Week 14 Fantasy Options for Team Defenses

Fantasy leagues have just one or two matchups remaining before the playoffs, which means the D/ST-related needs of each team are a bit different. Below you’ll find the usual streaming recommendations for the upcoming week (W14) as well as resources to help prepare for the playoffs / weeks ahead. 

Playoff Grid

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any

Fantasy leagues have just one or two matchups remaining before the playoffs, which means the D/ST-related needs of each team are a bit different. Below you’ll find the usual streaming recommendations for the upcoming week (W14) as well as resources to help prepare for the playoffs / weeks ahead. 

Playoff Grid

Note: These recommendations are limited to team defenses that are rostered on less than 60 percent of teams on Yahoo or 45 percent on ESPN. Any references to fantasy points are based on Yahoo standard scoring, which doesn’t include yards allowed.

Top Streaming Options for Week 14

1. New Orleans Saints (at NYG)

• 27% Yahoo, 30% ESPN
• Team implied total: 22.75     Opponent implied total: 17.75
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 25th (vs. WAS),  Week 16: 26th (at GB)

New Orleans wins the 14 Tommy DeVito sweepstakes, unless DeVito’s arm injury lingers and leaves Drew Lock as the starter again. Lock would also make for a favorable matchup, albeit without DeVito’s sky-high rate of taking sacks. Either way, the Giants have struggled immensely on offense and only seem to be getting worse after benching and releasing Daniel Jones. The Saints defense has been more competitive the past month after a brutal October, showing enough to be favored by five for a home game against the last-place Giants.

2. Tennessee Titans (vs. JAX)

• 5% Yahoo, 13% ESPN
• Team implied total: 21.75     Opponent implied total: 18.25
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 26th (vs. CIN),  Week 16: 15th (at IND)

QB Mac Jones was decent against the Texans on Sunday, but that was after an ugly pair of starts in which the Jaguars scored just 13 combined points against the Vikings (13 D/ST fantasy points) and Lions (1 fantasy points). Jones is set up as a 3.5-point underdog for what presumably will be his third start of the season and perhaps a classic Jags-Titans matchup. It isn’t likely to be a pretty game even if there are a good number of points, with both QBs/offenses prone to committing turnovers even when they have a lot of yards.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. LV)

• 53% Yahoo, 53% ESPN
• Team implied total: 26.0     Opponent implied total: 19.0
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 29th (at LAC),  Week 16: 10th (at DAL)

Highlighted here for a third straight week, the Bucs defense continues its late-season run of cupcake matchups after scoring 10 fantasy points against the Giants but then only three against the Panthers. A home game against Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell is more likely to look like the first result than the second, and the lack of a running game for Las Vegas means the Tampa defense should see plenty of dropbacks, i.e., opportunities to pile up points with sacks and takeaways.

4. Miami Dolphins (vs. NYJ)

• 44% Yahoo, 43% ESPN
• Team implied total: 26.0     Opponent implied total: 19.5
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 18th (at HOU),  Week 16: 21st (vs. SF)

Aaron Rodgers is still good at avoiding interceptions (eight) but well below his peak form for sack avoidance, making the Jets a middle-of-the-pack or slightly favorable matchup for D/STs. The Dolphins took a beating in Green Bay on Thursday but otherwise have played well in the second half of the season, with their defense being a big part of that under first-year coordinator Anthony Weaver. The Jets have an implied total slightly south of 20 for their trip to Miami.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (at TEN)

• 4% Yahoo, 12% ESPN
• Team implied total: 18.25     Opponent implied total: 21.75
• Upcoming Ranks (Projected) — Week 15: 17th (vs. NYJ),  Week 16: 9th (at LV)

The Jaguars are a terrible team that will spend the next four weeks playing terrible teams, setting up a bunch of matchups with D/ST-streaming appeal on both sides. We’d generally rather have the other side of said matchups if QB Trevor Lawrence (head/shoulder) isn’t playing, but there’s nonetheless appeal in streaming against Will Levis, even with a bottom-of-the-barrel defense like Jacksonville’s. The Titans have allowed the most fantasy points to team defenses this season, including seven instances of double-digit points.

Week 14 Rankings

1. Steelers (vs. CLE)
2. Eagles (vs. CAR)
3. Saints (at NYG)
4. Titans (vs. JAX)
5. Buccaneers (vs. LV)
6. 49ers (vs. CHI)
7. Dolphins (vs. NYJ)
8. Jaguars (at TEN)
9. Vikings (vs. ATL)
10. Bengals (at DAL)
11. Chiefs (vs. LAC)
12. Bills (at LAR)
13. Cardinals (vs. SEA)
14. Seahawks (at ARZ)
15. Lions (vs. GB)
16. Giants (vs. NO)
17. Falcons (at MIN)
18. Browns (at PIT)
19. Bears (at SF)
20. Chargers (at KC)

Looking Ahead to Week 15

1. Chiefs (at CLE)
2. Ravens (at NYG)
3. Cardinals (vs. NE)
4. Broncos (vs. IND)
5. Bengals (at TEN)
6. Atlanta Falcons (at LV)
7. Vikings (vs. CHI)
8. Jets (at JAX)
9. Commanders (at NO)
10. Eagles (vs. PIT)
11. Cowboys (at CAR)
12. Panthers (vs. DAL)
13. Bears (at MIN)
14. Packers (at SEA)
15. 49ers (at LAR)
16. Steelers (at PHI)
17. Jaguars (vs. NYJ)
18. Dolphins (at HOU)
19. Seahawks (vs. GB)
20. Chargers (vs. TB)

Rest-of-Season Rankings

1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Buffalo Bills
5. Miami Dolphins
6. Tennessee Titans
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8. Cincinnati Bengals
9. Kansas City Chiefs
10. New Orleans Saints  
11. Atlanta Falcons
12. Indianapolis Colts
13. Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Los Angeles Chargers
15. Detroit Lions
16. Pittsburgh Steelers
17. Green Bay Packers
18. Las Vegas Raiders
19. San Francisco 49ers
20. Baltimore Ravens