Getting Defensive: Week 16

Syndication: The Record

If you have read Getting Defensive for any length of time (Thank you for that—were it not for people reading it, I rather doubt my benevolent overlords here would allow me to keep writing it.), then you know that this analyst is a streamer where defenses are concerned, I play the matchups. Turn ‘em and burn ‘em. It works more often than not—at least for me.

With that said, I certainly don’t begrudge folks who choose to invest in an every-week starter at the position—who prefer the simplicity of just plugging a defense in every week. And sometimes, a defense drafted as a streamer morphs into an every-week starter. The proverbial caterpillar becomes a butterfly, or something to that effect.

The problem in Week 16 is that it’s a bad week for butterflies. In a must-win week for fantasy managers, many of the elite defenses have rotten matchups.

After 15 weeks, the Dallas Cowboys are fantasy football’s highest-scoring defense—by a fair margin. Fresh off getting smoked in Buffalo, those Cowboys face a Miami Dolphins team that leads the league in total offense and has surrendered the 10th-fewest fantasy points to defenses. The Baltimore Ravens, who lead all AFC defenses in fantasy points, face a San Francisco 49ers team that ranks dead last in fantasy points allowed to the position. The 49ers (who have climbed all the way to fourth in points) take on a Ravens team that has surrendered the fourth-fewest fantasy points to defenses. The third-place team (Miami) draws a Dallas offense that ranks 31st in that regard.

Now, does a bad matchup doom these elite defenses to failure in this most important of weeks? Not necessarily. We’ve seen the Ravens demolish a 10-win Detroit Lions team. The 49ers have posted big stat lines against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cowboys. One defensive touchdown can turn an OK afternoon for a defense into a great one.

But this time of year, a dud performance at any position can mean the difference between…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/getting-defensive-week-16-124141389.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2023-12-19 12:41:41

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