Fantasy Stars & Studs, Week 13: Stafford a smart playoff waiver add

New York Giants D/ST

After stifling the Seattle Seahawks in a shock win at Lumen Field, the Giants are firmly in the playoff mix as they compete with the Washington Football Team for the NFC East division title.

Their upset of Seattle was built on the back of an excellent defensive performance, which saw New York sack, Russell Wilson, five times while also recording an interception of the Seahawks’ star quarterback.

Additionally, the Giants forced two fumbles and recovered one, arguably the most impressive performance of the season from Patrick Graham’s defense resulting in 13 fantasy points.

The Giants may have to continue to lean on their defense in the coming weeks to get over the line in their attempts to complete an unlikely run into the postseason.

And they do not exactly have to face a murderer’s row of offenses down the stretch, with the suddenly slumping Arizona Cardinals, who have turned the ball over six times in five games since their bye, presenting a matchup that is a lot more enticing for the Giants than it looked a few weeks ago.

Meetings with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens follow in Week 15 and Week 16 and recent form suggests a defense owned in 15 percent of Yahoo leagues and 23 percent of ESPN leagues could make the difference in playoff matchups.