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Below are RotoBaller's Week 13 defense tiers and rankings, or which defenses to stream and start for Week 13 of the NFL and fantasy football season. Our tiered defense rankings are your guide to making waiver wire pickups and adds to improve your lineups, and to decide which defenses to start, sit, target, avoid or stream for Week 13.
Are you looking for some assistance with your lineups? Not sure which defenses have good matchups for Week 13? Can't decide which defenses to target off the waiver wire, or whether you should stream a different defense for this week? No worries, we are here to help every week of the fantasy football season.
Starting the right defense every week can be a difference-maker, so we have broken out our defense rankings into tiers with analysis on each matchup. Some of these Week 13 defenses have good matchups and are not widely owned, representing sleeper opportunities if they are available on your league's waiver wire for a Week 13 pickup or add. Good luck in Week 13 RotoBallers!
Week 13 Defenses To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings
Tier 1 Defenses: Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals
The Broncos defense has disappointed lately from a fantasy perspective, posting just three total turnovers over the last five games. They also haven't been getting to the quarterback anywhere near as often, tallying just 13 sacks over the last five games after putting up 24 in the previous five. They should return to form against the hapless Chargers in Week 13, who are currently reeling from injuries on all fronts. Philip Rivers has been hit-or-miss all season, and while Stevie Johnson has filled in admirably for Keenan Allen, this season is lost for San Diego. If the Broncos can shut down Antonio Gates, they should have no trouble putting up a top-ten D/ST performance.
Hey, so, the Panthers defense is really good. This week they get a struggling New Orleans offense (that just got crushed by the Texans), and it could very well be a bloodbath. Drew Brees hasn't looked himself lately, and Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead were nonexistent in the Week 12 loss, and Mark Ingram seems to be the only reliable option in the offense. Panthers could be the number one overall defensive play this week and for the fantasy playoffs.
The Seahawks are going to sell out to stop Adrian Peterson in Week 13--that's not speculation, that's what's going to happen. Their secondary versus Teddy Bridgewater isn't a fair fight, especially when he's only got Stefon Diggs to throw to. Unless Bridgewater and Kyle Rudolph steal Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski's powers Space Jam-style, this game will be low-scoring.
The Cardinals get the Rams in Week 13. Todd Gurley has been shut down (relatively speaking) in recent weeks because defenses are stacking the box, and the Cardinals will do the same. Who's going to beat them--Nick Foles/Case Keenum and Tavon Austin? I think not.
Tier 2 Defenses: Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Chiefs defense (and the team as a whole) have turned things around in the last six weeks. They haven't allowed more than 22 points to any team since their Week 4 shellacking at the hands of the Bengals, and have racked up 17 turnovers since then. They've also gotten to the quarterback more often--their 21 sacks since Week 4 is near the top of the NFL. They'll face Oakland in Week 13, and the only reason they're outside my top tier is the threat of Derek Carr and his pair of aerial weapons (Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper). Latavius Murray has disappointed this season and I don't see him turning it around here. Start the Chiefs with confidence, but temper your expectations.
The Steelers D/ST has kept fantasy owners guessing lately, and discouraged them in Week 12 by yielding 39 points to the Seahawks. I like their chances to bounce back against the Colts in Week 13 despite the Colts still operating at the same level with Matt Hasselbeck under center. T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief are going to be the real obstacles, as the Steelers run defense should have no trouble limiting Frank Gore. Pittsburgh is a top-10 D/ST this week, but just barely.
The Patriots have been an above-average fantasy D/ST in 2015, and I expect them to post another solid week against the sub-par Eagles offense in Week 13. It's impossible to trust any member of the Eagles besides DeMarco Murray, and Bill Belichick is well aware of it. Unless Mark Sanchez and Jordan Matthews can somehow get going, the Patriots should run away with this one, and the D/ST should produce no matter what.
The first-place Redskins (wait, what?) get the Cowboys in Week 13, and I don't see how they lose to the Tony Romo-less sad-sack offense that plays their home games in Jerry World. Matt Cassel has proven he can't get the ball to Dez Bryant and Jason Witten, so that leaves Darren McFadden as the only option for the 'Boys on offense. The Redskins will stack the box, and their fantasy floor is as high as any team this week.
The Bucs have provided a fairly consistent amount of points every week--they don't have many huge games, but they've hovered around 5-8 points on most weeks. With 20 total takeaways this season, they typically find a way to put up an average or above-average fantasy day. I like their chances to do the same against the Falcons, even if Devonta Freeman returns. Julio Jones is the only real danger in the air, and Freeman had been held in check prior to his Week 11 concussion. They have three sacks in each of the last three games, and the Buccaneers should be able to do it again.
