Week 13 is here and while no team has the week off, because of the schedule featuring six “stand alone” games, we have a 10-game main slate Sunday afternoon. It’s another slate with minimal options and we see chalk obviously flock to certain areas.

On paper, this slate seems fairly straight forward, which I’m normally not fond of. As of Friday morning, no game on the main slate has an implied total under 42 points, but we’ll dig in and find some high upside plays to help us crush our NFL DFS cash games and tournaments. 

 

 

 

Let’s dig into the trenches with the NFL DFS Week 13 D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS Week 13 D/ST Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

The Week 12 main slate sure was a roller coaster. Around halftime of the 1:00pm ET games I was sitting pretty. The Texans were rolling and they finished with 19 fantasy points. Even the Washington Commanders were looking solid and were returning double-digit fantasy points for most of the game. 

But those two late D/ST touchdowns by the Dallas Cowboys completely swung the slate. Despite the defense of Washington not allowing those points, they still counted against us since Washington’s special teams failed to keep Dallas out of the end zone. 

That’s the way it goes with DFS sometimes. But if you referenced the NFL DFS D/ST Coach for Thanksgiving, you probably did very well if you went overweight on the Cowboys as a mid-tier play. 

 

 

 

NFL Week 13 Defense/Special Teams

A 10-game slate means fewer options across the board with just 20 teams available. We’ve seen these weeks before and we have another coming next week with six teams getting Week 14 off. But after Week 14 we have no more Bye weeks.

The one interesting aspect of this slate is every game has an implied team total between 42-50 points give or take. The line movements may shift over the course of the weekend and that could change by Sunday, but no team is favored by more than seven points. 

We have some toss-ups which I do like, and we can largely use pass rush data and matchup notes to our advantage when looking into the NFL DFS Week 13 D/ST Coach.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks For Week 13

Houston Texans - DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,000

Don’t get me wrong, if Trevor Lawrence gets the start, I’m interested in playing him in at least one of my 10 lineups on DraftKings. But overall, I like this spot for the Houston defense. The Jaguars have all but quit on the season, but their latest injury reports haven’t looked so terrible.

We should be more mindful of the Texans injury report and their inactives come Sunday. But if Will Anderson Jr. is active, then we jump on the Texans once again. They struck gold in Weeks 11 and 12 with a D/ST touchdown, but they’re also getting sacks and takeaways as well. Over their last seven games they have 27 sacks and 20(!) takeaways.

Are they prone to giving up points? Yes, but if they get some desired pieces back on defense then I’ll be more than happy to pay up for this group on either site. And remember, the Jaguars wide receiver room is a bit depleted at this point in the year. 

They have two primary targets in Brian Thomas and Evan Engram. You have to assume Derek Stingley likely shadows BTJ and that could neutralize some of the passing attack for the Jaguars.

Washington Commanders – DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $4,700

The Commanders definitely disappointed last week. They weren’t bad in terms of the defensive production. They only allowed 332 yards of offense to Dallas. But the D/ST itself was responsible for giving up 34 points. That’s mildly fluky when you consider that the Dallas Cowboys returned two kicks for touchdowns, including one on an onside kick to close out the game.

But we digress because I do like this spot once again for Washington. The Titans offensive line isn’t very good as they’ve surrendered 41 sacks in 11 games (third-most in the NFL entering Week 13). Washington has improved upon its blitz rate over the last few weeks, but they’ve still been bleeding points of late.

However, Marshon Lattimore finally returned to practice this week for the Commanders. With Washington in the midst of a mild losing streak, if they can get him back for this matchup that would be huge for this secondary. He’d likely be tasked with shadowing Calvin Ridley if the hamstring holds up and from there, we know Will Levis loves to give the ball to the other team.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Pick For Week 13

Indianapolis Colts – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,600

I like the Colts this week. Do I love the Colts this week? Not particularly. They’re really the only mid-tier D/ST on the main slate I’m entertaining. Per usual, my approach is to pay up or pay down, and more often than not I aim to pay down. This week there are some good values presenting themselves to us.

But the Colts do have the luxury of drawing the New England Patriots this week. Drake Maye looks like a promising player and should develop into a competent quarterback. However, he has eight turnovers in his last four games and this game has one of the lower totals on the slate at 42.5 points.

The offensive has also been fairly atrocious for New England as they’ve allowed 39 sacks through a dozen games, and as we’ve learned pressure leads to turnovers and that’s been pretty damn true with New England of late.

