X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

D/ST Matchups to Target in Week 15 - Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles

There are a few ways you can get an edge and increase your chances of success when picking D/STs to start in DFS. We'll detail our reasoning down below, but there's a lot that goes into how a defense scores points in fantasy football. While the rules seem simple, game scripts and injuries are at least two big factors that dictate how games can go.

After watching enough NFL games this season, it's been interesting to note how seemingly insignificant developments can change how defenses score. Just a few failed drives by offenses can lead to a much better day for the opposing defenses. Injuries to lesser-known players also drive a lot of what happens on the field.

Let's break down three D/STs that could provide good value for their cash prices in DFS this week.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:

 

Washington Commanders D/ST

$3.4k on DraftKings, $4.7k on FanDuel; @ New Orleans Saints

The Washington Commanders D/ST is pretty expensive, but they'll be facing the New Orleans Saints, who traded away their best cornerback, Marshon Lattimore (hamstring). Ironically, they sent him to the Commanders, and Lattimore is expected to make his debut with his new team this week.

New Orleans will trot out quarterback Jake Haener, a second-year player who has attempted just 29 passes in his entire career against one of the better pass defenses in the league. This game has the potential to get very ugly, very quickly for the Saints, who will still be without their top-3 receivers. Chris Olave, (concussion), Rashid Shaheed (knee), and Bub Means (ankle) won't be able to suit up.

While Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is a force to be reckoned with, there isn't much he can do. NO has a poor pass-protecting offensive line, an inexperienced quarterback selected in the later rounds of the NFL draft, and a rash of injuries. Running back Alvin Kamara is expected to play, but he can't carry a functional offense all on his own.

We hope he is confident and lets it rip!

 

Arizona Cardinals D/ST

$3.0k on DraftKings, $4.4k on FanDuel; vs. New England Patriots

It could be hard for New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to find many open receivers against the Arizona Cardinals defense this week. NE has one of the worst pass-catcher rooms in the league, and is in desperate need of help in that area, but won't be able to effectively address that until after the season ends.

New England knew this before the season started, but weren't able to convince San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) or any other key names to sign with them. They drafted WR Ja'Lynn Polk early in the second round, but he ended up being a complete bust. Yes, it's fair to evaluate rookies. He's done nothing.

Maye has had to do everything on his own. While the Cardinals were blasted by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14, they probably weren't expecting the big changes on offense, especially in the run game, that the Seahawks made. Divisional games can be flukey and strange. Teams that play each other twice per season are bound to know each other better.

We don't expect the Patriots to have much success against the Cards. It's no secret that NE has the worst offensive line in football, and Arizona's first-round pick, pass-rusher Darius Robinson, continues to get healthier. We like Arizona's D/ST to have a bounce-back game this week.

 

Philadelphia Eagles D/ST

$3.1k on DraftKings, $4.5k on FanDuel; vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Like the Washington Commanders D/ST, the Eagles' unit is pretty expensive, but they're one of the most talented units in the league, and the matchups for the Steelers are horrific. They'll be without their only consistently good wide receiver, George Pickens (hamstring), who's dealing with a hamstring issue.

The NFL is a heavily matchup-driven league. The Steelers can try to run the ball all they want, but if the linebackers can cheat up in anticipation of not having many issues with a very thin WR group, it could get ugly for the Steelers. This will be especially true if the Eagles jump out to an early lead.

The matchup for running back Saquon Barkley is actually weirdly important here. The Eagles have played much more conservatively this year, a departure from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's proclivity to throw the ball early and often. Philly passes the ball at the lowest rate in the league. By a lot.

We'll have to see if Pittsburgh adjusts their game plan, I guess.

Now we're talking. The Steelers have a few key injuries along the defensive line... wait, why are we talking about the Steelers' defense here? Well, what we don't want is for the Steelers to keep the game close. That would allow them to grind the clock down with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's stupid run run run the ball game plan.

It's probably better for the Eagles D/ST if Pittsburgh is forced to pass the ball more often. That could lead to more mistakes from Steelers QB Russell Wilson, or interceptions purely on excellent coverage reps. Anyways, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (groin) won't play.

Barkley could have a huge game, and the Eagles could build an early lead and then continue to chew the clock down. We expect Pittsburgh's offense to struggle in this one.

 

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your DFS contests!



