Unless most of the teams in your league carry a backup defense, more than half of the league should be available to you every week. Perhaps instead of playing one above average defense every week, regardless of matchup, we should instead target the widely available waiver wire defenses with the best matchups in any particular week? You can always make exceptions if your rent-a-defense gets hot - heck, you might find a team worth starting all year by accident. Even if you don't, good matchups will continue to get greater in number as more QBs get injured or yanked as the season goes on. You can steal some points from bad weather come December. Each week I'll list the startable fantasy defenses on most waiver wires and rank them.
Week 15 Results
New York Giants (vs Washington) - 7 sacks
No takeaways and a surprisingly good performance from Robert Griffin III kept this one from being better for the G-men, but seven sacks is acceptable.
A Look Ahead: @STL - Nothing to see here
Baltimore (vs Jacksonville) - 8 sacks, 1 INT,1 ST TD
A blocked punt touchdown got the day off to a great start for the Ravens, and then the Jaguars offense was its normal generous self.
A Look Ahead: @HOU - A tremendous Week 16 option with Case Keenum (?) Thad Lewis (?) starting for the Texans.
Indianapolis (vs Houston) - 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery
The Colts knocked out Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the game was close throughout and the Indianapolis defense couldn’t make many game-changing plays against rookie Tom Savage.
A Look Ahead: @DAL - The Cowboys offensive line has been too good all year. Pass.
Cleveland (vs Cincinnati) - 2 sacks, 1 INT
Welp, after harassing Andy Dalton into the worst game of his career, the Browns instead saw their QB have the worst game of his (young) career. The other side of this one was the way to go.
A Look Ahead: @CAR - The Browns have lost their mojo. Pass.
Carolina (vs Tampa Bay) - 3 sacks, 2 INT, 1 fumble recovery
Very solid showing from the resurgent Panthers defense against the ragtag Bucs offense.
A Look Ahead: CLE - If this week goes anything like last week for Johnny Manziel, you’ll want to have the Panthers in your lineup.
Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda
New Orleans (at Chicago) - 7 sacks, 3 INT
Yes, Jay Cutler is that bad now. If you were wondering, he plays Detroit this week.
Cincinnati (at Cleveland) - 3 sacks, 2 INT, shutout
The Bengals mocked Johnny Manziel while squashing the hopes of Browns fans and putting up points for fantasy teams that bet against the rookie in his first start.
Kansas City (vs Oakland) - 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 ST TD
Derek Carr rarely lets himself get sacked four times, but it was the DeAnthony Thomas punt return that made the week for anyone that trusted the Chiefs in the semis.
Dallas (at Philadelphia) - 4 sacks, 2 INT, 2 fumble recoveries
The unheralded Cowboys defense came through in a big way with their season basically on the line.
Week 16 Candidates
**Detroit, Seattle, New England, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and St. Louis should be played over any rent-a-defense**
Baltimore (at Houston)
This one is easy. The Texans are out of playoff contention now and they’re starting a street free agent at quarterback. The Ravens are in playoff contention and the soft underbelly of their defense - the secondary - won’t be threatened by a limited passing game.
Carolina (vs Cleveland)
Can Johnny Manziel and his team be that listless and terrible for a second straight week? They have nothing to play for, and the Panthers are still vying for a playoff spot. The ferocious front seven of the Panthers has found themselves after a rough start without Greg Hardy, and that could mean another nightmarish day for Cleveland.
Jacksonville (vs Tennessee)
This Thursday night special could make the game worth watching if you play the Jaguars. Their defense has been coming on, and they get Charlie Whitehurst with the worst starting set of skill players in the league right now.
New Orleans (vs Atlanta)
Why not? After losing four straight at the Superdome, the Saints pass rush is peaking at the right time, and the Falcons could be without Julio Jones again. The Superdome has lost its magic this year, but it could come back just in time to set up a playoff game in the Crescent City.