I am so sorry that I’ve been missing the past two weeks! Have you ever gotten in one of those busy seasons where everyday feels like 30 hours crammed into a 24hr day? That’s what my entire November felt like. Just one day after another in which I felt crammed and constantly rushing about like a headless chicken. ANYWAYS! Now I’m back! This is the final push for the Fantasy Football Playoffs!
In this article, I’m going hardcore. Time to give you three picks (all under 65% rostered on ESPN Fantasy) for both Weeks 13 and 14. Next week’s article will be about which D/STs to grab to hold for the Fantasy Playoffs. Before we can get to that, let’s look at my record so far this year.
- New York Giants: 8 pts – HIT
- Arizona Cardinals: 10 pts – HIT
- Minnesota Vikings: 10 pts – HIT
- Week 10: 3 Hits – 0 Bust
- Season: 18 Hits – 10 Busts
Week 10 was a perfect week for my picks! Three teams that hit 8+ fantasy points. That average would be the same as the D/ST4 on the season right behind the Eagles D/ST and ahead of the 49ers D/ST. A solid week and a solid record so far at 18-10; means were at just over 64% accurate. In a system where educated guessing can still result in a sub-50% accuracy, I’ll gladly take 64%.
Week 13
Cleveland Browns – 58.2%
The easy way to prove this is a good matchup is to say they get to play against Houston. The Texans are not exactly the best team in the NFL right now. Matter of fact, they currently have the first pick in the NFL draft. The Browns will get Watson back. No matter how you or I feel about him for what he did or did not do, both teams will play hard this week. It’s sure to be a fun matchup that could easily be a trap game for the Browns. More than likely though, the Browns will blow the Texans away. If that happens, that’s good news for the Browns D/ST.
Seattle Seahawks – 42.1%
The Seahawks get the worst offense in the NFL in terms of Fantasy Points for D/STs. The Seahawks will play the Rams who will be without starting QB Matt Stafford, their starting WR1&2 with both Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson, and their defense will struggle with Aaron Donald missing his first game of his career. That will be good news for the Seahawks D/ST and the offensive players for the Seahawks.
Pittsburgh Steelers – 41.2%
The Steelers get Atlanta this week. They also have star T.J. Watt back with them. Their defense is back to what it was. On the season, the Steelers are averaging 2 sacks per game. However, in the four games Watt has played, they’re averaging 3.5 sacks per game with at least 2 in each game. They’re also averaging 2.25 interceptions in games with Watt. This defense is lethal when Watt is on the field. As far as a streaming a fantasy football D/ST in Week 13, there’s way worse options than a D/ST that averages 4+ fantasy points when Watt is in the game.
Week 14
Carolina Panthers – 7.7%
The Panthers get the Seahawks in Week 14. Their past three weeks have be a total of 32 fantasy points, close to an 11 fantasy point per week average. Now that’s possibly game changing for a fantasy football manager trying to make the Playoffs. The matchup against the Seahawks will be one that could help the Panthers make the NFL post-season, as they’re currently 1.5 games behind first in the NFC South. In those three weeks, they have 11 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, and a blocked kick. Seeing 4 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception against the Seahawks would be great for the Panthers.
Kansas City Chiefs – 46.2%
The Chiefs will faceoff against the lackluster Denver Broncos in Week 14. There’s not much more to say besides that.
Okay I’ll add more than that. You would have to go all the way back to Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills to find the most recent game the Chiefs defense did not record 3 or more sacks. In that same timeframe, the Chiefs only allowed one team to score more than 24 points on them. They had three opponents score under 18 points. This D/ST is a steady option for fantasy football, especially against the Broncos.
Las Vegas Raiders – 7.4%
The pick I am least confident in is this one. This pick relies on two things: The LA Rams and Maxx Crosby. The argument against the Rams was already made with the Seahawks pick. Crosby, however, is quietly putting up an amazing stat line. So let’s play a game called “Maxx Crosby or Micah Parsons?” Let’s start off easy:
Who has more QB hits this year through Week 12? Crosby with 22 QB Hits.
Who has more tackles this year? Crosby with 67 total compared to Parson’s 50.
Which player has more sacks? Parson actually has this one (12 sacks) with 1.5 more sacks than Crosby (10.5).
So if we have a team that’s struggling on offense facing off against a team with one of the best defensive players of this season, then logic would say we have an opportunity for a wonderful D/ST week!
I really appreciate all of you who have stuck around through this crazy period of life. I hope this article helps someone out there. Good luck with these last two weeks with trying to make the Fantasy Football Playoffs! Also, since this comes out on December 3rd, BOILER UP!! As always, 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.