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Weekly DFS Analysis

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Donovan Clingan49 mins ago

Returning On Friday
Bradley Beal55 mins ago

Downgraded To Out
Jamal Murray1 hour ago

Upgraded To Available
Christian Braun1 hour ago

To Play On Friday
Aaron Gordon1 hour ago

Available On Friday
Joel Embiid1 hour ago

Won't Return On Friday
Bradley Beal2 hours ago

Now Questionable Versus Utah
LeBron James2 hours ago

JJ Reddick Doesn't Know When LeBron James Will Return
Anthony Davis3 hours ago

Available Against Minnesota
Austin Reaves3 hours ago

Upgraded To Available On Friday
Christian Walker3 hours ago

Seattle Would "Love" To Sign Christian Walker
Nikola Vucevic3 hours ago

Out Against The Hornets
Carson Kelly3 hours ago

Agrees To Two-Year Contract With Cubs
Houston Astros3 hours ago

Cam Smith Traded To Houston
Josh Giddey3 hours ago

Will Play On Friday Evening
Zach LaVine3 hours ago

Cleared To Face The Hornets
Hayden Wesneski3 hours ago

Shipped To Houston
Patrick Williams3 hours ago

Says He'll Suit Up Versus Charlotte
Evan Mobley3 hours ago

Won't Play On Friday Night
Alec Martinez3 hours ago

Added To Injured Reserve
Anthony Stolarz4 hours ago

Day-To-Day With A Lower-Body Injury
K'Andre Miller4 hours ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Thomas Bryant4 hours ago

Traded To Indiana
Dan Vladar4 hours ago

Considered Day-To-Day
Ladd McConkey4 hours ago

Officially Questionable For Week 15
Cam Talbot4 hours ago

Re-Aggravates Lower-Body Injury
Austin Reaves4 hours ago

Now Probable For Friday Night
Matt Dumba4 hours ago

To Remain Out On Saturday
Linus Ullmark4 hours ago

Seeks Fourth Straight Win Friday
Bub Means5 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 15
Derek Carr5 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful, Not Starting
Josh Downs6 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15
Kenneth Walker III6 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful For Week 15
Tyler Higbee6 hours ago

Expected To Make Season Debut In Week 16
D'Andre Swift6 hours ago

Roschon Johnson Miss Another Practice
Trey McBride6 hours ago

Good To Go, Remains A Must-Start In Fantasy
Tidjane Salaun6 hours ago

Tagged As Questionable Against Bulls
Tony Pollard6 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Week 15
George Pickens6 hours ago

Steelers Officially Rule Out George Pickens
Zach Edey6 hours ago

Considered Doubtful On Friday
Alvin Kamara6 hours ago

Will Play In Week 15 Against The Commanders
David Njoku7 hours ago

Hopes To Play In Week 15
Keon Coleman7 hours ago

Returning From Four-Game Absence In Week 15
Breece Hall7 hours ago

Now Expected To Play In Week 15
Kyle Kuzma7 hours ago

Out Again Friday Against Cavaliers
Romeo Doubs7 hours ago

Clears Concussion Protocol
Isaac Paredes7 hours ago

Shipped To Houston
Evan Mobley7 hours ago

Considered Questionable Against Wizards
Kyle Tucker7 hours ago

Cubs Acquire Kyle Tucker From The Astros
Kyle Tucker7 hours ago

Cubs Close To Acquiring Kyle Tucker From The Astros
Aidan O'Connell8 hours ago

Won't Practice On Friday
Breece Hall8 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15 But Expected To Play
Nestor Cortes8 hours ago

Traded To The Brewers
David Njoku8 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15
Cedric Tillman8 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 15
Tony Pollard8 hours ago

Should Play This Weekend
Dalton Kincaid8 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Week 15
Adrian Yanez9 hours ago

An Underdog At UFC Tampa
Daniel Marcos9 hours ago

Looks To Remain Undefeated At UFC Tampa
Vitor Petrino9 hours ago

Looks To Return To Win Column At UFC Tampa
Dustin Jacoby9 hours ago

A Big Underdog At UFC Tampa
Cub Swanson9 hours ago

Searching For 30th Career Win At UFC Tampa
Billy Quarantillo9 hours ago

Faces A Legend At UFC Tampa
Devin Williams9 hours ago

Traded To The Yankees
Joaquin Buckley12 hours ago

Looks For His Sixth Win In A Row
Colby Covington12 hours ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Bruno Silva12 hours ago

