Week 14 is finally here and with it comes the final week of the regular season for most fantasy football leagues. For DFS purposes, we have another NFL DFS main slate on DraftKings and FanDuel. I’ve voiced my disdain for these slates ad nauseam so no need to make my feelings known once again.

 

 

 

This slate again delivers some moderate-to-high totals according to the sportsbooks, but we have some sizable spreads which give me some pause. There are definitely trap games on this slate, so we’ll do our best to avoid the chalk bombs.

Let’s take a look at the latest NFL DFS Week 14 D/ST Coach!

NFL DFS Week 14 D/ST Coach For FanDuel & DraftKings Fantasy

The Week 13 main slate wasn’t too bad all things considered. Especially if you went heavy on last week’s Play of the Week, the New York Jets who returned 16 fantasy points at the affordable price of $2,500 on DraftKings.

Ownership did come in higher than expected when the article was submitted but they paid off handsomely all the same. One call I was rather proud of was the Falcons D/ST against the Los Angeles Chargers.

They came in at under 1% ownership in tournaments and they returned 11 fantasy points on DraftKings despite Kirk Cousins’ best efforts to constantly give the ball back to the Chargers offense. Not a bad week overall and we look to ride that momentum into Week 14.

 

 

 

NFL Week 14 Defense/Special Teams

A 10-game slate once again leaves us a bit thin in terms of options we like. The Broncos, Colts, Commanders, Patriots, Texans, and Ravens all have the week off. Truthfully the only D/ST from that group that we’re probably missing might be the Denver Broncos because of their blitz rate.

But we may just have an easier slate to read than Week 13. Remember, the game totals were rather consolidated last week, and it made things somewhat difficult to identify the top plays based on implied totals. But we still hit with the Jets as the Play of the Week.

But they were a value play and this week’s Play of the Week might be harder to get to. But across all the pricing tiers we still have you covered with the NFL DFS Week 14 D/ST Coach!

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Top Tier Picks For Week 14

Philadelphia Eagles - DraftKings: $3,700 | FanDuel: $4,800

I won’t be living in the top tier like most weeks, but if I had the available salary, I’d be comfortable playing the Eagles defense. The Carolina Panthers offense has been playing better of late. They have a nice running back duo with Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Brooks, while Bryce Young has looked like a competent NFL quarterback ever since reclaiming the starting job.

This game could certainly be a trap, but I don’t anticipate Philly having a ton of exposure, largely due to the price tag. The Eagles are 13-point favorites at home and the Panthers have an implied team total of 16.5 points. And we have to remember that Philadelphia is a very difficult stadium to play in if you’re the road team.

The Eagles also have a secondary that seems to be playing better each week headlined by rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJeanDeJean even made this impressive tackle on Derrick Henry of all people in Week 13. The Panthers have been contending with some playoff teams of late but I’m expecting them to get quite the reality check from Philadelphia on Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings – DraftKings: $3,400 | FanDuel: $4,700

We know this defense blitzes plenty. I write them up almost any time they’re on the main slate. So we’re well aware of the blitz and pressure rates and how those can correlate to turnovers.

But this is a revenge game as Kirk Cousins comes to town. Cousins called Minnesota home the last handful of seasons so this team knows his tendencies. Not to mention, he’s playing some of the worst football of his career.

The Falcons were coming off their Bye in Week 13 and yet Cousins couldn’t resist himself. He threw four interceptions to a team playing on a short week and had to travel across the country to play in the early window. He now has six interceptions in his last three games and he’s also fumbled four times, but they were all recovered by the offense.

This game has a high total, and Cousins makes for an interesting option at quarterback given the controlled environment, but I won’t shy away from playing the Vikings D/ST (if I can afford them) while Cousins has the yips.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Mid-Tier Picks For Week 14

Miami Dolphins – DraftKings: $3,200 | FanDuel: $4,500

I prefer the Dolphins in season-long formats, but the mid-range is not a tier I’m in love with for Week 14. The Dolphins are at least at home and do have some traits that I like for this matchup.

The Dolphins have also been very difficult to run on of late. I don’t want to dwell on last week’s game mostly because Josh Jacobs is an elite running back, but they still held Green Bay to 114 rushing yards on Thanksgiving in the cold. And that was coming off four straight games of holding opposing offenses to under 100 rushing yards.

Aaron Rodgers isn’t playing good football for the New York Jets. He hasn’t even been able to throw for 250 yards since Week 7. His accuracy drops 6.2% on the road compared to at home and he has a TD:INT ratio of 8:6 away from Metlife Stadium.

