The Week 12 Thursday Preview was curated by senior staff writer Steven Pintado using statistics from the Fantasy Points Data Suite. If you want access to these stats (and dozens of other proprietary figures) sign up here and use promo code NERDS to save 25% on a Data Suite or All-In subscription. Without further ado, let’s dig in to the Week 12 Thursday Preview!
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2) vs Cleveland Browns (2-8)
Game Summary | Week 12 Thursday Preview
- Thursday Night Football: 8:15 PM
- Huntington Bank Field
- Field Type: Grass
- Weather: Rain & Snow Showers
- Pittsburgh Steelers are favored (-3.5) with an Over/Under of 36.5
- Stream on Prime Video
| Team | Def. Rank Vs. QBs | Def. Rank Vs. RBs | Def. Rank Vs. WRs | Def. Rank Vs. TEs | Def. 2 Man % | Def. Zone % | 1-HI Sfty % | 2-HI Sfty % | Offensive Plays Ran | Points Per Game | Pass Yards Per Game | Rush Yards per Game |
| Steelers | 2nd | 10th | 9th | 14th | 29 | 67.8 | 71.6 | 28.4 | 65.4 | 23.3 | 187.3 | 136.7 |
| Browns | 20th | 8th | 29th | 25th | 37.2 | 59.2 | 66.1 | 33.9 | 65.6 | 16.2 | 202.8 | 88.5 |
Quarterbacks | Week 12 Thursday Preview
| Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (6 PPT) | Week 12 Ranking | Confidence Start Rating | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | A/G | SCRM | YDS/G | 1 Read % | YAC % | Press % | ADOT | CHK % |
| Russell Wilson | 16th | Mid QB2 | 80% | 18.8 | 15.4 | 30.3 | 3.5 | 239.0 | 66.9 | 48.7 | 30.7 | 9.1 | 10.7 |
| Cleveland Browns | |||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (6 PPT) | Week 12 Ranking | Confidence Start Rating | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | A/G | SCRM | YDS/G | 1 Read % | YAC % | Press % | ADOT | CHK % |
| Jameis Winston | 37th | Mid QB2 | 75% | 11.4 | 23.4 | 20.7 | 1.9 | 155.1 | 77.9 | 35.6 | 24.7 | 10.3 | 3.4 |
- The Steelers have not allowed a QB1 since Week 5.
- The Steelers have forced an interception in 5 straight games.
- The Browns have allowed 2 passing TDs in 5 straight games
- Cleveland has allowed a QB to finish QB17 or better in 5 straight games.
Don’t expect Justin Fields to get rack up rushing yards again like in Week 10, but he should be a dynasty asset worth investing in for the future. Check out Mychal Warno‘s Fantasy Trade Advice for Week 12 to get more info on Fields and other players to target for rebuilding teams:
Running Backs | Week 12 Thursday Preview
| Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (PPR) | Week 12 Ranking | Start % | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | ATT/G | ATT % | Off. Snaps/G | TGT % | i5% | i20% | EXP Run % | MTF/ATT | YACO/ATT | YBCO/ATT |
| Najee Harris | 28th | Low RB2 | 80% | 12.8 | 13.6 | 17.5 | 51.0 | 56% | 9.5 | 47.4 | 54.7 | 4.6 | 0.23 | 2.51 | 1.54 |
| Jaylen Warren | 45th | Mid RB3 | 73% | 6.8 | 9.4 | 8.0 | 18.7 | 40% | 9.0 | 6.3 | 15.5 | 3.1 | 0.16 | 2.3 | 1.73 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | 71st | Outside the Top 48 | 35% | 3.3 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 15% | 4.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
| Cleveland Browns | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (PPR) | Week 12 Ranking | Start % | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | ATT/G | ATT % | Off. Snaps/G | TGT % | i5% | i20% | EXP Run % | MTF/ATT | YACO/ATT | YBCO/ATT |
| Nick Chubb | 49th | High RB3 | 77% | 6.2 | 4.9 | 13.3 | 23.7 | 41% | 2.7 | 100 | 90.9 | 1.9 | 0.11 | 2.25 | 0.83 |
| Jerome Ford | 38th | Low RB3 | 70% | 8.8 | 4.8 | 7.1 | 25.4 | 55% | 9.9 | 28.6 | 15 | 5.3 | 0.11 | 2.74 | 2.16 |
- The Steelers have allowed a rushing TD in 5 straight games.
- The Steelers have allowed an RB2 or better in 5 consecutive games.
- The Browns have allowed a rusher to gain 60 or more rushing yards in 3 straight games.
- Nick Chubb has averaged 11.5 fantasy points over the last 3 years versus the Steelers.
