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 TE Pat Freiermuth.
Is Pat Freiermuth Playing in Week 18?
Freiermuth is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
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 Pat Freiermuth in Week 18?
I thought we could see a change in passing game usage from the Steelers as the postseason picture comes into focus – I just thought Mike Williams would be the focus of it.
Instead, Pittsburgh is sliding Pat Freiermuth into the slot (three straight games with the majority of his routes coming when lined up there) and I actually like how it looks with the threat of George Pickens on the outside.
He owns an 85.1% catch rate this season and turned a 19.4% target share into a 6-68-1 stat line in this matchup five weeks ago. I’m not projecting him for a repeat performance in terms of production, but I think that level of involvement is about right. In what could be a high-scoring game, I think you’re playing Freiermuth with more confidence this week than any of the first 17.
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.
Pat Freiermuth’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 18
As of Saturday, Freiermuth is projected to score 10.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4.2 receptions for 42.3 yards and 0.3 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.
Pat Freiermuth’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, January 5. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Week 18 Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 18 TE PPR Rankings
1) Brock Bowers | LV (vs. LAC)
2) Sam LaPorta | DET (vs. MIN)
3) Trey McBride | ARI (vs. SF)
4) T.J. Hockenson | MIN (at DET)
5) Mark Andrews | BAL (vs. CLE)
6) Jonnu Smith | MIA (at NYJ)
7) Tucker Kraft | GB (vs. CHI)
8) George Kittle | SF (at ARI)
9) Chigoziem Okonkwo | TEN (vs. HOU)
10) Pat Freiermuth | PIT (vs. CIN)
11) Zach Ertz | WAS (at DAL)
12) Kyle Pitts | ATL (vs. CAR)
13) Hunter Henry | NE (vs. BUF)
14) Will Dissly | LAC (at LV)
15) Isaiah Likely | BAL (vs. CLE)
16) Jake Ferguson | DAL (vs. WAS)
17) Mike Gesicki | CIN (at PIT)
18) Juwan Johnson | NO (at TB)
19) Noah Gray | KC (at DEN)
20) Brenton Strange | JAX (at IND)
21) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at NE)
22) Dalton Schultz | HOU (at TEN)
23) Cole Kmet | CHI (at GB)
24) Tyler Conklin | NYJ (vs. MIA)
25) Austin Hooper | NE (vs. BUF)
26) Noah Fant | SEA (at LAR)
27) Foster Moreau | NO (at TB)
28) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. NYG)
29) Jordan Akins | CLE (at BAL)
30) Stone Smartt | LAC (at LV)
31) Daniel Bellinger | NYG (at PHI)
32) Ja'Tavion Sanders | CAR (at ATL)
33) Payne Durham | TB (vs. NO)
34) Dawson Knox | BUF (at NE)
35) Michael Mayer | LV (vs. LAC)
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.