Getty Baltimore Ravens defense
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 10 of the NFL season. Our defense edition this week features a unit perceived as one of the league’s best, hoping to bounce back after a down performance.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Be sure to also check out our weekly fantasy football defense rankings to better gauge where these start-sit options compare to the rest of the options at the position.
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DEF: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Ravens DEF at CIN
After looking like the best defensive unit on the football field a week ago in a game that also featured the New England Patriots, the Ravens are presented with a mouth-watering matchup. Cincinnati has surrendered 15 offensive turnovers this season, and will now be handing over the quarterback reins to a fourth-round rookie QB making his first career start on Sunday.
Bills DEF at CLE
Buffalo has allowed fewer than 10 offensive points in two of their last four games. They’ve also registered 13 total sacks over their last four weeks of play. No one has tossed more interceptions than Baker Mayfield has this season. Cleveland has also allowed three of their last four defensive opponents to average an impressive 16.33 fantasy points against them.
Colts DEF vs. MIA
Every defense to face off against the Dolphins this season is worth a look in fantasy. This week is no different. Miami allows 14+ points to D/STs this year, while only one unit has scored below double-digit fantasy points against them. According to Yahoo Sports, Ryan Fitzpatrick holds the fifth-lowest passer rating in the red zone since Week 5, while the Colts defense surrenders the seventh-worst passer rating to QBs over that same span.
Sleeper: Giants DEF at NYJ
The Giants had averaged 13.5 fantasy points in four of their last five games prior to their poor performance under the bright lights of Monday night. No team has allowed more points to opposing defenses this season than the New York Jets. Sam Darnold saw ghosts against the Patriots, and he hasn’t stopped seeing them since, tossing eight interceptions over his last three games.
DEF: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Panthers DEF at GB
Carolina has been brilliant defensively for the majority of the season, averaging 14.6 points in five of their last six games. However, Green Bay allows an average of just four points to opposing defenses this season, with no unit scoring within double-digits. Plus, something tells me Aaron Rodgers will likely look to make a statement following the Packers’ offensive struggles one week ago.
Vikings DEF at DAL
Minnesota has gotten to the QB a whopping nine times over the last two weeks. Yet, the Dallas Cowboys offensive line has surrendered the third-fewest sacks in all of football. The Cowboys offense also happens to be the best unit against fantasy defenses this season, allowing a league-low 3.13 points per game to D/STs.
Buyers Beware: 49ers DEF vs. SEA
San Fran’s glorious defensive run came to a screeching stop against the Cardinals one week ago, putting up just three fantasy points. This week they’ll have a much tougher matchup on their hands. Russell Wilson is playing at an MVP-caliber level at the moment, plus he’ll be adding Josh Gordon to a receiving corp that saw two wideouts eclipse 122 receiving yards and total three touchdowns a week ago. Five of the past six defenses to face off with the Seahawks have scored four fantasy points or fewer.
READ NEXT: Fantasy: Defense Rankings Week 10