Pass Catchers | Week 12 Thursday Preview
| Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (PPR) | Week 12 Ranking | Start % | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | Off. Snaps/G | TGT/G | TGT % | RTE/G | SLOT RTE % | YAC | EZTGT | 1READ % | MAN WIN RATE | ZONE WIN RATE |
| George Pickens | 31st | Low WR1 | 91% | 13.0 | 16.3 | 76% | 7.7 | 26.9 | 27.1 | 27.7 | 170 | 12 | 35.9 | 28.2 | 15.3 |
| Calvin Austin | 84th | Outside the Top 60 | 35% | 6.3 | 8.4 | 49% | 3.3 | 11.3 | 19.3 | 61.1 | 115 | 2 | 14.4 | 26.9 | 5.7 |
| Mike Williams | 119th | Low WR5 | 51% | 3.5 | 3.0 | 22% | 2.0 | 5.7 | 18.7 | 26.2 | 29 | 2 | 7.5 | 13.6 | 2.6 |
| Pat Freiermuth (TE) | TE23 | Mid TE2 | 65% | 7.7 | 6.0 | 71% | 3.6 | 12.0 | 23.5 | 50.2 | 152 | 0 | 13.8 | 18.5 | 4.1 |
| Cleveland Browns | |||||||||||||||
| Player | Fantasy Rank (PPR) | Week 12 Ranking | Start % | FP/G | FP/G Last 4 Weeks | Off. Snaps/G | TGT/G | TGT % | RTE/G | SLOT RTE % | YAC | EZTGT | 1READ % | MAN WIN RATE | ZONE WIN RATE |
| Jerry Jeudy | 42nd | Low WR3 | 71% | 10.9 | 17.8 | 88% | 7.0 | 17.9 | 39.6 | 33.1 | 148 | 7 | 21.4 | 21.3 | 12.5 |
| Elijah Moore | 73rd | Low WR4 | 63% | 7.7 | 13.6 | 74% | 5.9 | 14.5 | 33.9 | 64.6 | 81 | 2 | 15.3 | 20.8 | 7.7 |
| Cedric Tillman | 72nd | High WR3 | 78% | 7.8 | 18.7 | 55% | 4.5 | 11.1 | 23.8 | 26.5 | 100 | 6 | 13.5 | 15.9 | 7.7 |
| David Njoku (TE) | TE5 | High TE1 | 95% | 12.4 | 14.7 | 69% | 7.4 | 18.0 | 31.7 | 32 | 188 | 3 | 17.6 | 5.4 | 0.6 |
- The Steelers have allowed 1 receiver to score in the last 4 weeks.
- George Pickens has averaged 70 receiving yards in 4 career games against the Browns.
- The Steelers have allowed a TE over 70 yards in 3 of the last 6 games.
- Pat Freiermuth has averaged only 4 fantasy points per game in his career against the Browns.
- The Browns have allowed an 80-yard receiver in 6-straight games.
- Cleveland did not allow a TE1—until last week.
- David Njoku has averaged 10.6 fantasy points in the previous 3 seasons against the Steelers.
More Week 12 Matchup Content
If you enjoyed this Week 12 Thursday Preview, I encourage you to check out some of our other articles:
Our Dynasty Nerds Writing Staff recently finished a two-round 1QB Rookie Mock for the 2025 NFL Draft! Read about the top 24 rookie prospects, along with All-22 video footage from our Nerds Film Room to gain an early edge on your league mates:
Thank you for reading the Week 12 Thursday Preview! Are you interested in joining the #NerdHerd? Use the code “COACH” for 15% off any membership. You can get access to the DynastyGM tool (including our Trade Calculator and new Trade Finder), the Prospect Film Room, an extra weekly podcast, full rankings, and much, much more!
Glossary of Statistics | Week 12 Thursday Preview
| Quarterbacks | |
| FP/G | Fantasy Points per Game |
| YPA | Passing Yards per Attempt |
| SCRM | QB Rush Attempts per Game |
| YDS/G | Yards Per Game |
| First Read % | Percentage of Throws to the QB’s 1st Read or Designed Throws |
| YAC % | Percentage of Passing Yards that come after the catch |
| Press % | Percentage of Dropbacks Under Pressure |
| ADOT | Average Depth of Target |
| Running Backs | |
| FP/G | Fantasy Points per Game |
| ATT/G | Attempts per Game |
| ATT % | Team Carry Share |
| TGT % | Team Target Share |
| Off. Snaps/G | Offensive Snaps per Game |
| i5 % | Percentage of Team’s Inside-the-5 Carries |
| i20 % | Percentage of Team’s Inside-the-20 Carries |
| EXP RUN % | Percentage of Runs to go for 15+ Yards |
| MTF/ATT | Missed Tackles Forced per Attempt |
| YACO/ATT | Yards After Contact per Attempt |
| YBCO/ATT | Yards Before Contact per Attempt |
| Pass Catchers | |
| FP/G | Fantasy Points per Game |
| Off. Snaps/G | Offensive Snaps Per Game |
| TGT/G | Targets Per Game |
| TGT % | Team Target Share |
| RTE/G | Routes Run Per Game |
| SLOT RTE % | Percentage of Routes Run from the Slot |
| YAC | Yards After the Catch |
| EZTGT | Endzone Targets |
| 1READ % | Percentage of Team’s 1st Read and Designed Targets |
| MAN WIN RATE | Percentage of Routes against Man Coverage with a Positive Separation Score |
| ZONE WIN RATE | Percentage of Routes against Zone Coverage with a Positive Separation Score |
