Defenses to Attack Week 17 Fantasy Football Championship

It is the fantasy football championship, y’all! Congratulations to all who have made it here. In this year of craziness, my hats off to you, my friends. Speaking of craziness, I profoundly apologize for my absolutely incredibly bad take on the Cincinnati Bengals v Pittsburgh Steelers game.

Yikes! I’m sorry, and I promise never to take on AFC North divisional games, games where Mason Rudolph is the named starter with nothing to lose, games where Mike Tomlin has to prove not sitting George Pickens is the right choice, or, well, you get the point. Anyway, fantasy championship, huh? Way to go.

Let’s go on the attack, shall we?

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Defense to Attack with Quarterback

Here is the thing: there are teams that have clinched a playoff berth and teams that have nothing to play for. Yes, all these men are professionals. But they are also human.

So, what do we do?

Washington Commanders’ defense allows the most fantasy points to the quarterback position (24.4). They are also allowing 272.5 passing yards and 2.2 passing touchdowns per game.

Last week, the Commanders allowed New York Jets back-u quarterback Trevor Siemian 217 passing yards on 49 attempts and 27 completions. Siemian also had one passing touchdown and one interception.

This week, Washington hosts the San Francisco 49ers and Brock Purdy. Do you remember Purdy? When he was last seen, he attempted 32 passes, completing 18. He had 255 passing yards. He also had four interceptions. Purdy finished with 6.4 fantasy points.

But Purdy’s dismal outing was against the Baltimore Ravens defense. The Ravens’ defense is sixth in passing yards allowed, while Washington is 31^st. The Ravens also have 16 interceptions, while Washington has seven for the season (three less than the Ravens collected last week).

Before last week’s outing, Purdy was leading in the betting for Offensive Player of the Year. He had collected 25.7, 23.4, and 29.5 fantasy points per game.

Purdy’s Home v Away Splits

So, if Purdy’s 6.4 points last week didn’t bounce you last week. Attack the Washington Commanders’ defense with Purdy’s offense this week.

Defense to Attack with Running Back

D’Andre Swift v Arizona Cardinals

This Swift was a pleasant surprise last week, scoring 15.2 fantasy points against the New York Giants. He doubled his prior week’s output of fantasy points (7.5) on almost the same amount of rushing attempts (18-20).

The Eagles play the Arizona Cardinals this week and are a 10.5-point favorite. The Cardinals are averaging 22.7 fantasy points to the running back position. They have allowed running backs to average 123.4 fantasy points on the ground while giving up an average of 0.9 rushing touchdowns to the position.

Last week, Chicago Bears’ Khalil Herbert ran for 112 yards on 20 attempts and a touchdown against the Cardinals. The week prior, San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ran for 115 yards on 18 attempts with a rushing touchdown against them. (McCaffrey, of course, added two passing touchdowns).

The fear with Swift (especially in standard leagues) is that quarterback Jalen Hurts will vulture the rushing touchdowns. Valid. And last week, Swift wasn’t in the receiving game, finishing the game with zero targets.

All those worries were there last week, and Swift managed 15.2 fantasy points.

The Cardinals are a sieve for running backs, and Swift dominates the carries out of the backfield. After his 20 rushing attempts, the next man up was Kenneth Gainwell, who had six.

Attacking the Cardinals’ run defense at home, the 10.5-point favorite seems like the Wildest Dream (obligatory Taylor Swift reference) for fantasy managers.

Defenses to Attack with Wide Receiver

Chris Olave v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Here is the skinny: the Buccaneers lead the NFC South with an 8-7 record. The Saints are tied with the Atlanta Falcons (7-8) but sit behind the Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and the Las Vegas Raiders for a playoff berth.

The Saints must win their next two games and have a few teams lose to make the playoffs. No sweat, right @luvtractor3?

The Buccaneers are allowing 23.7 fantasy points to the receiving position. Last week, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Calvin Ridley had two receiving touchdowns and 90 yards against the Buccaneers defense.

Now the Saints go to Tampa in a must-win situation in a game with the Buccaneers favored by three points.

Per Bobby LaMarco’s most excellent slot versus wide statistical analysis, the Buccaneers allow 58% of the fantasy points to the receiving position to go wide. Interestingly, Olave gets 58% of his fantasy points when playing wide. Olave also has a 26.3% target share and 25.8% target rate and has 11 red zone targets with seven receptions.

He is second in deep targets (31), and last week, he led all Saints receivers with 13 targets, nine receptions, and 123 receiving yards. The only thing he did not do was get a touchdown. Still, in standard leagues, that was good enough for 13.3 points and 23.3 in PPR.

Desperation brings out the attack mode like no other.

Defenses to Attack with the Tight End

Gerald Everett v Denver Broncos

I am unsure what to make of the Denver Broncos or the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers get absolutely spanked in what was Brandon Staley’s farewell game. Then they return the next week and play competitively against the Buffalo Bills.

The Broncos made a furious fourth-quarter comeback against the New England Patriots last week only to lose the game because they couldn’t move the ball in a less than two-minute drill. The Broncos head coach refuses to shoulder responsibility and thinks he is coaching in the Drew Brees era with Brees still under center. It’s maddening to watch.

Here is what we do know: in the two games with Easton Stick under center, Everett has led the team in targets (8). Last week, it manifested itself with seven receptions and 42 yards. In Vegas, it was five receptions and 41 yards.

Meanwhile, in Week 15, Detroit Lions rookie Sam LaPorta took the Broncos for three touchdowns on five receptions and 56 yards. Last week against the Broncos, the Patriots were without their number-one tight end option, Hunter Henry. No matter; Mike Gesicki scored a touchdown on two targets, two receptions, and 15 yards.

Everett should be just fine in the Mile High City, attacking the Broncos defense.

Again, congratulations if you are playing for the elusive fantasy football championship, and good luck. Come to Razzball to soothe your troubled mind or just chat. Have a safe and Happy New Year!