Weak Defenses and Favorable Week 11 Matchups

Looking to exploit favorable fantasy matchups in Week 11? In this article, I list the worst rushing and passing defenses in the league through the first ten weeks of the season, their opponents, and who may benefit and produce great fantasy performances.

Worst Run Defenses

Rank	Team	Games	Yds. Allowed	Yds/game	Rush TDs
26	Atlanta Falcons	9	1173	130.3	8
27	Kansas City Chiefs	9	1272	141.3	9
28	St. Louis Rams	9	1281	142.3	13
29	Oakland Raiders	9	1400	155.6	14
30	Cleveland Browns	9	1498	166.4	13
31	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	1506	167.3	10
32	Buffalo Bills	9	1557	173.0	14

 
Matchups in Week 11

26 Atlanta Falcons @ N.Y. Giants (Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw*)
27 Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Rashard Mendenhall)
28 St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals (Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower)
29 Oakland Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Cedric Benson*, Bernard Scott)
30 Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions (Kevin Smith, Maurice Morris)
31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints (Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Mike Bell)
32 Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars (Maurice Jones-Drew)

* watch injury reports

Worst Pass Defenses

Rank	Team	Games	Yds. Allowed	Yds/game	Rush TDs
27	Miami Dolphins	9	2155	239.4	11
28	Atlanta Falcons	9	2166	240.7	13
29	San Francisco 49ers	9	2235	248.3	9
30	Arizona Cardinals	9	2281	253.4	15
31	Tennessee Titans	9	2434	270.4	23
32	Detroit Lions	9	2445	271.7	20

 
Matchups in Week 11

27 Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers (Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith, Muhsin Muhammed)
28 Atlanta Falcons @ N.Y. Giants (Eli Manning, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, Kevin Boss)
29 San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers (Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings)
30 Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams (Marc Bulger, Donnie Avery, Brandon Gibson)
31 Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans (Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter)
32 Detroit Lions vs. Cleveland Browns (Brady Quinn, Mohammed Mossaquoi)

Additional notes

Now that the byes are behind us, we don’t have to dig so deep for favorable matchups and can concentrate on the truly worst of NFL defenses.

The running back matchups are again where it’s at this week, with a number of RBs who should be licking their chops at their prospects this week, along with their fantasy owners. Chris Johnson put up some eye-popping statistics last week against the worst rushing defense in the NFL, and this week it could be Maurice Jones-Drew who gets to feast on the Bills. The game plan for New Orleans featured Reggie Bush last week, but I’m willing to bet that Pierre Thomas is the focus against an awful Tampa Bay rushing D. In possibly the least exciting NFL matchup of the year, the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions (aka the doormats of the NFL) at least offer a tasty running back matchup for Kevin Smith. If Cedric Benson is out, I expect Bernard Scott to excel in his first start against the Raiders. Rashard Mendenhall should bounce back after not being utilized against the Bengals, and both Giants running backs are rested and should exploit the Falcons at home.

Once again, while some of the the passing defense matchups might be favorable, it’s better not to try to take advantage of them. The Cleveland, St. Louis, and Carolina passing offenses have been more or less brutal and I wouldn’t have a lot of faith starting any of these QBs unless I absolutely have to; practically any warm body at QB is better than Brady Quinn, Marc Bulger and Jake Delhomme. Despite Tennessee’s defensive resurgence, I expect Houston to put up excellent fantasy numbers now that they are rested after their bye week. Despite getting beat up behind a dreadful offensive line, I think Aaron Rodgers and his WRs continue with the success they’ve been enjoying all season, and along with Houston are really the only passing attacks I trust this week.

 
<i>Jeff LaGrassa is a Steelers fan and a Cafe regular, and a proud new dad. In his free time (yeah right!) he enjoys disc golf, skiing, and playing the electric bass. You can catch him posting in the Cafe forums as</i> The Lung.
 

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