Fantasy Football Week 15: 3 Sleeper Defenses to Add

Week 15 is the semifinals for most fantasy football owners. There are plenty of options available on the waiver wire if you need a defense to stream.

There are just two weeks left to the fantasy football season unless you’re in one of those weird leagues that play until Week 17. The point is, every move you make will be important if you want to win your league’s championship. If you’re looking for a defense with a good matchup, there are plenty available.

Around this time of the season, the NFL does some interesting things to the schedule. We have the usual primetime matchups on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights. But now, there are two Saturday games. If you have a player playing in those games, you better be sure they’re active because you don’t have the luxury of switching them out for a different player on Sunday.

The two Saturday games for this week are HOU/NYJ and CLE/DEN. The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos defenses are owned in a high majority of leagues and I wouldn’t bother with the other two.

Take away the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs defenses, who play Thursday, and New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers who play Monday and that leaves you with 24 defenses to pick from for your Week 15 matchup.

Half of the league’s defenses are owned in over 50 percent of leagues. Unless you grabbed them off waivers already or are lucky enough to have one of the top options, even if they don’t have a favorable matchup, your options are limited.

Here are the three sleeper defenses you should start in Week 15.

Seattle Seahawks, @SF

While the “Legion of Boom” is a thing of the past, the Seahawks defense had back-to-back good games. They shut down the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, limiting them to just seven points with a fumble recovery, two sacks and a touchdown.

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They face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 15. They played two weeks ago when the Seahawks recorded three sacks, an interception, two fumbles, a touchdown and 16 points allowed.

The 49ers have a rookie quarterback in Nick Mullens, a rookie running back in Jeff Wilson and a questionable list of wide receivers. If the defense can shut down tight end George Kittle as they did in Week 13, six catches for 70 yards, then they’ll be a top-10 defense.

New York Giants, vs TEN

The Giants defense has put up two straight good games against the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. They can make it three in a row against the Tennesee Titans.

I believe Derrick Henry will not have close to the same game like he did last week. The Giants defense recorded five interceptions, two touchdowns and 10 sacks in their last two games.

Marcus Mariota has a pattern of scoring 20-plus points in two straight games and then a game with less than 10 points. He scored five in Week 14, so that means he’s due for a 20-point game. However, that won’t happen. Their wide receivers are not good so the Giants defense will pressure the line for most of the game.

Detroit Lions, @BUF

The Lions defense shut down the Arizona Cardinals last week, allowing just three points. They have an interception in three of their last four games with 12 sacks in that span.

The Buffalo Bills offense has relied on Josh Allen‘s legs to keep their drives alive. LeSean McCoy is questionable for this week and the Bills don’t have a consistent wide receiver option. It was Zay Jones in Week 13 and Robert Foster last week.

If the Lions can contain Allen, as surprising as that may be, they will have another chance to keep their opponents from the end zone.

Honorable Mention: Atlanta Falcons, vs ARI; Buffalo Bills, vs. DET

It may be hard to rely on a bottom tier defense in the semifinals of the fantasy football playoffs. But, if the matchup is right, it’s hard to pass up on that opportunity. Some top defenses have tough offenses so it may be time to make the switch.

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