I hate that I continually don’t have time to produce back-to-back Streamable Defenses of the Week articles but again, Week 12 did not allow me anytime to do so. With that being said we once again had to take averages to continue our season long points total. It is what it is and we’re back for Week 13! Let’s see what we can find for this week.
I’m one to never invest a high draft stock into team defenses. I play the waiver wire every single week to find my D/ST for the upcoming week. Due to this, I find myself never drafting a defense and waiting for just before the start of Week 1 to grab my first defense of the season. This is where this series comes into play. Every week I will be suggesting my favorite three team defenses that are regularly available on waiver wires across most formats. I will also keep a running total of how my selections measure up across the season below.
The premise of this article is to bring forth three streamable defenses that fantasy football players should look to use for that respective week. To qualify for this series, defenses must be owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. At least one of the suggested defenses will be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues to cater to every fantasy player. You can find last week’s results below and previous week’s results at the bottom of this article.
Overall Results
Top Suggestion - 91 Points (DST8)
Middle Suggestion - 79 points (DST14)
Under 10-Percent Owned - 98 Points (DST6)
Week 13 Suggestions
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (Owned in 20% of Yahoo and 11.1% of ESPN leagues)
The defending Super Bowl Champions are in disarray right now sitting at 3-8. On top of that, Matthew Stafford has now missed two games in three weeks in the NFL’s percussion protocol. He has a neck strain as well dealing with the concussion. I’d find it hard to believe that he would be rolled out there this week against the Seahawks. The Rams have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing defenses on the season. Last week led by Bryce Perkins, the Rams managed just ten points and Perkins completed just 13 passes. With or without Stafford, I’m still playing the Seahawks’ defense this week.
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (Owned in 9% of Yahoo and 9.4% of ESPN Leagues)
Leading off, the Houston Texans have allowed the third most fantasy points to opposing defenses. The Browns haven’t had a takeaway since Week 8 but had a tough stretch of games with matchups against the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although the team doesn’t have a takeaway in a few weeks, they get the Texans and Davis Mills who is tied for the league lead in interceptions thrown at 11. This is a very talented defense that has stars at every level. I think this is a get-right game for them after their rough stretch of opponents.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Owned in 6% of Yahoo and 9.2% of ESPN Leagues)
The Steelers are coming off a Monday Night Football win over the Indianapolis Colts but that doesn’t mean much. They’re still a stagnant offense that doesn’t offer much week-in-and-week-out. Kenny Pickett has reduced his turnovers but still has eight on the season in eight games. The Steelers have also allowed 32 sacks on the season, good enough for ninth most in the league. The Falcons have not allowed more than 25 points across their last four games as well.