Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Ryan Fitzpatrick has slowly, but surely gotten better each week.  He’s now gone two consecutive games without losing a fumble (he lost one in each of his first four starts), and this past week against a good Philadelphia defense, he threw for 261 yards and a touchdown.  Unfortunately, his matchup against Pittsburgh won’t produce similar results.  Expect somewhere in the range of 170 yards passing, a touchdown and a turnover.  He’s not still usable for fantasy purposes.  His receivers though, could be.  Especially T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who caught his first score from Fitzpatrick to go along with 12 receptions and 149 yards last week.

The value in point-per-reception leagues has been there all year, and he now looks to be on track to regain his WR1 status in all leagues.  Chad Johnson still doesn’t have a 60-yard game, but he’s worth starting as flex play due to the fact that Fitzpatrick does look his way often in the red zone.  The Steelers have the best run defense in the league, and the Bengals will be without two left-side starters and their top backup on the offensive line.  Cedric Benson should not be started under any circumstances.

In their early-season game against Cincinnati, Mewelde Moore had a monster fantasy day with 120 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns.  Now that Willie Parker is back, Moore obviously has no value, but his success should be a good indicator of what Parker’s owners can expect.  Ben Roethlisberger is coming off a strong showing against San Diego, in which he completed 31-of-41 passes for 308 yards, but he’s failed to throw a touchdown in his last three games.

That streak should be broken on Thursday, as he’s found paydirt in all but one game against the Bengals in his career.  He can be comfortably counted on as a starter in all formats.  With back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, Hines Ward has clearly emerged as the number one target in Pittsburgh, while Santonio Holmes continues to fail miserably in living up to his pre-season expectations.  With just two touchdowns and an average of 53.5 yards-per-game, Holmes has settled in as a WR3 option.  After a great four-game stretch that saw him catch a pass of over 48 yards in each contest and three touchdowns, Nate Washington has come back to earth over the last two weeks.  Unless you’re in an extremely deep league, there are most likely better choices available in your free-agent pool.

STANDOUT STARTS: Willie Parker, T.J. Houshmandzadeh
BANISH TO THE BENCH: Cedric Benson, Nate Washington

INJURY REPORT

CINCINNATI BENGALS

OUT
WR Antonio Chatman (neck), DE Eric Henderson (neck), LB Abdul Hodge (elbow), T Levi Jones (back), G Scott Kooistra (knee), S Chinedum Ndukwe (foot), DE Antwan Odom (shoulder), QB Carson Palmer (right elbow), G Andrew Whitworth (ankle)

DOUBTFUL
WR Jerome Simpson (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE
CB Johnathan Joseph (foot)

PROBABLE
WR Andre Caldwell (foot), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back), TE Reggie Kelly (ankle), RB Kenny Watson (shoulder)
Practice Report

OUT (DEFINITELY WILL NOT PLAY)

Wednesday
WR Antonio Chatman (neck), LB Abdul Hodge (elbow), QB Carson Palmer (right elbow)

Thursday
WR Antonio Chatman (neck), LB Abdul Hodge (elbow), QB Carson Palmer (right elbow)
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
DE Eric Henderson (neck), T Levi Jones (back), CB Johnathan Joseph (foot), G Scott Kooistra (knee), S Chinedum Ndukwe (foot), DE Antwan Odom (shoulder), WR Jerome Simpson (ankle), G Andrew Whitworth (ankle)

Thursday
DE Eric Henderson (neck), T Levi Jones (back), CB Johnathan Joseph (foot), G Scott Kooistra (knee), S Chinedum Ndukwe (foot), DE Antwan Odom (shoulder), WR Jerome Simpson (ankle), G Andrew Whitworth (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
RB Kenny Watson (shoulder)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
WR Andre Caldwell (foot), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back), TE Reggie Kelly (ankle)

Thursday
WR Andre Caldwell (foot), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back), TE Reggie Kelly (ankle), RB Kenny Watson (shoulder)

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
OUT
CB Bryant McFadden (forearm), T Marvel Smith (back), CB Deshea Townsend (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE
TE Matt Spaeth (wrist)
Practice Report

DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
T Marvel Smith (back), CB Deshea Townsend (hamstring)

Thursday
T Marvel Smith (back), CB Deshea Townsend (hamstring)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
TE Matt Spaeth (wrist)

Thursday
CB Bryant McFadden (forearm), TE Matt Spaeth (wrist)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE

Wednesday
CB Bryant McFadden (forearm)