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Manel Kape12 hours ago

A Favorite At UFC Tampa
Tuco Tokkos12 hours ago

Looks For His First UFC Win
Navajo Stirling12 hours ago

Set To Make His UFC Debut
Kevin Lankinen12 hours ago

Frustrates Panthers With Shutout Performance
Nikita Kucherov13 hours ago

Racks Up Six Points Against Flames
Leon Draisaitl13 hours ago

Continues Multi-Point Streak Versus Wild
Bryan Rust13 hours ago

Tallies Four Points In Big Win
Scott Laughton13 hours ago

Ties Flyers Record With Four-Goal Performance
Ryan O'Reilly13 hours ago

Returns With Three-Point Effort
Victor Hedman13 hours ago

Day-To-Day With A Lower-Body Injury
Kyle Bradish1 day ago

Begins Throwing Program
Nolan Arenado1 day ago

Would Approve Of Trade To The Bronx
Jake McCabe1 day ago

Available On Thursday
Scott Mayfield1 day ago

Rejoins Islanders Lineup
Yanni Gourde1 day ago

Absent Against Bruins
Jack Drury1 day ago

Set For Hand Surgery
Trevor Zegras1 day ago

To Miss Six Weeks Following Knee Surgery
Roman Josi1 day ago

Out On Thursday
J.T. Miller1 day ago

Returns To Action Thursday
Francisco Lindor1 day ago

Back Injury In The Rearview Mirror
Rafael Devers1 day ago

Red Sox Prepared To Keep Rafael Devers At Third Base
Cody Bellinger1 day ago

Yankees Targeting Cody Bellinger
Pete Alonso1 day ago

Mets Still Trying To Bring Back Pete Alonso
Corbin Burnes1 day ago

Giants The Favorites To Land Corbin Burnes
Brenton Doyle2 days ago

Rockies Plan To Hit Brenton Doyle At Leadoff
Mitch Keller2 days ago

Jared Jones, Mitch Keller Available For Trade
Shane Bieber2 days ago

Throwing From 90 Feet
Chicago White Sox2 days ago

Braden Montgomery Traded To White Sox
Kyle Teel2 days ago

White Sox Land Catching Prospect Kyle Teel
Alexandre Pantoja4 days ago

Gets Second-Round Win At UFC 310
Kai Asakura4 days ago

Submitted At UFC 310
Alexander Volkov4 days ago

Takes Split-Decision Loss
Ciryl Gane4 days ago

Edges Out Split Decision At UFC 310
MMA4 days ago

Doo Ho Choi Scores TKO Win At UFC 310
Nate Landwehr5 days ago

Gets TKO'd At UFC 310
Kron Gracie5 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC 310
Bryce Mitchell5 days ago

Scores Knockout Win At UFC 310
Ian Machado Garry5 days ago

Suffers First Defeat At UFC 310

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Breece Hall - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Injury Reports: Friday Week 15 Updates for Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, Tony Pollard, D'Andre Swift, and More

The 2024 NFL season is nearing its end, which means the fantasy playoffs have begun. Teams have reached the playoffs, completing step one of the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Now is not the time to get complacent and miss out on injury news for key players on your team. In what is the […]


Davante Adams - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Week 15 DraftKings NFL DFS Picks - Main Slate (2024): Tua Tagovailoa, Rico Dowdle, Davante Adams, and more

Hello, Ballers, and thanks for joining me for Week 15! With many season-long leagues now headed into the fantasy playoffs, we should get see some new folks turning to the DFS streets this week. If you are one of those who will be trying DFS for the first time this season, welcome... you've come to […]


Bucky Irving - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Playoff Rankings for Week 15 (QB, RB, WR, TE, DST) - Bucky Irving, Josh Downs, Nick Chubb, Tank Dell, Sincere McCormick, Braelon Allen

Fellow RotoBallers! You've made it, welcome to the fantasy football playoffs - now it's time to win your leagues. Below you'll find our latest fantasy football rankings for Week 15 of the 2024 fantasy football season. After a slow start to the week on the TNF game with low scoring all around, it's even more […]


Bo Nix - Fantasy Football Rankings, QB, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

