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NFL Week 12 Thursday Preview | PIT v. CLE | The Numbers You Need to Know

Steven Pintado Steven Pintado · · 4 min read
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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

TeamDef. Rank Vs. QBsDef. Rank Vs. RBsDef. Rank Vs. WRsDef. Rank Vs. TEsDef. 2 Man %Def. Zone %1-HI Sfty %2-HI Sfty %Offensive Plays RanPoints Per GamePass Yards Per GameRush Yards per Game
Steelers2nd10th9th14th2967.871.628.465.423.3187.3136.7
Browns20th8th29th25th37.259.266.133.965.616.2202.888.5

Quarterbacks | Week 12 Thursday Preview

Pittsburgh Steelers
PlayerFantasy Rank
(6 PPT)		Week 12 RankingConfidence Start RatingFP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksA/GSCRMYDS/G1 Read %YAC %Press %ADOTCHK %
Russell Wilson16thMid QB280%18.815.430.33.5239.066.948.730.79.110.7
Cleveland Browns
PlayerFantasy Rank
(6 PPT)		Week 12 RankingConfidence Start RatingFP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksA/GSCRMYDS/G1 Read %YAC %Press %ADOTCHK %
Jameis Winston37thMid QB275%11.423.420.71.9155.177.935.624.710.33.4
  • 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:

FANTASY TRADE ADVICE: The Best Player Targets Week 12

Running Backs | Week 12 Thursday Preview

Pittsburgh Steelers
PlayerFantasy Rank (PPR)Week 12 RankingStart %FP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksATT/GATT %Off. Snaps/GTGT %i5%i20%EXP Run %MTF/ATTYACO/ATTYBCO/ATT
Najee Harris28thLow RB280%12.813.617.551.056%9.547.454.74.60.232.511.54
Jaylen Warren45thMid RB373%6.89.48.018.740%9.06.315.53.10.162.31.73
Cordarrelle Patterson71stOutside the Top 4835%3.31.23.35.815%4.60.00.00.00.23.02.4
Cleveland Browns
PlayerFantasy Rank (PPR)Week 12
Ranking		Start %FP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksATT/GATT %Off. Snaps/GTGT %i5%i20%EXP Run %MTF/ATTYACO/ATTYBCO/ATT
Nick Chubb49thHigh RB377%6.24.913.323.741%2.710090.91.90.112.250.83
Jerome Ford38thLow RB370%8.84.87.125.455%9.928.6155.30.112.742.16
  • 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
PlayerFantasy Rank (PPR)Week 12 RankingStart %FP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksOff. Snaps/GTGT/GTGT %RTE/GSLOT RTE %YACEZTGT1READ %MAN WIN RATEZONE WIN RATE
George Pickens31stLow WR191%13.016.376%7.726.927.127.71701235.928.215.3
Calvin Austin84thOutside the Top 6035%6.38.449%3.311.319.361.1115214.426.95.7
Mike Williams119thLow WR551%3.53.022%2.05.718.726.22927.513.62.6
Pat Freiermuth (TE)TE23Mid TE265%7.76.071%3.612.023.550.2152013.818.54.1
Cleveland Browns
PlayerFantasy Rank (PPR)Week 12 RankingStart %FP/GFP/G Last 4 WeeksOff. Snaps/GTGT/GTGT %RTE/GSLOT RTE %YACEZTGT1READ %MAN WIN RATEZONE WIN RATE
Jerry Jeudy42ndLow WR371%10.917.888%7.017.939.633.1148721.421.312.5
Elijah Moore73rdLow WR463%7.713.674%5.914.533.964.681215.320.87.7
Cedric Tillman72ndHigh WR378%7.818.755%4.511.123.826.5100613.515.97.7
David Njoku (TE)TE5High TE195%12.414.769%7.418.031.732188317.65.40.6
  • 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:

Two Round 1QB Rookie Mock | The Best Players in the Outstanding 2025 NFL Draft
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/GFantasy Points per Game
YPAPassing Yards per Attempt
SCRMQB Rush Attempts per Game
YDS/GYards 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
ADOTAverage Depth of Target
Running Backs
FP/GFantasy Points per Game
ATT/GAttempts per Game
ATT %Team Carry Share
TGT %Team Target Share
Off. Snaps/GOffensive 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/ATTMissed Tackles Forced per Attempt
YACO/ATTYards After Contact per Attempt
YBCO/ATTYards Before Contact per Attempt
Pass Catchers
FP/GFantasy Points per Game
Off. Snaps/GOffensive Snaps Per Game
TGT/GTargets Per Game
TGT %Team Target Share
RTE/GRoutes Run Per Game
SLOT RTE %Percentage of Routes Run from the Slot
YACYards After the Catch
EZTGTEndzone Targets
1READ %Percentage of Team’s 1st Read and Designed Targets
MAN WIN RATEPercentage of Routes against Man Coverage with a Positive Separation Score
ZONE WIN RATEPercentage of Routes against Zone Coverage with a Positive Separation Score
Start/Sit Analytics
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Steven Pintado

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Steven Pintado

Member of the Dynasty Nerds Analytics/Writing Team Twitter: @coachstevep - A Jersey Guy working in Finance! Big Dolphins fan and have been playing fantasy football since 2008.

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