Run to Glory
This column frequently leans on pass defense in its analysis of fantasy linebackers. After all, NFL teams pass between half and two-thirds of the time. By December, the league's teams are largely sorted between contenders and also-rans. The latter group, as explained in Week 12, has one eye looking past the current season.
By Week 15, struggling teams' losses and injuries have mounted. They can be overmatched by teams gelling and building momentum for the playoffs. Lopsided victories generate heavy doses of the run game, fueling opposing linebacker tackle totals almost regardless of scheme.
Battering Rams
Last week, the Cardinals lost to the Rams, 45-17, falling to 3-10 on the season. The Cardinals played the game without their QB1, WR1, and top two RBs. Their defense opened the game in dime personnel but ultimately gave up 249 yards rushing as the game got away from them in the second half.
Veteran starting linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither gave way to Owen Pappoe. Arizona coaches are evaluating the third-year linebacker and former fifth-round pick as they approach draft season. Pappoe led his team with 10 combined tackles – 4 in run defense, 5 in pass defense, and 1 on special teams.
The Cardinals' offense, playing in negative game script beginning late in the second quarter, could muster merely 51 yards on 14 rushes. Jacoby Brissett dropped back to pass 47 times and took 3 sacks. Playing in all or parts of 10 games, Brissett has taken 29 sacks in 2025.
The Cardinals are seven-point underdogs in Week 15 versus the surging Texans. No one needs to be told to roll out pass rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Even though Houston has not been a good match-up for opposing linebackers throughout the season, Pappoe is worth a fantasy spot start given the likelihood of a lopsided game, as is Arizona LB1 Cody Simon.
A Tale of Two Cities
The motivated Texans are one game behind Jacksonville. The 9-4 Jaguars have been one of 2025's biggest stories. They were 4-13 last year, when opponents ran the ball against them an average of 30.1 times per game. No defense has faced fewer rushing attempts in 2025 than Jacksonville's (21.5 per game).
Bad teams often face more rushing attempts because their opponents deploy four-minute offenses to protect double-digit leads. The 5-8 Vikings have faced an average of 31.2 rushing attempts per game through 14 weeks. They faced just 23.0 per game last year, when they were 14-3.
The disparity shows up in their linebackers' stat sheets. Jacksonville's LB2, Devin Lloyd, ranks 117th in combined tackles with just 59 in 11 games.
Minnesota's LB1, Blake Cashman, is averaging 11.9 fantasy points per game this year, just as he did in 2024, making him a fringe fantasy LB1. In 2024, he recorded 4.5 sacks and broke up 8 passes. In 2025, his scoring is almost entirely from tackles (1 pass defensed, 1 turnover).
No one deployed dime personnel more often than the 2024 Vikings. In 2025, Minnesota LB2 Eric Wilson has played 88 percent of his defense's snaps. Playing from behind has pressed Wilson into service, and he has capitalized statistically. He's a fantasy LB2 at 9.9 fantasy points per game in 2025.
The Vikings will travel to Dallas, where they will be 7.5-point underdogs in Week 15. The Cowboys have been a great match-up for opposing linebackers this season, according to Footballguys' MyFBG Classic Customized Strength of Schedule tool. Wilson is a must-start, as is Cashman.
Big 'Dogs, Plus Match-Ups
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