The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to extend their unbeaten streak to five games this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but they will have to try without Ben Roethlisberger under center. Big Ben has been ruled out for this Week 10 contest after getting placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. Roethlisberger's absence will significantly impact the betting odds, the game itself, and of course, the fantasy football landscape in general. However, Roethlisberger's absence could open the door for a Steelers fantasy sleeper to have a breakout performance against the Lions.

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Even Steelers fans don't think a lot of James Washington. But fantasy managers could be racing to the waiver wires to get him once Week 10 is all over. Washington has barely made his presence felt this season. The last time he was on the field, he got a grand total of three looks from Ben Roethlisberger — tied for third among all Steelers. Despite that lone catch, he was able to convert it to a 42-yard reception. Nevertheless, that's not enough to put him on the radars of most fantasy managers.

So far, Washington's best game of the season came way back in Week 4's game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, where he caught four of five targets for 69 yards in a 27-17 Steelers loss. Since then, he has registered 55 receiving yards on three receptions and five targets. He's really not done anything this season to get a look from managers playing in standard leagues.

Why James Washington is a fantasy sleeper in Week 10 vs. the Lions

The biggest reason for anyone to hope that James Washington would be a sneaky good flex play in Week 10 is the fact that Big Ben will be temporarily replaced by Mason Rudolph as the Steelers starting quarterback against the Lions.

Rudolph and Washington go way, way back. They played together for the Oklahoma State Cowboys in college, powering one of the nation's most lethal passing attacks during their time in Stillwater. Needless to say, they are extremely familiar with each other's tendencies. The chemistry is there, and Washington can definitely look forward to getting more looks from Washington than he used to receive from Roethlisberger.

In 2019, when Rudolph got to start a total of eight times for the Steelers — 10 appearances overall — Washington was able to finish the season as Pittsburgh's leader in receiving yards (735) and runner-up to Diontae Johnson in targets (80). He was also third among all Steelers in receptions with 47 catches. And perhaps because of Rudolph's trust in his former college teammate, Washington was the Steelers' leader that season in yards per target (9.2) among Pittsburgh players with at least seven targets.

In other words, don't be surprised if Rudolph unloads home run passes to Washington versus Detroit even though the Steelers are just 26th in the NFL in yards per pass (6.3).

But chemistry aside, Washington is also bound to get more targets in Week 10. The Steelers have already lost JuJu Smith-Schuster for the rest of the season and on top of that, Chase Claypool has also been ruled out for the Lions game. Claypool is second on the team, behind Johnson, in targets this season with 57. Claypool also has eight red-zone targets, which would be spread out among the rest of the healthy assets on Pittsburgh's receiving corps.

On top of those numbers, the Lions have a generous red-zone defense that is allowing opposing teams to convert 83.33 percent of touchdown attempts from inside that area. The combination of Rudolph's trust, opportunity brought about by health issues on the Steelers roster, and the poor quality of the Lions' stop unit make Week 10 the best time for Washington to break out.