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 13 Results
New York Giants (at Jacksonville) - 7 sacks
Not the feeding frenzy we were looking for, but still not bad. The Giants jumped out to a 21-0 lead and everything looked peachy until they collapsed in the second half.
A Look Ahead: @TEN WAS @STL - Are they playing for Tom Coughlin’s job? Giants are still in consideration this week against the reeling Titans.
St. Louis (vs Oakland) - 6 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 DEF TD, Shutout
Jackpot! The Rams are finally delivering on their high expectations.
A Look Ahead: @WAS ARI NYG - If you have the Rams D/ST, you’ll be starting them for the rest of the season.
Indianapolis (vs Washington) - 6 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 DEF TD
Another big hit on the waiver wire, as the Colts were able to get to Colt McCoy frequently playing from ahead for the entire game.
A Look Ahead: @CLE HOU @DAL - If you think Johnny Manziel is going to be a disaster (assuming he starts), you might want to start the Colts this week.
Dallas (vs Philadelphia) - 1 fumble recovery, 1 sack
Yuck. The Cowboys are back to being a meek and porous defense.
A Look Ahead: @CHI @PHI IND - No thanks.
Cincinnati (vs Tampa Bay) - 1 interception, 1 sack
The Bengals defense wasn’t as good as Marvin Lewis’s advanced challenge metagame skills in securing the win.
A Look Ahead: PIT @CLE DEN - I won’t be shocked if the Bengals have a great week at home vs PIT, but I won’t count on it.
Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda
Jacksonville (vs New York Giants) - 4 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 DEF TDs
The Jaguars have had two good D/ST games in a row. What is this world coming to?
Minnesota (vs Carolina) - 4 sacks, 1 interception, 2 ST TD
The Vikings can block a punt with the best of them, but two blocked punt scores is about as fluky as it gets.
Denver (at Kansas City) - 6 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries
This is what happens when Alex Smith plays from behind for the entire game.
Week 14 Candidates
**Houston, St. Louis, Arizona, Seattle, Philadelphia and Detroit are likely owned in most leagues, but can be played over any rent-a-defense**
Green Bay (vs Atlanta)
Everything is rosy right now for the Falcons, but their offensive line is still a major liability, and the Packers are at Lambeau where they can steamroll in the cold.
A Look Ahead: @BUF @TB - Not nearly as attractive away from Lambeau
Denver (vs Buffalo)
The sackmasters for the Denver are back in effect, and the Broncos should be able to play from ahead and put Kyle Orton out of his comfort zone in his return to Denver
A Look Ahead: @SD @CIN - Both of these are formidable opponents for the Broncos and make them a one-off rent-a-D
San Francisco (vs Oakland)
The once mighty 49ers D/ST is likely on the waiver wire, and their playoff hopes are hanging by a string if they can’t win across the bay in Oakland. The Raiders are smarting from the disemboweling the Rams put on them last week.
A Look Ahead: @SEA SD - Nothing to see here.
Jacksonville (vs Houston)
Why not? The Jaguars defense is coming on, their pass rush is formidable, they have a history of playing the Texans tough no matter the records, and they are at home. Ryan Fitzpatrick worked his Fitzmagic last week, but the Jaguars aren’t rolling over like the Titans did for much of the game.
A Look Ahead: @BAL TEN - Yes, you might start the Jaguars D/ST in Week 16. This is not a typo.
New York Giants (at Tennessee)
The Giants game in Jacksonville was a tale of two halves, but if they sense that Coach Coughlin’s job is in a precarious state, they might show up in force on his behalf. Either way, playing a banged up rookie or Jake Locker at quarterback is a nice development.
A Look Ahead: WAS @STL - If Giants can have a big game this week, they could be viable in Week 15.
Week 15 & 16 Preemptive 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 playoffs to stash away. Here are the best ones to target:
New York Giants (Week 15 WAS)
New England (Week 16 @NYJ)
Baltimore (Week 15 JAX, Week 16 @HOU)
Seattle (Week 15 SF, Week 16 @ARI)
Detroit (Week 15 MIN, Week 16 @CHI)
Arizona (Week 16 SEA)
St. Louis (Week 15 ARI)
Kansas City (Week 15 OAK)
Jacksonville (Week 16 TEN)
Philadelphia (Week 16 @WAS)
Miami (Week 16 MIN)
Buffalo (Week 16 @OAK)
