New Orleans Saints and 2 Other Must-Start Defenses in Week 16 Fantasy Football
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Whether your defense can win you the week or not, they can definitely lose you the week. Any bad defense that gets started could not only net you very few points, they can net you negative points. This is something that we do not need in the playoffs, and something we will help you avoid today. Defenses are not as simple as good or bad, the internal metrics matter, and I crunched them for you. These are three must-start defenses in Week 16 Fantasy Football.
New Orleans Saints (vs Jets)
This is not a team commonly listed as a must-start, but the perfect storm allows for it to happen this week. The Saints are 20th in Sacks and 18th in Takeaways. They are 11th in Total Defense and 6th in Passing Yards Allowed. They are not elite, but they have outperformed what many thought could be the worst defense in the NFL.
The Jets, on the other hand, are 29th in Total Offense and 27th in Points per Game. They very well may be going back to Brady Cook in Week 16, although we will be just fine with facing Tyrod Taylor. They Jets are 30th in Sacks Allowed and 25th in Giveaways. They have it even worse by playing this game in the Superdome, recently injected with energy via Tyler Shough.
Buffalo Bills (@ Browns)
Shedeur Sanders had a breakout game versus the Titans, but that was the battle of the toilet bowl (sorry guys). He faced the Bears last week and went 18-35 for 177 Yards and 3 Interceptions. That was his welcome to the league moment.
The Browns are 30th in Total Offense and 29th in Points per Game. It looks very much like Kevin Stefanski is on his way out and the vibes are likely quite low, making matters worse.
The Bills come to town, hungry for the AFC East. They look for a blowout, and they may get it. The Bills are 12th in Total Defense and 16th in Points Allowed. They are also 17th in Sacks and 9th in Takeaways. The Browns are 23rd in Sacks Allowed and 25th in Giveaways.
Philadelphia Eagles (@ Commanders)
The Eagles are definitely not playing to their ceiling, but their ceiling does still exist, and it is very high. The Eagles, at their best, are probably a Top-3 defense in the NFL. Right now, they are 23rd in Total Defense and 18th in Points Allowed.
The Eagles are, however, 11th in Sacks and Takeaways. They will face a Mariota-lead Commanders team that is 19th in Sacks Allowed and 25th in Giveaways. They are also 30th in Total Offense and 26th in Points per Game.
Momentum is fully favoring Philadelphia, and I will predict that we see perhaps their best defense effort of the season.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.