Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 13: Fantasy Tiers & Rankings

November 24, 2014

Matt Lib analyzes which defenses (DEF) to sit or start, and provides his Week 13 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL defenses. Starting the right defense in fantasy football can be a game changer.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming defenses, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week 13 NFL matchups. Just like every other week of the fantasy football season, we’re here to give you the insight to help make your defense streaming decisions and Week 13 lineup decisions a bit easier.

Week 13 has some enticing defensive matchups, so be sure to stay on top of your league’s waiver wire options. Bye weeks are now a thing of the past, and we've got three Thursday night matchups for Thanksgiving day football, so be sure to keep that in mind when setting your lineups. Good luck in Week 13 RotoBallers!

Special Treat: We've heard your requests for more position specific live advice, so at the bottom of this post you'll find our Week 13 wide receivers waiver wire chat room, where you can discuss the players in this article and other possible running back waiver wire additions. 

Week 13 Defenses: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1: Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins

Not many top tier options this week, but a few of the better defenses have A+ matchups. Cincinnati heads to Tampa Bay led by Josh McCown, Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. The Bengals defense has looked a bit better as of late, and are starting to get healthier. They still can't generate a pass rush with only 14 sacks on the year, but have only been giving up 21 per game, and they're facing a Buccaneer team that's averaging 19 per game and has let up 32 sacks including five this past week against the Bears.

Indianapolis will host Robert Griffin, DeSean Jackson, Alfred Morris and Pierre Garcon on Sunday. The Redskins have been putting up 20 per game, and have let up 33 sacks including five last week against the 49ers. The Colts have been allowing 23 per game, and have racked up 28 sacks creating a juicy matchup for their front seven. They've also created 19 takeaways and will look to add to the 21 turnovers Washington has given up.

The Miami Dolphins head up to New Jersey to take on the Jets who have been putting up 17 points per game prior to their Monday night game against the Bills. Michael Vick, Percy Harvin, Erik Decker and the rest of the Jets offense have given up 18 turnovers and 29 sacks on the year. Miami's defense has been stout however, averaging 20 PPG allowed, and accounting for 20 takeaways and 31 sacks. This makes for a juicy matchup against the Jets offensive line.  All of these these tier one defenses have juicy matchups and are must starts this week.

Tier 2: Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams

Tier two begins with some of the league's best defenses, beginning with the Seattle Seahawks. They travel to San Francisco this week to face off against Colin Kaepernick, Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin and Frank Gore who have been averaging just 21 PPG. They've also let up an absurd 34 sacks on the year, averaging just under three per game. They'll be going up against a Seattle defense that has been starting to come on as we inch closer to the playoffs.They've allowed 20 points per game, have 15 takeaways and 16 sacks on the year, but a lot of these numbers have come in their past 4 games.

Detroit hosts Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey and Matt Forte who have inexplicably been averaging 22 PPG. Chicago has also turned the ball over 21 times, and has let up 28 sacks including three this past week. That's a welcome site for a Lions front seven that's coming off two sack-less games against Arizona and New England. Detroit has only been giving up 17 per game, and has generated 17 turnovers to go with their 26 sacks.

Houston faces off against Tennessee's offense putting up 18 per game. Zack Mettenberger, Kendall Wright, Bishop Sankey and Justin Hunter have also turned the ball over 17 times along with their O-Line allowing 30 sacks on the year. The Texans have only been allowing 21 points per game, and have a great matchup with their front seven against this O-Line as they've racked up 21 sacks. They've also accrued 24 takeaways on the year and will look to capitalize on a young offenses mistakes.

One game with an interesting matchup on both sides of the ball is the Bills taking on the Browns. Cleveland's offense has been averaging 22 PPG and has only let up 16 sacks on the year. They're getting close to full strength with Josh Gordon and possibly Jordan Cameron to add to Brian Hoyer's weapons of Andrew Hawkins and Isaiah Crowell.

All that being said, this Buffalo defense is not to be taken lightly. They've been allowing 20 PPG prior to their Monday night game against the Jets. They've also generated 24 takeaways and are leading the league with over 40 sacks. On the other side of the ball, Kyle Orton, Sammy Watkins, Scott Chandler and Fred Jackson have been leading the Bills to 20 PPG offensively. They've only turned the ball over 16 times on the year but had let up 26 sacks through 11 games. Cleveland has been allowing 20 per game, and has 20 turnovers on the year. They've also racked up 23 sacks making for a good matchup up front against a mediocre Bills O-Line.

Arizona travels to Atlanta to go up against Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White who have somehow only been averaging 24 PPG. They've also turned the ball over 17 times and their offensive line has let up 23 sacks. That doesn't exactly bode well for a team trying to win the fight for division title in the "worst" division in football, especially when they're facing one of the league's best in Arizona. The Cardinals have been allowing a stingy 18 per game, and have gathered 20 turnovers to go with their 25 sacks on the year. It could be another long day for Mike Smith in what could (and should) be his final year in Atlanta.