Tier 3 Defenses: St. Louis Rams, New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans
The Rams have gotten blasted a couple times recently, and their defense looks nothing like the top-five front that fantasy owners could rely on in the early stages of the season. The main issue has been sacks--before their Week 6 bye, the Rams averaged 3.8 sacks per game. Since then? Just over 1.8 per game. I don't like their chances for a bounce-back against the Cardinals in Week 13. Regardless of whether or not Michael Floyd and/or John Brown are healthy, Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald are still entirely too much for most defenses to handle. Chris Johnson might not be able to get much going against the Rams, but the Cardinals will still move the ball and score touchdowns.
The Giants are dead last in total passing defense through 12 weeks, and they'll now face the Jets who are steadily heating up on offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick should have no trouble finding Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker on multiple occasions, and Bilal Powell has returned to be a reliable passing-down back. I'm skipping the Giants entirely this week.
I would love to rank the Bills higher, but their matchup against Houston scares me all of a sudden. Alex Smith and Jeremy Maclin lit them up, and Brian Hoyer and DeAndre Hopkins are a MUCH more prolific pair. Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes still won't be able to get anything going, but the Bills' inability to stop the pass last week against the Chiefs is very troubling. Start the Bills in deeper leagues, but definitely search for better options.
If you'd have asked me two weeks ago, I'd have said the Packers D/ST was a low-end top-tier option against the Lions. However, Detroit has been Jim Bob Cooter-ing their way back into fantasy relevance. Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford have looked like the tandem of old, with Megatron putting up at least five catches and 80 yards in each of the last six games. If you're going to start a Lions running back it's Theo Riddick, as I still don't think there's enough action for Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah to be relevant. The Packers are reeling, and the Lions might be able to knock them down once more.
The Vikings looked great against the Falcons last week (who were without Devonta Freeman), but it's tough to trust them against the Seahawks in Week 13. Thomas Rawls has electrified the offense in Marshawn Lynch's absence, and Russell Wilson has followed suit. He's without Jimmy Graham, but I don't believe he'll notice--Doug Baldwin has 19 catches for 339 yards and four touchdowns in his last three games. The Vikings typically have a higher floor, but their lack of upside keeps them low in the rankings.
The Bengals abused Nick Foles and the Rams in Week 12 to the tune of seven points allowed and three interceptions. This week they'll get the Browns, and while that seems like a nice matchup this feels like a trap game to me. Josh McCown is locked-in as the starter now, and he's shown that he's capable of a big performance on any given Sunday. The Bengals are a better real-life defense than a fantasy defense, and I don't know that I trust them to shut down Gary Barnidge and Travis Benjamin. Cincinnati is a cautious pass for me.
The Texans defense has played at an incredibly high level in the last month, yielding just 8.75 points per game to opponents--not fantasy points, REAL points. They'll get the Bills in Week 13, who have been up-and-down on offense all season. They even vary by the half--Sammy Watkins and Tyrod Taylor had a huge first half against the Chiefs in Week 12 before getting shut down in the second half. The Texans will have to focus on taking LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams down, which is no small task. I like their chances to get to Taylor though, as the Bills' offensive line doesn't have anyone who can stand up to J.J. Watt. High floor, low ceiling here.
Tier 4 Defenses: New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens
The Jets have been nothing more than mediocre in the last month, and that's where I have them for Week 13. They'll get Eli Manning, Odell Beckham, Jr. and the Giants on Sunday, and it's going to be a total coin flip on which Eli shows up. In all likelihood Manning will throw for 250 yards and two touchdowns, but whether or not he throws multiple interceptions remains to be seen each week. The Jets have a better secondary than most when healthy, and that's why they make this list--their chances of putting up multiple turnovers is as high as they come.
The Falcons are in a very similar situation--they get Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers in Week 13, and it'll depend on which Winston shows up. The talented rookie threw for 264 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions in Week 10 against a middling Cowboys defense, then turned around and blasted the Eagles for five touchdowns the next week. With Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans both healthy, I think it's more likely that he finds the end zone a couple times. The Falcons are one of the top teams in the league as far as interceptions are concerned though, so there is a chance they produce. They are a desperation deep-league play.
The Jaguars make the list thanks to a matchup with the uncertain Tennessee offense, but their ceiling is still rather limited. They don't force turnovers and only get to the quarterback at an average rate, so expecting a huge day is unwise. With that being said, Marcus Mariota has been hit-or-miss all season, so there is a realistic chance that he hands the Jaguars a few gifts. Delanie Walker is his main weapon and he'll be the focus of the Jaguars secondary. Antonio Andrews and David Cobb don't scare anyone, so the Jags should have a solid floor in Week 13.
The Dolphins are in complete flux, having just fired offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Ryan Tannehill has reportedly been checking out of run plays, effectively neutralizing two of the top weapons in the offense (Jay Ajayi and Lamar Miller). Enter the Ravens D/ST. They've been beatable all season long, and Jarvis Landry will definitely still eat, but with how messy the organization is right now, I'm betting on the misfortunes continuing, to the Ravens' delight.
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