Fantasy Football Week 13 Streaming Defenses: 49ers, Chargers, and More

Thanksgiving week is an unofficial point on the NFL calendar when we can really take stock of where everyone sits and who will be involved in the playoff race. Plenty will still change over the next six weeks, but we have an idea of who is in position to compete for the postseason and who will be fighting for draft position.

In fantasy football, there are only a few weeks of regular season action remaining before the playoffs, so every roster move and lineup decision is growing in importance, down to your streamer picks as the most fungible positions.

Let's look at three D/ST units with good matchups in Week 12 who are widely available in fantasy leagues and can picked up and inserted into your lineup. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's fantasy assistant to link your teams and get advice on roster moves, lineup decisions, and more!

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders

The Chargers are coming off their bye, so their D/ST group has more fantasy availability than they usually would. The matchup here is phenomenal, making LA maybe the top defensive group this week.

The Raiders are tied with for the fewest points scored, just 165 (15 per game). Geno Smith is tied for league lead with 13 interceptions, and he has been sacked the second most, 41 times (behind just Cameron Ward at 45). There's not a more giving offense to target right now with fantasy defenses.

Los Angeles also has a strong defensive unit, particularly against the pass, where they allow the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt. They have been more vulnerable against the run, giving up the eighth-most yards per rush attempt, but the Chargers are a unit I don't want to mess with.

With Las Vegas looking about as inept as any team and giving up plays that create fantasy points, this is THE matchup of the week. Pick up the Chargers for this week, though their matchups aren't as good in the next few games (the Eagles and Chiefs are up next).

Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints

Miami looked like a bottom defense for much of the season, but they held their opponent to 13 or fewer points in three of four games prior to their Week 12 bye. They have some good defensive players, especially on the front line, but the Dolphins are also lacking in areas, primarily the secondary. I don't want to count on them often.

The matchup is in their favor in this one, as the Saints are tied with the Raiders for the fewest total points and points per game scored. In one of the most uninspiring quarterback competitions you can imagine, second-year player Spencer Rattler beat out rookie Tyler Shough, but after an expectedly bad start, the rookie was moved into the starting lineup in Week 9.

In the seven games in which Rattler played pretty much every snap, New Orleans averaged 17.9 points per game. In three contests with Shough starting, they are at 12.3 per game (they split the game in Week 8 and scored only three points against Tampa Bay, who can't stop anyone).

New Orleans probably has a lower offensive ceiling than any team in football. They also have a low floor and not much reason to hope for improvement with a lack of playmakers and maybe the worst offensive line in football. They are a team to target every chance you get.

While Miami isn't a great defense, they have a great outlook here. This is a D/ST group you won't keep on your roster long, but they can be a one-week fill-in against New Orleans.

San Francisco 49ers @ Cleveland Browns

I talk too often about the 49ers being decimated by injuries on defense, particularly losing top guys Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season. It's impossible to ignore when talking about this team, though, so it will continue to be a talking point the entire year.

The Niners are seriously lacking in impact plays. They rank last with just 12 sacks, and they are tied for the second-fewest interceptions (three). No matter what else a defense does, they are going to have a serious ceiling on their performance if they are doing both of those things at such a dismal level. San Francisco's defense seems middling at best right now (though they just held down the Panthers on Monday night).

The matchup here is great, as the Browns have scored the fourth-fewest points per game and regularly struggle to look even adequate. Some might think that Shedeur Sanders will lead them to above-average play, as Cleveland scored 24 points against the Raiders on Sunday, but Vegas is a dumpster fire all its own, and Sanders picked up most of his yards on a few plays, otherwise not doing much.

He's a fifth-round rookie who shouldn't be expected to succeed, and that makes Sanders and the Browns vulnerable to opposing fantasy defenses. I'll be looking to target this team until they show a reason that we shouldn't.

The 49ers aren't a good fantasy D, but this is a strong matchup, so they are OK streamers. It's best to expect decent play rather than a high ceiling, leaving them more as a low-level streaming option.