The Broncos head to Missouri to take on the Chiefs. This Broncos defense has been leaving a lot of fans shaking their heads as they've been giving up 24 PPG and have only generated 13 turnovers on the year. They have however racked up 28 sacks, making for another juicy line play matchup against the Chiefs who have let up 27 sacks. Alex Smith, Jamaal Charles, and Travis Kelce have been putting up 24 PPG, but still haven't completed a touchdown to a wide receiver, and Denver is stingy against the run only giving up 76 YPG.

Rounding out the 2nd tier we find the Rams who host Oakland and their miserable offense putting up 16 PPG. If the Rams defense were any better this would be a first tier option, but they've been letting up 26 per game, and have only forced 16 turnovers on the year. They've finally started to add to their sack total of 22, with two or more sacks in each of their past seven games. Derek Carr, James Jones and Latavius Murray have only been putting up 16 PPG and have turned the ball over 21 times. Even though they've only let up 13 sacks, this is still a good matchup in all 8+ team leagues, along with the rest of these tier two teams.

Tier 3: Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings

This week's third tier has some good defenses with less than desirable matchups, and some less than great defenses with great matchups. This starts off with the Eagles taking on the Cowboys at Jerryworld. Philadelphia's defense has been giving up 25 PPG, but just keeps getting it done defensively especially for fantasy reasons. They've racked up 19 takeaways and have an impressive sack total of 38. They take on Dez Bryant, Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and Jason Witten who have been putting up 27 per game and have turned the ball over 19 times. The Cowboys have let up 20 sacks, which could spell trouble for Romo against this Philly front seven.

On the other side of the ball the improved Dallas D will look to continue its improvements from last year but they are hard to trust given their recent history. They've been giving up 22 per game and have 18 sacks to go with their 18 takeaways on the year. They will be trying to contain Mark Sanchez, Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews and LeSean McCoy who have been averaging 31 per game. The Eagles offense has turned it over 27 times on the year, but they've also only let up 17 sacks through 12 games.

San Francisco hosts the defending champion Seahawks who have been putting up 25 PPG. Led by Russel Wilson, along with Marshawn Lynch and Doug Baldwin, they've only turned the ball over 9 times on the year, and have let up 27 sacks, including 7 this past week against Arizona. This makes for a good matchup for a Niners squad finally starting to get all their players back, and that has 22 sacks on the year. They've only been giving up 21 PPG and have 22 takeaways on the year.

Another matchup in which we'll look at both sides of the ball is the Chargers heading to Baltimore to take on Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Steve Smith and Justin Forsett. The Ravens had been averaging 26 PPG prior to their Monday night game against the Saints, and only turned the ball over 14 times and let up 14 sacks. They'll be facing off against an underrated San Diego defense that's only been allowing opponents 20 PPG.

On the other side of the ball, Phillip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Keenan Allen and Ryan Matthews will face off against another stingy defense in the Raven's who have only been allowing 18 per game and had 25 sacks through 11 games. The Chargers offense has only been putting up 22 per game, and has looked anemic lately. They've taken care of the ball with only 15 turnovers, but have let up 22 sacks including 3 this past week against the Rams.

Kansas City has the unfortunate task of trying to contain Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, CJ Anderson and Julius Thomas. The Broncos have been averaging 30 PPG while this Kansas City defense has only been allowing 18 per game. The loss of Eric Berry will certainly not help, and we wish him nothing but the best of news as his story unfolds. There's not much here in the Chiefs favor as they've only generated 8 takeaways and have 31 sacks, but are going against an offense with 11 turnovers and 12 sacks allowed. This is more of a gut feeling call as these games seem to become more defensive oriented as we creep towards the playoffs.

Tennessee takes on Houston who go back to Ryan Fitzpatrick after losing Ryan Mallet for the year due to injury. The Texans have been averaging 22 PPG and have 16 giveaways, but have given up 21 sacks on the year. That will come into play against this Titans defense that has 31 sacks, while letting up 27 per game. This offense would be a whole lot scarier if they had consistent quarterback play with Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, but they haven't been able to live up to their offensive potential.

The New York Giants head to Jacksonville to face off against Blake Bortles, Denard Robinson, and Allen Hurns who have been averaging a meager 15 PPG. They've turned the ball over 24 times and have been sacked an incredible 42 times. So even though the Giants are letting up 27 per game and only have 19 sacks, this is a pretty good matchup.

Rounding out the third tier we look at the matchup between the Panthers and the Vikings. Minnesota's offense has been putting up 18 PPG  and has let up 34 sacks on the year. Teddy Bridgewater, Jerick McKinnon, Greg Jennings and Cordarelle Patterson just haven't been able to put it together consistently enough to make them scary. Carolina has been allowing 27 PPG, but has looked better as of late including their pass rush which may not be difficult against this Vikings O-Line.

