Getty New York Jets defense
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 13 of the NFL season. Our defense edition this week features a defense in New York blossoming into one of the league’s better units over the past month.
* 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: Jets DEF at CIN
Don’t look now, but with 14.3 fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, the Jets defense is the third-highest scoring unit in football since Week 9. However, you know who’s averaged more points than Gang Green over that same span? Defenses to face off against the Bengals. Cincinnati has allowed a staggering 16.3 fantasy points to defenses since their Week 9 bye. While the team is reportedly going back to Andy Dalton under center, that shouldn’t change much for the winless Bengals.
Eagles DEF at MIA
The Philadelphia’s defense was able to rack up 11 fantasy points against the Russell Wilson-led Seahawks a week ago. They’ve now held offenses to an average of just 15.25 points per game over their last four contests. The Dolphins surrender the most fantasy points to opposing defenses with an average of 12.64 fantasy points per game. Only one unit has scored less than eight points against the Phins in 2019.
Jaguars DEF vs. TB
Start a defense fresh off of surrendering 42 points? You betcha. Jameis Winston is the turnover machine that keeps on giving. The former first-overall pick leads the league with 20 interceptions and has turned the ball over nine times over his last three games.
Sleeper: Packers DEF at NYG
Remember when Green Bay’s defense was the thing that was going to make them a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Yea not so much anymore. The Packers defense has averaged just 3.5 fantasy points over their last eight games. However, the New York Giants allow an average of 11+ fantasy points to opposing defenses. Six of the last seven units to face off against the G-Men have scored at least 11 fantasy points.
DEF: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Falcons DEF vs. NO
Atlanta’s brilliant two-game run came crashing down in Week 12, where they surrendered 29 offensive points and put up just five fantasy points. Now, they must welcome a Saints offense to town that has scored 34 points in each of their last two games. Defenses have combined for a total of four fantasy points against the Saints since Week 10.
Bills DEF at DAL
Buffalo has been gifted with two dream matchups in back-to-back weeks and answered the bell to the tune of 11.5 fantasy points per game. However, they’re best left on your bench in Week 13 against the Cowboys. Dallas has allowed an average of just 3.18 fantasy points to D/STs this season, the second-fewest in all of football. Over their last six games that average drops to just 2.5 points per game.
Texans DEF vs. NE
Houston held Indianapolis to just 17 points in Week 12. However, their defense is still far from startable. They’ve literally averaged fewer than two fantasy points over five of their last six games. The Patriots have held six of their last eight defensive opponents to an average of just 3.3 fantasy points.
Buyers Beware: 49ers DEF at BAL
If you own the ‘9ers defense, you’re in a bit of a pickle this week. Chances are many fantasy owners will roll with a defense that has averaged 15 fantasy points in seven of their last eight games. However, Baltimore’s offense looks to be slowing down for no one. The Ravens allow an average of just 2.82 fantasy points to defenses this year. They’ve also held two of their last three opponents to negative fantasy points.
- *Check out our other Week 13 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems to further optimize your lineups
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READ NEXT: Fantasy: Defense Rankings Week 13