He’s not much of a threat and the Dolphins can give Breece Hall and the run game fits. The game total is respectable at 45 points, but the Fins are 5.5-point favorites at home against the Jets who have basically given up on the season.

Tennessee Titans – DraftKings: $2,800 | FanDuel: $4,000

The Titans will be popular but not necessarily the chalk of the slate. They are home favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This game has the lowest total on the slate at 40 points and the Jags only have an 18.5-point implied team total.

I’m not a firm believer in this D/ST. We normally believe the Titans have a good run defense, but they got torched on the ground by Washington for 267 yards a week ago. It was actually the fourth time this year a team had run for 145+ yards against Tennessee.

But Mac Jones will get the start for Tennessee, and he looked pretty good in relief of Trevor Lawrence last week. But the Titans do have their own injuries on defense we should monitor by Sunday. DFS players tend to overlook NFL inactives on the defensive side so we should be proactive because there were plenty of names on the defensive side that popped up on their injury report heading into the weekend.

 

 

 

NFL Week 14 DFS D/ST Value Picks

Chicago Bears – DraftKings: $2,400 | FanDuel: $3,600

Quite simply, this is probably the D/ST I’m landing on the most simply because of the price tag. The injuries and issues with the San Francisco 49ers are just gravy to the potatoes.

The Bears are on the road and remember, teams just play different once there’s a mid-season coaching change. The Bears rarely make coaching changes in the middle of the season, but they fired Matt Eberflus on Black Friday and this team is well rested with a few extra days off.

The 49ers won’t have Christian McCaffrey, nor will they have Jordan Mason. If you’ve followed me in Discord the last couple weeks, you’ll know my biggest concern with the offense was the necessity of Trent Williams’ presence. Between injuries and some tragic personal matters over the last week, I don’t expect him to play, and the 49ers offense could once again struggle.

The Bears D/ST has returned exactly four fantasy points in four straight games. If that’s their floor, then I’ll take it at this price tag. But given the issues to the San Francisco offense, the Bears have multiple paths to returning 3X-4X value in this game.

 

 

 

NFL DFS D/ST Fades For Week 14

New Orleans Saints - DraftKings: $2,900 | FanDuel: $4,400

This may surprise people because of the matchup but I just don’t have much faith in the New Orleans Saints defense. At the end of the day we do need sacks and turnovers from D/ST’s to help offset any points/production they give up to the opposing offense. Last week against the Rams, the Saints allowed 21 points to L.A. but only had two sacks. So the return was exactly two fantasy points because of the sacks.

The Saints have just eight takeaways and 16 sacks in their last nine games. I know most will be tempted because of the matchup. The New York Giants are a joke and looked to be in shambles against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in Week 13. But also remember, it was a short week, and they were amidst a quarterback change.

Drew Lock will get the start on Sunday with some extra rest and it’s a home game for the G-Men. If the Saints were a better D/ST I’d be more comfortable paying this tag, but they haven’t shown me they can do enough to offset any points the Giants may put on the board.

A more popular fade for this Week 14 NFL DFS main slate is going to be the San Francisco 49ers. They are at home, but again, the Bears are coming to town. The offense has looked better since they fired Shane Waldron and teams play with some inspiration when there’s a head coaching change. Moreover, the 49ers also have their own share of injuries on defense that has me off them for this matchup.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 14 D/ST Play Of The Week

Pittsburgh Steelers – DraftKings: $3,500 | FanDuel: $5,000

Some may be surprised because this goes against conventional wisdom (for me, at least). I can’t say they’re the D/ST that I’ll land on the most. Remember, D/ST is the last piece of the puzzle and if you need the savings, you should just go with the Bears.

But the Steelers have such a high ceiling because of the matchup against Jameis Winston. Back in Week 12, on Thursday Night Football, Winston and the Browns got the better of the Steelers. But despite giving up 24 points in that game, the Steelers still forced three turnovers and a sack to return seven fantasy points.

The Steelers have recorded multiple takeaways in all but three games this year and they’re only allowing 15.8 points per game at home. There’s definitely variance here because Jameis can throw the ball 40+ times and dunk on any team. But he can also throw it 40+ times and be picked off for multiple pick sixes like we saw Monday night in Denver. 

And that’s the other point I wanted to make; this is a short week for Cleveland, and they’re once again on the road. So, if you can afford Pittsburgh, I think they have the highest ceiling on the slate but they’re not without risk.

 

 

 

NFL DFS Week 14 Defense/Special Teams Projections