On the other side of the ball Cam Newton, Kelvin Benjamin and Greg Olson will look to come out strong after their bye week against a Vikings defense that's been giving up 22 PPG. Their O-Line will be tested as they've given up 33 sacks on the year and are up against a Minnesota front seven with 31 sacks themselves. All of these make for interesting matchups with high ceilings and relatively low floors. These tier 3 teams are the main streaming options for fantasy managers in 10+ team leagues.

Tier 4: New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons

The fourth tier, as always, is where we get into some dicey plays, starting off with the possible Super Bowl preview in Patriots at Packers. New England has only been giving up 21 PPG  and has dominated Indy and Denver recently, but Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Eddie Lacy and Randall Cobb are white hot lately. They've been putting up 32 per game, but their O-Line has let up 23 sacks which may be an issue against a Patriots defense with 25 sacks of their own. The turnover battle in this one may not be a deciding factor as neither team turns the ball over much. That being said, they both also have at least 20 takeaways and will be looking to capitalize on a rare mistake from an elite opponent.

On the other side of the ball Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell have been averaging 33 PPG while only turning the ball over 9 times on the year. They'll take on a Green Bay defense allowing 23 PPG, and even though they have 27 sacks, the Patriots have only allowed 16. Either way, I'm just looking to stay away from this matchup.

The next game we look at is the Saints continuing their AFC North homestand as they host the Steelers. Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Mark Ingram and Marques Colston had been putting up 26 per game prior to their Monday night game against the Ravens. Pittsburgh has been allowing 24 per game and only has 14 takeaways on the year. While they do have 20 sacks, the Saints have only let up 16 sacks through their first 11 games. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant have been putting up 26 PPG as well and will be facing a Saints defense that has been averaging 25 per game. The Steelers have given up 30 sacks per game and the Saints have racked up 22 sacks themselves. In the end, neither defense is as good as most people expected to begin the year, and aren't worth trusting this week.

Chicago travels to the division rival Lions to take on Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate who have somehow only been putting up 18 PPG. Even with their offensive woes, the Bears aren't worth the risk against an offense with this much potential. They've been giving up 28 PPG, and the sacks are about the only thing that stack in their favor for this matchup. They've generated 27 sacks on the year while Detroit has let up 33 sacks.

The Falcons host the Arizona Cardinals who have been scoring 22 PPG. Drew Stanton, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Ellington and Michael Floyd will look to bounce back after being held to a field goal against the Seahawks. The Cardinals have only turned the ball over 10 times so far, and have let up 19 sacks. None of this makes for a good matchup for an abysmal Falcons defense that's let up 26 PPG and has only generated 14 sacks. All of these fourth tier teams are risky starts and should be reserved for desperation plays in deep leagues.

Tier 5: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders

This weeks fifth tier mirrors the first tier matchups, with the usual suspects making an appearance as well in the Jags and Raiders. The Buccaneers host the Bengals led by AJ Green, Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill, Mohamed Sanu and Andy Dalton. While they've only been averaging 22 PPG, they look as though they're at the beginning of a hot stretch, and Tampa Bay isn't a trustworthy defense. They've allowed 27 per game, and while they have gotten 23 sacks, the Bengals have only let up  13 sacks on the year.

Next we find the Redskins against the Colts. Andrew Luck has been leading the Colts to 30 points per game with the help of TY Hilton, Trent Richardson and Reggie Wayne. The Redskins have been giving up 25 PPG, and while they have generated 27 sacks, the Colts have only let up 20 and their O-Line will be looking for a rebound from their worst performance of the year against the Jags.

The New York Jets host the division rival Dolphins who continue to get it done offensively. They've been putting up 26 points per game with Ryan Tannehill at the helm along with Mike Wallace, Lamar Miller and Jarvis Landry. The Jets have been letting up 27 per game, and have only generated 7 takeaways. They do have 27 sacks and are facing a mediocre Miami O-Line that's given up 26 sacks, but the numbers simply aren't there to justify considering them this week.

Jacksonville hosts the Giants led by Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr (did you happen to see that catch yet?), Larry Donnell and Rashad Jennings. The Giants offense hasn't been lighting it up with only 21 PPG to go with their 22 giveaways, but this is the Jaguars we're talking about. Jacksonville has been averaging 28 points let up per game, and has only generated 14 turnovers. Their ridiculous sack numbers (five this past week against the Colts) aren't enough to make them a reliable streamer.

Rounding out the fifth tier, we find a familiar face in the Raiders. This story is eerily similar to the Jaguars, they've been giving up 26 per game, and have only generated 8 takeaways. Oakland hasn't had the pleasant surprise of a dominant pass rush however, with only 12 sacks so far. St. Louis has only been averaging 19 per game with Shaun Hill, Kenny Britt, Jared Cook and Tre Mason, and have let up over 30 sacks, but it's the Raiders. That can be said about all of these fifth tier defenses this week, no real scary matchups, just bad defenses with less than favorable opponents.

Week 13 Defense Live Chat

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