Weak Defenses and Favorable Week 14 Matchups

By Jeff LaGrassa

Looking to exploit favorable fantasy matchups in Week 14? In this article, I list the worst rushing and passing defenses in the league through the first thirteen weeks of the season, their opponents, and who may benefit and produce great fantasy performances.

Worst Run Defenses

Rank	Team	Yds. Allowed	Yds/game	Rush TDs
27	Kansas City Chiefs	1725	143.8	13
28	St. Louis Rams	1754	146.2	17
29	Cleveland Browns	1850	154.2	14
30	Oakland Raiders	1904	158.7	18
31	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1921	160.1	13
32	Buffalo Bills	2065	172.1	16

Matchups in Week 14

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills (Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch*)
St. Louis Rams @ Tennessee Titans (Chris Johnson, Lendale White)
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Rashard Mendenhall)
Oakland Raiders vs. Washington Redskins (Quinton Ganther, Rock Cartwright)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Jets (Thomas Jones, Shonn Greene)
Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs (Jamaal Charles)

* watch injury reports

Worst Pass Defenses

Rank	Team	Yds. Allowed	Yds/game	Pass TDs
25	Seattle Seahawks	2922	243.5	22
26	Cleveland Browns	2953	246.1	18
27	San Francisco 49ers	3007	250.6	13
28	Kansas City Chiefs	3010	250.8	21
29	Atlanta Falcons	3056	254.7	20
30	Arizona Cardinals	3094	257.8	18
31	Tennessee Titans	3204	267.0	26
32	Detroit Lions	3297	274.8	28

Matchups in Week 14
Seattle Seahawks @ Houston Texans (Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter)
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller, Mike Wallace, Hines Ward*)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals (Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills (Ryan Fitzpatrick, Terrell Owens, Lee Evans)
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints (Start the entire team, including the water boy)
Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers (Alex Smith, Vernon Davis)
Tennessee Titans vs. St. Louis Rams (Don’t even think about it)
Detroit Lions @ Baltimore Ravens (Joe Flacco, Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Todd Heap)

Additional notes
Week 14 is typically the first week of playoffs in most fantasy football leagues, or the last week of the regular season. As such, it’s especially critical to look at favorable matchups for your fantasy players to increase your chances in getting that all-important win. At the same time, it is crucial to not bench stud players and opt for a marginal player with a favorable matchup. At this stage in the game, one bad performance can be the end of your fantasy season, and you’d rather go down with the horses which got you there.

When it comes to matchups in the run game, there are several stud players who should continue their excellent seasons. Chris Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall, and Thomas Jones are three must-start players; you probably weren’t benching them for any reason anyway. Jamaal Charles has been superb since taking over for Larry Johnson and gets the benefit of the league-worst Buffalo Bills run defense this week. On the flip side, you’d have to be a very desperate owner or have some serious injury troubles if you’re consider starting players like LenDale White and Shonn Greene, favorable matchup and all.

The Houston passing game rests on the arms and shoulders of Matt Schaub, and if he is unable to suit up this week, all bets are off with Rex GROSSman. Kurt Warner and his receivers should continue their resurgence since Warner returned from his concussion with a favorable matchup against the 49ers, and every Saint on your roster should be started against the Falcons. On the contrary, without Hines Ward and with possibly poor weather in store, I am not as enthused about the Steelers passing attack against Cleveland on Thursday night. And the Ravens offense looked positively woeful last Monday, which doesn’t instill a lot of confidence against what is statistically the weakest pass defense in the league but who held Carson Palmer and company mostly in check last week. Other than Steven Jackson, I wouldn’t start a single Ram, and Vernon Davis is the only 49er I’d want in my lineup in this crucial week. Good luck to all!

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 The Lung.