)
76) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (at ARI)
77) Alec Ingold | MIA (at NYJ)
78) C.J. Ham | MIN (at DET)
79) Michael Burton | DEN (vs. KC)
80) Jeff Wilson Jr. | MIA (at NYJ)
81) D'Ernest Johnson | JAX (at IND)
82) Eric Gray | NYG (at PHI)
83) Jermar Jefferson | DET (vs. MIN)
84) Patrick Ricard | BAL (vs. CLE)
85) Joshua Kelley | NYG (at PHI)
86) Ty Chandler | MIN (at DET)
87) Israel Abanikanda | SF (at ARI)
88) Adam Prentice | NO (at TB)
89) Dylan Laube | LV (vs. LAC)
90) JaMycal Hasty | NE (vs. BUF)
91) George Holani | SEA (at LAR)
92) James Cook | BUF (at NE)
Bengals at Steelers Trends and Insights
Cincinnati Bengals
Team: Over the past 20 seasons, teams that have won at least four December games have made the playoffs 85.4% of the time.
QB: Joe Burrow has nine games this season, earning a ‘B’ or better in our QB+ metric – he had eight such games over the two seasons prior.
Offense: The Bengals have converted just eight of 13 (61.5%) goal-to-go drives into touchdowns over their past three games (first 14 weeks: 82.8%).
Defense: Cincinnati has stopped its opponent on at least two-thirds of third downs in three of its past four games, something it did just three times through the first 13 weeks.
Fantasy: On top of all of the passing numbers, Burrow has a 15+ yard rush in consecutive games for the first time since October 2022.
Betting: Four straight games, and seven of their past eight, played on extended rest by the Bengals have either seen them cover and the under hit OR them fail to cover and the over cash.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Team: The Steelers have multiple losing streaks this regular season, something two Super Bowl Champions have done in the 2000s:
- 2010 Packers: Lost a Week 15 road game and gave up 27+ points
- 2015 Broncos: Lost a Week 15 road game and gave up 27+ points
- 2024 Steelers: Lost a Week 15 road game and gave up 27+ points
QB: In George Pickens’ return, Russell Wilson couldn’t find a rhythm downfield. He went just one-of-six on deep throws (his lowest such completion percentage of the season) and threw an interception (his first such pick since Week 10).
Offense: From Weeks 6-14, Pittsburgh won seven of the eight right games and averaged 2.26 points per drive. They have been 0-3 since and have scored just 1.29 points per drive.
Defense: The Steelers lost on Christmas Day despite holding the Chiefs to just a 30% success rate on third downs (prior to that game, they were 6-1 this season when holding their opponent to a 30% conversion rate).
Fantasy: Jaylen Warren’s usage is trending up, and he’s cleared PPR fantasy expectations by over 5% in five of his past seven games.
Betting: Pittsburgh’s ATS results have mirrored their real-life results—they’ve covered all 10 of their wins and failed to cover all 6 of their losses.