Week 15 Defense (DEF/DST) Waiver Wire Pickups: Bills Looking Good

Congratulations to all of you who are still fighting in your fantasy playoffs. If you are still playing, you still need a defense. With fewer teams looking to pick up the best defense out there, the chances of you getting the best are high. Last week, we saw Washington’s defense trounce the 49ers with two touchdowns, three turnovers, and four sacks. They are a great defense to pick up if you can but the pending matchup against the Seahawks could make it risky for next week. The Rams dominated the Patriots by only allowing three points while picking up a touchdown to make it back-to-back games with a defensive touchdown and also six additional sacks. They are the top-scoring defense in the fantasy currently with the roll that they have been on and a matchup against the Jets makes them an incredible pick-up if they are available. The Cardinals also walloped the Giants by allowing just seven points and sacking Daniel Jones/Colt McCoy eight times with three fumbles. We are another week closer to the end of the season with the continued importance of starting a good defense. Here are some of your best options that are owned in less than 60% of leagues.

Buffalo Bills

Opponent: Denver Broncos
Own %: 51.1

The Bills handled business against the Steelers who have now lost two in a row. They held their offense to just 15 points while collecting two interceptions including a touchdown. Two good matchups coming up with the Broncos this week and the Patriots in the following week allow the Bills to pull together a lot of points. The Broncos have allowed the third-most fantasy points to defenses as they have struggled to put up points with the fourth-lowest total with 19.8 points per game. With the Bills coming off a strong performance against the first-place Steelers, the Broncos should be a cakewalk for them. The offenses are completely different in terms of talent and the Bills should take care of business and have strong weeks back-to-back.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Opponent: Atlanta Falcons
Own %: 59.3

The Buccaneers are a top-10 defense but their ownership has dipped due to some bad performances and a recent bye. But the Bucs turned it around last week with a solid game against the Vikings who have been known to torch some defenses with Dalvin Cook. They held the Vikings to just 14 points while sacking Kirk Cousins six times and forcing a fumble. With a matchup set for the Falcons coming up, the Bucs will be fired up with their chance to win the division or stay in the Wild Card race which will take their defense to play well. Divisional games like this will be big for them, so you can expect the defense to be at the top of their game. They have gotten at least one turnover in every week besides week 1 which ensures you a couple of points at the very least.

Cleveland Browns

Opponent: New York Giants
Own %: 45.1

The Browns have a tough matchup later on Monday Night Football against the Ravens, but the schedule gets so much better after that for the Browns. The next two matchups, which could be your semifinal and final game, are against the Giants and the Jets who are both among the worst offenses in the league. The Giants scored just seven points last week and the Jets scored three. They accounted for two of the three lowest scores last week. The Browns have been a fairly good defense on the other hand. They have produced two touchdowns this season and have accumulated three turnovers in two of their last three games. The only problem for them this season has been the number of points they give up which is not a big scare when it comes to playing the Giants or the Jets.

Arizona Cardinals

Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles
Own %: 28.4

The Cardinals are coming off their best defensive performance against the Giants last week, and if you have not gotten hold of them yet, they have another great matchup against the Eagles this week. They gave up just seven points while creating eight sacks which are both their lowest point total and number of sacks in a single game this season. The Eagles did manage to put together a good game against the Saints which was surprising to see, but seeing how the Cardinals handled the Giants, the Eagles should be no different against another poor NFC East team. The Eagles have allowed the second-most fantasy points to defenses this season and one solid performance against the Saints will not be changing how bad they have looked overall.

Washington Football Team

Opponent: Seattle Seahawks
Own %: 52.5

It has been five weeks since a team has scored more than 20 points against Washington which has resulted in some great fantasy games for them. In the four-game span, they have gotten at least one turnover each game and two or more in three of the games. In three of the games, they have had four sacks and this is all while holding teams to under 20 points. Lastly, they have gotten three touchdowns during that span to add the frosting on top of the cake. A difficult matchup against the Seahawks coming up will provide a challenge for them to continue their dominance, but just two weeks ago, the Giants held them to 12 points, so it depends on which Seahawks’ team shows up. With the momentum that Washington possesses as they move into this game, I would say their defense can be expected to compete with the Seahawks and produce points.