Week 12 Monday Night Football: Pittsburgh Steelers @ Indianapolis Colts Betting & DFS Preview
Monday Night Football heads back to the United States this week as the Indianapolis Colts (4-6-1) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-7) at Lucas Oil Stadium. A revitalized Colts team now headed by Jeff Saturday with Matt Ryan back under center will look to climb back into Wild Card contention while the Steelers will look to climb out of the basement of the AFC North. This is a big game for Indy, but don’t expect this win to come easy. A young Steelers’ offense continues to develop and the defense is getting healthy with T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick fully healthy and making plays all over the field.
We’re going to take a deeper look at this Week 12 Monday Night Football matchup and get you caught up on everything you need to know for DFS and betting purposes. We will look to hit on this game and the DFS Showdown and win you some big money this week.
Week 12 NFL Best Bets
The Colts should be locked in to win this game on paper, but nothing is a given with them. For years now they have been plagued by erratic play and inconsistency. One week they can come out and look like a world-beater against the league’s best. Then they are getting blown off the field by a bottom feeder the next week. This is one of the tougher teams to predict in the NFL on a weekly basis.
The Steelers are the exact opposite. They are a model of consistency and are staring their first sub-five hundred season under Mike Tomlin in the face this season. Regardless, you know they are going to show up, cause problems on defense, and compete until the final whistle. While this team is going through some growing pains this season as they look to replace long-time quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with rookie Kenny Pickett, they are improving especially the rushing attack as of late. Pittsburgh will show up to play and give the Colts all they can handle. Especially the defense. This is a different team when Watt is out there.
The matchup to watch for Pittsburgh is how their offensive line holds up against a strong Colts’ defensive line that could be without DeForest Buckner this week. Najee Harris is coming off his two best games of the season and Pickett is looking more confident back there. This once great line which has been a disaster the past few years is looking to build itself back up, and it’s looking like they may be heading in the right direction.
For the Colts it’s all about how Matt Ryan can handle this defense. They will come after the immobile former MVP with a ferocious pass rush with playmakers on the back end to make him pay for his mistakes. Ryan has absolutely been an upgrade over Sam Ehlinger, but that doesn’t mean he’s been anything close to what he once was this season. It will also be interesting to see if coach Saturday can hold his own against a great coach like Tomlin.
The Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5 (-105)
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DFS Showdown: Most Intriguing Plays
We will be giving you insight into the most intriguing players this week on MNF. You generally won’t see superstars in this section. All prices are based on DraftKings.
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers $14,100
Usually, we avoid the more high-profile players like Harris, but this is a top-heavy game and he has come on strong as of late. There are a few reasons for that. Jaylen Warren went down with an injury last week giving him a boost in Week 11, the line has looked better, and Harris has looked much more explosive coming off the team’s Week 9 bye week. Prior to Week 10 his season high in rushing was 65 yards and he had one rushing touchdown the entire season.
In Week 10 he came out and produced a season-high 99 yards. He also set a season-high with 20 carries and a 5.0-yard average. In Week 11 he exploded. He once again saw 20 carries and took them for 90 yards and two TDs adding four receptions for 26 yards through the air. Do not overlook him because he was awful earlier in the season. Harris is looking quick and Warren has once again been ruled out for Monday Night Football.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts $10,200
Campbell has been consistently outstanding with Ryan at quarterback. In his last four games when he is his quarterback Campbell has totaled 38 targets that he turned into 29 receptions for 270 yards and three TDs. As much as Michael Pittman owners don’t want to hear it, Campbell is every bit the WR1 Pittman is when Ryan is throwing the ball. There is a strong case to make that he is the WR1 in this game and you don’t have to pay up for him. Especially when you consider the Steelers give up the most fantasy points to opposing wideouts and the Colts give up the fewest in half PPR and PPR formats.
Mo Alie-Cox, Indianapolis Colts $5,400
Pat Freiermuth is the obvious tight end pick in this matchup. However, if you want to go with a contrarian pick or save money you have to look at the Colts TEs. The Colts’ TEs can be very productive, but it’s a matter of randomly picking the right one any given week and hoping they find the end zone. This week you should target Alie-Cox. Kylen Granson is both more expensive and questionable for this game with an illness. Plus Alie-Cox at 6’5, 267 pounds is a mountain of a man and always a threat to find the end zone. If you are throwing a dart go with the guy who is cheaper and healthy.
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