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 10 Results
Baltimore (vs Tennessee) - 5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery
Zach Mettenberger got off to a good start, but eventually the Ravens defense got to him. He wasn’t egregious, so we might hesitate to target him with a D/ST play unless it’s on the road against a good defense.
A Look Ahead: BYE @NO SD - on bye, but worth carrying to playoffs for JAX/@HOU matchups in weeks 15/16
New Orleans (vs San Francisco) - 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
Colin Kaepernick wasn’t playing that well, but the Saints defense couldn’t create the big play to swing the game in their favor - that was the 49ers defense.
A Look Ahead: CIN BAL @PIT - The Saints in the Superdome against a reeling Andy Dalton is still attractive this week.
Pittsburgh (at New York Jets) - 4 sacks
Sorry, as a life-long Steelers diehard, I should have known better.
A Look Ahead: @TEN BYE NO - If you trust them, you’ve got more guts than me.
Philadelphia (vs Carolina) - 9 sacks, 3 INT, 2 fumble recovery, 1 DEF TD, 1 ST TD
A rigged slot machine. A fantasy MVP. The Eagles D/ST is massive and unbenchable at this point. A top 50 non-QB scorer in every league and outscoring LeSean McCoy, even in PPR leagues.
A Look Ahead: @GB TEN @DAL - I don’t care who they are playing, the Eagles are an everyweek start.
Dallas (vs Jacksonville in London) - 4 sacks, 1 INT, 2 fumble recoveries
“The opponent of Jacksonville” is the #2 D/ST this year behind the Eagles. That trend continued for the Cowboys on foreign soil.
A Look Ahead: BYE @NYG PHI - Bye bye.
Arizona (vs St. Louis) - 6 sacks, 2 INT, 1 fumble recovery, 2 DEF TDs
Another yahtzee, as the Cardinals at home have been a very kind D/ST play for the last few years.
A Look Ahead - DET @SEA @ATL - Worth a look as Matthew Stafford can go on tilt at times, but not a slam dunk play.
Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda
Green Bay (vs Chicago) - 4 sacks, 2 INT, 1 fumble recovery, 1 DEF TD
Packers win… fatality. Prime time home D/STs have been terrific plays this year.
Cleveland (at Cincinnati) - 2 sacks, 3 INT, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 pts allowed
We all got to see Andy Dalton’s personal hell on Thursday night. Another prime time D/ST coming through, this time on the road.
Week 11 Candidates
**Play Philadelphia over any rent-a-defense**
Miami (vs Buffalo)
A Thursday night game at home, where the Dolphins have ambushed opponents. Yes, please.
A Look Ahead: @DEN @NYJ BAL - Probably not worth holding for the Jets matchup
Cleveland (vs Houston)
Welcome to the NFL starting QB club Ryan Mallett. Your first assignment is a peaking defense at home in their first week in first place in 19 years.
A Look Ahead: @ATL @BUF IND - Maybe in Georgia Dome next week if they thrash Houston. Maybe.
New Orleans (vs Cincinnati)
The Saints were a meh D/ST play last week, but Andy Dalton is staggered and the Superdome can inspire feeding frenzies. I’m still in.
A Look Ahead: BAL @PIT CAR - The Saints schedule and defense are good enough to be worth carrying as a second D/ST matchup play from here on out, including next week on Monday night against the Ravens at home
Denver (at St. Louis)
This feels like the kind of game that St. Louis can be surprisingly competitive in, but it’s still Ware and Miller against Austin Davis and the Rams offense is horrendous trying to come back from deficits.
A Look Ahead: MIA @KC BUF - I’m willing to roll with any D/ST that has this kind of talent and the likelihood of playing from ahead a LOT.
Week 12/Playoffs Pre-emptive Pickups
If you like to devote two roster spots to a D/ST, or you suspect other teams are going to stream defenses this year, you might want to grab a top option for the following week to stash away. Here are the best ones to target:
Week 12
Indianapolis (vs Jacksonville)
Buffalo (vs NY Jets)
Seattle (vs Arizona)
San Francisco (vs Washington)
New Orleans (vs Baltimore)
Playoffs
Houston (Week 14 @JAX)
Baltimore (Week 15 JAX, Week 16 @HOU)
Seattle (Week 15 SF, Week 16 ARI)
Detroit (Week 14 TB, Week 15 MIN, Week 16 @CHI)
New Orleans (Week 14 CAR, Week 15 @CHI, Week 16 ATL)
