PITTSBURGH (at Arizona)
The Steelers have won six of their last seven to climb back into the playoff picture, but they've done so with a lesser offense. They've scored 3 TDs in only one of their last eight games, and that was ...

... ... at home against the lowly Dolphins. The offense has gotten in the end zone only once in half of those eight games. But here's a week where Pittsburgh looks pretty certain to score at least 2 TDs. It might even manage 3. Arizona's defense has been pretty dreadful, giving up a league-high 426 yards per game. Only the Dolphins have allowed more points. ... Vance McDonald is a nominal tight end. He doesn't have great hands, and he's ...

This report is taken from today's Week 14 edition of Fantasy Index Weekly. The newsletter includes our player rankings and 21 pages of matchup previews, plus stat projections and custom rankings for the games being played this weekend.

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... stuck on a team with a painfully limited passing attack. Since Ben Roethlisberger was shelved, McDonald has averaged only 18 receiving yards, with 1 TD in nine games. But here's a week where McDonald must be carefully considered. Arizona has been that bad against tight ends -- probably the worst defense against tight ends in the history of the league. The 13 tight ends who have started against the Cardinals have combined to catch 12 TDs, with four 100-yard games. Only three of said players have failed to get into the end zone. The last two weeks, obscure tight ends have been able score against this defense (Ross Dwelley, Tyler Higbee). With that in mind, it sure seems to make a lot of sense to gamble on McDonald.

The Steelers are sticking with Duck Hodges at quarterback. He'll face what's been a wildly crappy pass defense. Arizona is allowing 325 passing yards per week, and is on pace to allow 41 touchdown passes. It's as if they're playing Patrick Mahomes every week. Arizona has allowed over 315 passing yards in five straight games. So if we're comparing Hodges to the other lower-level quarterbacks -- Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, etc. -- then Hodges makes some sense. But there are limits on how high we'll go on a free agent rookie quarterback making just his third start. Hodges passed for 132 yards and a touchdown against the Chargers. Against Cleveland, he went 14 of 21 for 212, again with 1 TD. Even against this leaky secondary, unlikely that the Steelers ask him to start firing balls all over the place (the Cardinals also aren't particularly good against the run). ... We're ranking the wide receivers a little higher than usual, given Arizona's problems stopping the pass. But keep in mind that we don't think Pittsburgh will come up and aggressively attack through the air. Also factor in that the Cardinals have allowed as many touchdowns to tight ends (13) as wide receivers. If we're going to use that trend to slot Vance McDonald higher than usual, it's logical at the same time to say the wide receivers will be less likely than usual to catch the team's touchdowns. But a decent situation. James Washington looks like their best wide receiver right now, with some ability to get downfield for long catches. Washington struggled as a rookie and also early this season, but he's come on. In his last five games, they've gone 20 of 27 when passing to him, for 417 yards and 3 TDs. Hodges has connected with him for long touchdowns two weeks in a row. Washington has averaged 83 yards in his last five games. Diontae Johnson, on the other hand, has been the opposite. He averaged 51 receiving yards in his first five starts, with 3 TDs, looking like the latest great Steelers receiver. But he's fizzled. He's averaged only 25 yards in his last five games, with no touchdowns. The Steelers have gone only 11 of 23 passing to Johnson in their last five games. Washington looks a lot better than Johnson right now. As the Steelers begin preparations for the Cardinals, Mike Tomlin says JuJu Smith-Schuster is questionable. He's missed the last two games with a concussion and knee injury. Assuming Smith-Schuster gets in a decent amount of practice time, we'll have him slotted as the No. 2 wide receiver, behind Washington. That's how we've got him ranked for now (and we'll adjust on Friday, if necessary). But the Steelers have had problems getting him going this year. He's had more than 21 receiving yards in only three of his last seven games. ... The Steelers probably will get James Conner (shoulder) back. He did some work in practice last week. Mike Tomlin says he considers Conner questionable at this point. But even if Conner returns, he's less likely than previously to be used in a heavy-duty role. Benny Snell is a Conner clone and has looked pretty similar while filling in, running for 75 yards against the Chargers and 98 and 63 the last two weeks. Jaylen Samuels doesn't run as well as those guys but is a better pass catcher; he'll be part of their mix. And Kerrith Whyte has carried 9 times for 53 yards as a smaller, speedy change-of-pace the last two weeks. It should be more of a committee situation than the Steelers have typically used in recent years, with either Conner or Snell as the lead runner and Samuels as the most productive pass catcher. As for the matchup, it looks pretty good. The Steelers rank only 26th in rushing, but they've been coming on some, with 160 and 124 rushing yards in their last two games. The Cardinals have a bottom-10 run defense, and probably would rank lower if so many teams weren't ripping them up through the air. ... Chris Boswell looks like an above-average kicker. The Steelers aren't a great team, but they've been able to win six of their last seven, climbing back into the playoff race. And they usually put him on the field for multiple field goals. Only eight teams have scored more kicking points, while only four have allowed more production by kickers than Arizona. ... The Steelers Defense looks as likely as any to lead the league in sacks this week. It's got 43 sacks (only two defenses have more) while Arizona has allowed 42. Pittsburgh also has 30 takeaways, tied with New England for most in the league. On the turnover front, Arizona oddly has been way better than you would think for a team with major pass-protection issues. Kyler Murray has thrown only 6 interceptions, and the Cardinals have fumbled only 5 times (tied for fewest in the league). But if guys like T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Bud Dupree are sprinting into the backfield, that's a good place to start.