Unless most of the teams in your league carry a backup defense, more than half of the league should be available to you every week. Perhaps instead of playing one above average defense every week, regardless of matchup, we should instead target the widely available waiver wire defenses with the best matchups in any particular week? You can always make exceptions if your rent-a-defense gets hot - heck, you might find a team worth starting all year by accident. Even if you don't, good matchups will continue to get greater in number as more QBs get injured or yanked as the season goes on. You can steal some points from bad weather come December. Each week I'll list the startable fantasy defenses on most waiver wires and rank them.
Week 14 Results
Minnesota (vs Detroit) - 5 sacks, 2 INT, 7 pts allowed
You can’t ask for much more from your rent-a-defense. We were one garbage time drive away from a shutout bonus
A Look Ahead: @LAC GB - Philip Rivers could turn back into a senior citizen quarterback against a non-giving-up team, we’ll keep the Vikings in consideration
Tennessee (vs Oakland) - 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 DEF TD
The Titans pulled away in this one in part due to a Darren Waller fumble that was scooped and taken to the house
A Look Ahead: HOU NO - Why not? The Texans were terrible last week
New Orleans (vs San Francisco) - 3 sacks, 1 INT
Hopefully your league doesn’t penalize for yards and points allowed
A Look Ahead: IND @TEN - It’s difficult to go back to the Saints now
Green Bay (vs Washington) - 4 sacks, 1 INT
Not a terrible result, but not one that helped you win this week. The Packers seemed to be in second gear for most of this one.
A Look Ahead: CHI @MIN - Mitchell Trubisky played better than Aaron Rodgers last week?!?
Kansas City (at New England) - 3 sacks, 1 INT
Not a difference maker, but roughly the same output as the Patriots D/ST
A Look Ahead: DEN @CHI - Drew Lock doesn’t look like a quarterback to target right now. Throwing the Chiefs back is understandable
Houston (vs Denver) - 1 sack, 1 INT
Just like everyone had it, the Broncos were actually the side we wanted in this game
A Look Ahead: @TEN @TB - No thanks
Tampa Bay (vs Indianapolis) - 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
Just like everyone had it (well maybe some did), the Colts were actually the side we wanted in this game.
A Look Ahead: @DET HOU - David Blough is playing like a third stringer. Could be interesting if Jameis Winston can play
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
Denver (at Houston) - 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT, 1 DEF TD
It was a triumphant revenge game for Kareem Jackson
Indianapolis (at Tampa Bay) - 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 3 INT, 1 DEF TD
Darius Leonard led the way as Jameis Winston bled turnovers early and then brought his team back to win with a broken thumb and without Mike Evans
Atlanta (vs Carolina) - 5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 INT
And another reminder that Kyle Allen can pay off as a target no matter which defense is facing him
Cleveland (vs Cincinnati) - 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 DEF TD
Andy Dalton overthrew Auden Tate and Denzel Ward did the rest
Seattle (at Los Angeles Rams) - 2 INT, 1 DEF TD
Quandre Diggs scored more touchdowns than the Seahawks offense
Week 15 Candidates
**San Francisco, New England, Pittsburgh and Baltimore are assumed to be rostered**
New Orleans (vs Indianapolis)
This should be a statement game for the unit that carried the team while Drew Brees was out after giving up 48 points to San Francisco. Home game, prime time, expect some fireworks.
A Look Ahead: @TEN - Get used to tackling Derrick Henry. No thanks.
Tennessee (vs Houston)
Deshaun Watson is far from a typical rent-a-defense target, but the Texans are ice cold and the Titans are red hot. These two teams will play again and Tennessee has the tougher Week 16 matchup (New Orleans compared to Tampa Bay for Houston) so the Texans may not have as much urgency as the Titans.
A Look Ahead: NO - Pass
Minnesota (at Los Angeles Chargers)
The Vikings defense has been coming on for fantasy and until Philip Rivers faced the Jaguars he looked like a perfect rent-a-defense target. Only one of these teams is still in the playoff hunt and the crowd could be more pro-Vikings than pro-Chargers
A Look Ahead: GB - Aaron Rodgers is slipping but not that much
Seattle (at Carolina)
Kyle Allen and Quandre Diggs are here for us. The Seahawks need this game to have a chance to win the division
A Look Ahead: Arizona - Maybe the best reason to play Seattle this week is to save a spot and still get them at home against Kyler Murray next week if you advance
Tampa Bay (at Detroit)
The Bucs D/ST winning weeks for us the last two contests heading into Week 14 and they get a third string quarterback this week. That’s enough to back them as the team has been showing a lot of fight despite being out of the playoff hunt.
A Look Ahead: HOU - We’ll watch to see if the Texans wake up this week
Kansas City (vs Denver)
The Chiefs defense has actually levelled off almost a year into Steve Spagnuolo’s tenure. Drew Lock is actually a little scary to face and didn’t look at all vulnerable and Patrick Mahomes II is banged up, so this one is much less attractive than it looked a few weeks ago.
A Look Ahead: @CHI - Mitchell Trubisky playing better is taking the luster off of this one too...
Playoffs Preemptive Pickups
Week 16
Seattle (vs Arizona)
Denver (vs Detroit)