Fantasy Football Matchups to Target, Avoid (Week 15) - Juicy Playoff Matchups

The fantasy playoffs are finally here. Making the fantasy playoffs is a huge achievement that requires good drafting, diligent waiver wire moves, and strong matchup analysis. If your team is in the playoffs, the hard part is just getting started. Winning a fantasy championship requires shooting for upside each week and exploiting every available matchup […]


Tampa Bay Bucs Defense D/ST Streamers, Rankings, Waiver Wire - Vita Vea Fantasy Football IDP

Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 15 (2024): Best Fantasy Playoffs Streaming Options

The fantasy playoffs are nearing. The margin of error for fantasy managers is razor-thin. A poor performance by a D/ST can break title dreams. Playing the wrong defense can result in managers being left with a zero (or worse) in their lineup. Utilizing the waiver wire and finding the matchup that benefits defenses is crucial. […]


Indianapolis Colts Defense - DST Rankings, Julian Blackmon, IDP Fantasy Football

Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 16 (2024): Best Fantasy Playoffs Streaming Options

Congratulations! If you're reading this, you've likely secured a first-round bye for the fantasy playoffs or advanced past round one. Whether a DST helped get you here or not, playing the correct one becomes more vital as the playoffs progress. Playing the wrong defense can result in managers being left with a zero (or worse) […]


Sincere McCormick - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Sneaky Starts, Pivot Plays, and Post-Waiver Pickups for Week 15 - Sincere McCormick, Adam Thielen, Aaron Rodgers, and Hunter Henry

If you are reading this, congratulations! That likely means you made the fantasy playoffs unless you just enjoy reading about sneaky starts after you’re eliminated. Making the fantasy playoffs is a huge accomplishment and doing so consistently is the biggest sign of skill in this game.  But in the infamous words of the late, great […]


Video: Week 15 Must-Start Wide Receivers - 2024 Fantasy Football Streamers, Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Analysis

The fantasy football playoffs are underway for the vast majority of leagues, meaning each decision is crucial in the quest for a title for fantasy managers. Let us help with those "championship choices" by checking out our favorite 2024 fantasy football must-start wide receivers for Week 15! RotoBaller's Matt Donnelly discusses his top "Must Start" […]


Braelon Allen - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Best Fantasy Football Playoff Schedules for Waiver Wire Streamers, Stashes (Weeks 15-17)

Planning too far in advance to align your fantasy football players for an optimal playoff performance comes with many pitfalls. Even from the initial publication of this article, one week ago, so much has already changed in terms of NFL defense versus position stats. Regardless, positioning yourself for good fortune in Weeks 15 through 17 […]


D/ST Strength of Schedule: Best Fantasy Football Defense Streamers and Matchups (Weeks 15-17)

It's officially fantasy football crunch time as we wrap up the fantasy regular season over the next two weeks. Those fortunate enough to make the playoffs must continue to grind out decisions, especially when it comes to team defenses. In the article below, I will present the strength of schedule (SOS) for the fantasy Defense/Special […]


Justin Herbert - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Booms and Busts - Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 15 Lineups Include Rico Dowdle, Khalil Shakir, Russell Wilson

Finally! The fantasy playoffs are here! If you’re reading this article, congratulations on making the dance. Now that you’re in, anything can happen and the previous 14 weeks don’t matter at all. Everything comes down to these final three weeks. Throughout the season, I’ve tried to be as transparent as I can be with my […]


Dillon Gabriel - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Dynasty Watch: Top College Fantasy Football Players Week 15 (2024)

The biggest stars usually shine brightest on the biggest stages. That would be conference championship week. The time before everything goes nuts with the transfer portal and opt-outs. There were only nine games last weekend. Which players showed out for the pro scouts? We will introduce you to these college players earlier than many of […]


Rico Dowdle - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Bold Predictions for Fantasy Football Week 15: Jameis Winston, Rico Dowdle, DJ Moore, Amari Cooper, Stone Smartt

Week 15 is here, and I’m back with another edition of fantasy football bold predictions. This week’s list of bold predictions will include Jameis Winston, Rico Dowdle, DJ Moore, Amari Cooper, and Stone Smartt. Every week, I will provide some fun and bold fantasy football predictions. While these bold predictions aren’t the most likely outcomes, […]