My only reservation is that I just don’t think this is a good ceiling game for the Colts. But for cash games they’re certainly playable as they offer a safe floor. But we can potentially find a couple D/ST’s to pay down for that offer upside.

 

 

 

NFL Week 13 DFS D/ST Value Picks

Atlanta Falcons – DraftKings: $2,700 | FanDuel: $3,100

I don’t normally highlight the Falcons for the D/ST coach. They’ve really only had one great week, and they needed two D/ST touchdowns to do so. Moreover, this is an ugly matchup as they host the Los Angeles Chargers. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t give some thought to them as the Play of the Week.

The Chargers will likely be without J.K. Dobbins, and I haven’t been all that impressed with what I’ve seen from Gus Edwards when he’s handled the ball. But the Chargers can get it done through the air and even Justin Herbert has been scrambling more with his legs.

But this week’s schedule has been brutal for the Chargers. Thanksgiving week is always a weird one for NFL teams. The Falcons are coming off their Bye week and they’re at home. So they’ve had the luxury of having time off, resting up, preparing for this matchup, and they didn’t have to travel across the country.

By comparison, the Chargers just played on Monday night. And you have to wonder just how many practices they got in this week. Tuesday was likely a walk through/film day. Wednesday may have been a light session and Thursday could’ve been another walk through since it was Thanksgiving. But overall, the NFL did not do the Chargers any favors with this scheduling, and they play in the early window on Sunday.

I’ll never play the Falcons in cash games because they have just 10 sacks and 10 turnovers in 11 games this year. But they have a rather significant rest advantage in this game as they host a team that just lost on Monday Night Football. I’d say I’m willing to take some stabs on them in tournaments.

Tennessee Titans – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $3,300

The Titans are probably as cheap as I want to go on either site. The Washington Commanders are a bit beat up at the running back position and the Titans are already pretty stout against the run. On the season they’re top 10 with just 106.7 rushing yards allowed per game and in their last three games they’ve allowed just 89 rushing yards per game.

Austin Ekeler is in concussion protocol and Brian Robinson has been limited all week after avoiding a season-ending ankle injury last week. Now Jayden Daniels could run more if the Commanders allow it. They’ve been weary of letting him run as a means of protecting his ribs. But their hand may be forced in this spot and he did rush for 74 yards last week against Dallas.

The Titans are one of the biggest underdogs on the slate. However, they’re affordable and won’t carry as much exposure as this week’s Fade of the Week and they have arguably the same floor as that D/ST.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Fade For Week 13

Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $2,600 | FanDuel: $3,800

The Eagles are a defense that’s trending in the right direction. The rookie additions on Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have paid off in short order, gradually getting better as the season has progressed. The Eagles are simply priced down because of the road matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

This game features the highest total on the main slate and the Eagles are three-point underdogs. And yes, the Ravens average nearly 30 points per game and Lamar Jackson is playing at a high level. Most times, I would look to play a good D/ST at a discounted price tag because a strong defense can give fits to the best offenses.

You can also make the argument to fade the Baltimore Ravens on the other side of the ball. I’ve been outspoken since Week 1 about the personnel and coaching turnover for this defense and the secondary just isn’t very good. 

Can they stop the run? Sure, but Philadelphia can beat them in a variety of ways and the sportsbooks expect both these teams to put up points. And let’s not forget, the Ravens are playing on a short week after having scored the win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 13 D/ST Play Of The Week

New York Jets – DraftKings: $2,500 | FanDuel: $3,700

This team is so hard to read. We don’t know which version of the Jets will show up. But here’s the good news. They are fresh off their Bye week and they’re affordable on both sites. The Seattle Seahawks have to come across the country to play in the early window and as of Friday morning the sportsbooks have the Jets as just one-point underdogs at home.

On paper, I like how this shapes up for the Jets. And I still believe in this secondary. The Jets have surrendered the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, including the second fewest to the perimeter, and sixth fewest to slot receivers.

Most of the injuries on the Jets latest injury report are on the offensive side of the ball and through two days of practice this week, Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf have not practiced. Seattle’s offense hasn’t been anything noteworthy of late despite back-to-back wins. 

The run game and pass protection have struggled since Connor Williams abruptly retired a couple weeks back so let’s pay down to the Jets and hopefully this is the slate-breaking D/ST we need to win big.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 13 Defense/Special Teams Projections