What a week! We get to start the fantasy football playoffs in most leagues. Our streamer picks for Week 14 went well and put us on a three week streak of 12-0 on picks. Urban Meyer was fired and the interim head coach Darrell Bevell said James Robinson will be the starter and used as such. On the not so great side, we have had a massive amount of players test positive for Covid-19. The Rams, Browns, and Washington Football Team could be struggling to field a full competitive team. This week will be a struggle on our picks, but let’s recap Week 14.
- Chiefs: 25pts – SUCCESS
- Broncos: 9pts – SUCCESS
- Honorable Mention Cowboys: 24pts – SUCCESS
- Titans: 19pts – SUCCESS
- Week 14: 4 Successes – 0 Busts
- Overall: 39 Successes – 19 Busts
Not only have we gotten the last 12 picks right, but three of the picks from Week 14 were the top-3 scoring D/STs on the week! I mentioned in my previous article that the Chiefs D/ST had only given up five touchdowns since Week 8. That trend continued in them only letting the Raiders score a field goal and a touchdown in Week 14. In six games they have let six touchdowns be scored and five of them are from two teams.
I mentioned the lack of trust in the coaching from the Jaguars last week that led to the Titans owning the game in a shut out and scoring 19 fantasy points as a D/ST. The Cowboys held star wide receiver Terry McLaurin to zero catches in Week 14; the first time every that Scary Terry scored zero fantasy football points. Last week was a great week for our picks! Let’s hope this week treats us as week.
Number 3: Philadelphia Eagles 29.5%
My frenemy (friend and enemy) Eagles are back on this list again. 21 sacks and 9 interceptions are not something worth starting most weeks, but they have added an additional 4 D/ST touchdowns. As a unit, the Eagles’ D/ST are averaging 6.1 fantasy football points per game and boy is it a wild ride! They have three games in the negative scores and four in the double digits. The good news is that they have an 8-5 record in my Success to Bust metric.
A matchup against a struggling Washington team who could be missing two of their best pass-catchers, with Terry McLaurin and J.D. McKissic both missing practices this week with injuries could be what the Eagles need going into divisional matchup where both teams are 6-7 and still looking at the playoffs. Jalen Hurts is fighting to come back from a high-ankle sprain. This means the Eagle’s playoff hopes rest on one man: Gardner Minshew.
Number 2: Minnesota Vikings 33.0%
If I told you the Vikings D/ST have 41 sacks and 11 interceptions this season, would you expect them to only be rostered in a third of fantasy football leagues? This team is averaging 5.0 fantasy points a game with only two Busts by my metrics! They may not be flashy, but having 9 out of 13 games with fantasy scores between 4 and 7 points is a safe play. There’s nothing but consistency when you have eight players with multiple interceptions and 12 players with multiple hits on the opponent’s quarterback. If most of your fantasy football team is high ceiling-low floor players, maybe look to start a low ceiling-high floor D/ST like the Vikings.
Honorable Mention: San Francisco 49ers (70.2%)
Remember two years ago when the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl due primarily to their defense? When you have young studs like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Azeez Al-Shaair leading your D/ST, you can see why they average 6.4 fantasy football points a game.
Number 1: Cincinnati Bengals 12.6%
How does a D/ST that averages 5.5 fantasy points a week with 37 sacks, 11 interceptions, 6 fumble recoveries, and a D/ST touchdown only get rostered in 12.5% of fantasy football leagues? The Bengals have hit on the past four weeks. They have hit on eight of their 13 matchups. Yes, they have some players on the Covid-IR list, but they play the Broncos this week.
The Bengals are more than talented on the defensive side of the ball. Logan Wilson, Chidobe Awuzie, and Eli Apple all have multiple interceptions this season. Add to that the 20 hits on the opponent’s QB by Trey Hendrickson and another 17 by Sam Hubbard and you get a D/ST that’s ready to pressure a shaky QB in Teddy Bridgewater.
Teddy Bridgewater has completed 67.6% of his passes. He’s thrown only 18 touchdowns to his 7 interceptions. Averaging over 225 yards per game so far, Bridgewater has more games under 200 yards than games over 300 yards. Teddy B is not the kind of QB to put the team on his back and lead them to victory.
As a result, it seems as if the Broncos know and are hoping to have a change at QB next year and are just trying to entice a veteran to sign with them in the off-season.
This game will go one of two ways: it’s a shoot out and we love having all the Bengals’ offensive players or the Bengals dominate and we want the D/ST and Joe Mixon.
As we go into the fantasy football playoffs, best of luck this week and may the streams flow your way!
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.