Player Spotlight: Week 14 Streaming D/ST
Last weeks results were mediocre for various reasons, but at least the Cowboys, Bengals and Packers were able to get start-able point totals for you, and the Jags and Chargers were in the positive realm. This week is an interesting week, as some teams have byes, some teams don’t, and others are completely out of the playoffs and do not care anymore. If you are in the playoffs, first off congratulations! Now comes the hard part, winning.
If you are on bye this week, you should not sit idle. This is the time of year when planning ahead to weeks 15 and 16 could make the difference between winning and losing. You can also dump players who are marginal bench stashes that will never see your starting lineup in favor of defenses that have great match ups the next few weeks. The three teams to best target are the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams and New York Jets. Here are their schedules the next three weeks:
Personally, the Browns are the best team to target, but getting any of these match ups for the next three weeks are ideal. Obviously, you won’t find Seattle on waivers, but San Francisco and Atlanta are widely available, and you may find Buffalo, Miami, San Diego and Cincinnati on waivers as well. The point is, look ahead and stock up for your playoff run now. As for other options this week, let us continue on.
As a reminder, defenses picked are 50 percent owned or less in ESPN leagues, and all scoring referenced is ESPN standard scoring.
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
As mentioned above, target the Rams defense. The Rams are atrocious, ranking 30th in fantasy points allowed to defenses. They have allowed an average of 11.33 fantasy points over the last six weeks, with a low of eight. For the season, they have turned the ball over in all but two games. The defense playing LA would be ranked third on the season if it were an actual team. The Falcons are a prime play this week.
Tennessee Titans Hosting the Denver Broncos
Denver has an excellent defense, we all know that. Denver also is a decent match up for defenses to face against. The Broncos are 23rd in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and have allowed double digit fantasy totals in five of the last eight games, with an average of 8.375 points per game. They have also allowed 13 sacks in the last three games, and Tennessee is fifth in blitz rate. Tennessee should be able to get to the quarterback and manufacture points for your fantasy team.
Detroit Lions Hosting the Chicago Bears
The Lions defense has been deceptively good this season, and a match-up with the lowly Bears is a welcome sight. Detroit has scored 34 fantasy points the last three weeks combined, while only allowing teams to score 15 points per game and grabbing seven turnovers. Chicago has scored just over 18 points per game over the last four games, committing eight turnovers and allowing nine sacks. The Lions should feast on the injury-riddle Bears this weekend.
If you are feeling desperate….
Carolina Panthers Hosting the San Diego Chargers
At first glance, this does not look like that great of a match up, but a closer look reveals otherwise. The Panthers are averaging 11 fantasy points per game their last three home games, and nine points per game at home for the season. The Chargers are 24th in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and have allowed double digit totals in four of the last six games. They are also averaging nine fantasy points allowed in their last five road games. If you find yourself feeling desperate for that playoff win, there are worse options.
San Francisco 49ers Hosting the New York Jets
Things that are working in the 49ers favor: Bryce Petty is now the quarterback, the Jets are 31st in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and the Jets have allowed an average of 10.5 fantasy points to defenses the last four games. Also, the Jets have eight turnovers in the last four games, and have scored an average of just 14 points a game. Things that are not working in the 49ers favor: they are the 49ers, they themselves are 28th in fantasy points allowed to defenses, and they stuggled mightily last week against the Bears. Despite that, they are still a decent play against hapless New York.
If you want to discuss further options for streaming defenses, or anything else, just hit me up on the Fantasy Life App. My user name is @jmarin on the app, and you can usually find me in the FL OG Podcast chat.
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