Fantasy Football Week 13 Sunday D/ST Start/Sit: Commanders, Buccaneers, Steelers, Ravens, 49ers

Welcome to the Week 13 fantasy football DST start/sit breakdown! With the holidays this week, I’ll skip the recap of last week’s picks (Here's the short version: They were pretty mediocre). Instead, let’s get right into the picks for this week! This article will only focus on teams playing in Sunday’s games, but no byes this week means there are still a solid number of options. Here we go!

For more help with your toughest Start/Sit decisions, check out FantasySP’s NFL Start/Sit tool!

Fantasy Football Defenses To Start Week 13

Washington Commanders vs. Tennessee Titans

I already featured the Commanders in my streaming defense breakdown (which has a few more options not mentioned in this article, by the way), but I’m giving them another mention because they are still available in nearly 50% of leagues despite a dream matchup.

And when I say dream matchup, I mean dream matchup. Will Levis is a defensive fantasy points machine. I always say that sacks are the most predictable source of DST scoring, and Levis is by far the league leader in sack rate at 14.7%. He has averaged exactly five sacks in his seven full games played. A five-point boost to start your day can go a long way to posting a solid fantasy outing.

If you’re still not convinced, what if I told you that Levis also ranks third-worst in EPA per play and above-average in turnover-worthy-play rate? Even the Commanders’ defense (which is bad, no matter what some of the early-season hype may have said) can take advantage of this matchup. Fire them up with confidence on Sunday. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young has played much better over the last few weeks. But the standard he set early in the season was so truly terrible that he can have played much better and still be a quarterback worth targeting. 

For the season, Young beats out only Deshaun Watson in terms of EPA per play at a terrible -0.136. In fact, the Panthers’ offense under Young has been so incredibly ineffective that they are a top-tier matchup for opposing defenses despite the fact that Young ranks above average in both sack rate and turnover-worthy-play rate. Normally, those stats are the most important for defensive scoring. But with the Panthers averaging just 17.6 points on 286 yards per game (even including those weird games where Andy Dalton had them looking competent), this is an excellent matchup. 

Of course, the Buccaneers’ defense isn’t very good. In fact, they’re actually very bad, ranking in the bottom 10 units in each of points per game, yards per game, EPA per play, and yards per play. But defensive scoring is all about matchup, matchup, matchup, and this matchup is about as good as it gets. The Bucs are a solid backend top-12 option for this week.

Fantasy Football Defenses To Sit Week 13

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals

I have no idea what over 50% of fantasy managers are thinking by starting the Steelers’ defense this week. Yes, Pittsburgh has one of the best defenses in the league. They allow the fourth-fewest points per game and the fifth-fewest EPA per play. But, like I say every week, defensive strength simply matters far less than matchup.

And this is a terrible matchup. After a slightly slow start to the season, Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ offense have been tearing faces off this season. If we even exclude just Week 1, they rank fifth in the league in EPA per play. Overall, they rank sixth in points per game and ninth in yards per game. With Tee Higgins healthy, they are even more dangerous. Especially on a week with no byes, there are 100% better options this week than just sticking with the Steelers in a bad matchup. 

Baltimore Ravens @ Philadelphia Eagles

If starting the Steelers is a bad call, starting the Ravens’ defense this week is simply inexplicable. At least Pittsburgh’s defense is good — Baltimore ranks well below average in points per game, yards per game, and EPA per play allowed. Their rush defense is solid, but their pass defense is arguably the worst in the league. 

Even if the Ravens’ defense were good, this would not be the week to put them in your lineup. The Eagles have been absolutely cooking of late. Saquon Barkley and their offensive line have formed an unstoppable duo, A.J. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and Jalen Hurts is getting it done with his arm and his legs. They rank sixth in EPA per play, third in yards per game, and seventh in points per game. If you’re one of the nearly 40% of managers still starting Baltimore’s defense this week, I beg you to reconsider.

San Francisco 49ers @ Buffalo Bills

Do I even have to explain this one? The 49ers are spiraling as a team, fresh off getting run over by the Packers for 38 points. They will almost certainly be without Nick Bosa, one of their best defensive players. For the season, they actually rank 13th in points per game allowed. 

And this week, they have to go on the road to face off against Josh Allen and the Bills. Buffalo ranks third in the league with over 29 points scored per game. Allen has the third-lowest sack rate among qualified QBs at a pristine 3.7%. He is slightly above average in terms of turnover-worthy plays, but he more than makes up for it with an EPA per play ranking second to only Lamar Jackson. There are essentially no good reasons to start the 49ers’ defense this week.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.