If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably noticed a series of tweets I share on a weekly basis regarding player and team defensive performances, all from a fantasy lens. I’m going to be sharing some of that same information with you here. I use this each week as I am making my own lineup and waiver wire decisions and thought you might find this valuable as well.

For many Americans, this is one of the best weeks of the year. Thanksgiving offers a good reason to spend time with friends and family, eat too much food and of course, watch football. For dynasty managers, though, this can be a stressful week. With three Thanksgiving Day games and another on Black Friday, there are tons of decisions to be made with a playoff spot on the line. Here’s a look at the three Thanksgiving games and what you can expect from a matchup standpoint.

Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions, 12:30 PM EST

The Lions are big favorites in their annual Turkey Day matchup but the Bears’ formidable defense could slow down the Detroit O. The Bears are one of just four teams in the league allowing less than 17 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. The Lions’ defense is also strong against signal callers, surrendering only two QB1 games all season. Both Jared Goff and Caleb Williams could be in for below-average performances.

Detroit’s defense has also flourished against running backs and tight ends. Only the Chiefs and Vikings have allowed fewer top-24 performances to running backs, which does not bode well for D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. Finally, the Lions are allowing a league-low 7.3 fantasy points per game to tight ends. Sit Cole Kmet this Thanksgiving.

Amon-Ra St. Brown never gets benched, but it is important to recognize that Chicago is tough against receivers. Last week, they focused on shutting down Justin Jefferson, which they did, while Jordan Addison went wild. The Bears have allowed just six top-24 performances to wideouts all season. Only Miami and the Giants have been better.

The one potential bright spot, based on matchups, comes with the Bears receivers. While Detroit has slowed all other fantasy-relevant positions, they have been hit hard by receivers. The Lions are allowing 37.5 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers, fifth-worst in the league. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen are all worth a starting spot this week.

New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 PM EST

This NFC East battle is sure to be ugly. With both traditional powers trending down and starting backup quarterbacks, it would be understandable to avoid this game altogether. Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy does stand out in this one as the Cowboys are giving up more than 25 fantasy points per game to opposing backfields and Tracy has fully taken over the backfield.

The Cowboys have also struggled against quarterbacks, as they’ve given up 24.5 fantasy points per game, third-worst in the league. That’s good news for Tommy DeVito, err, Drew Lock, but without seeing him in action with the Giants, it’s dangerous to use him in fantasy lineups with playoff spots on the line.

The Giants’ defense has been tough against enemy pass-catchers, allowing league-low five top-24 games to wideouts and just two TE1 games. This is more bad news for banged-up Cowboys CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson.

Miami Dolphins vs Green Bay Packers, 8:20 PM EST

The Packers should be in control on Thursday night, facing the Dolphins. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has already mentioned the narrative of the Dolphins struggling in cold-weather environments. The Dolphins have shut down passing games, allowing just a pair of QB1 games, third-best in the league and a league-low five top-24 receiver performances. Expect below-average fantasy scores for Jordan Love, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and the gang.

Note: The scoring system used is always PPR with four points for passing touchdowns and all stats and info are provided by Fantasy Data.

Quarterbacks

Week 12 QB1s

Season-Long QB1s

Most QB1 Games This Season

Most QB1 Games Allowed

The Jaguars have allowed nine QB1 performances, the most in the league, and now face off with Houston’s CJ Stroud. The second-year signal caller has been on a major cold streak, failing to notch a QB1 game since Week Four. The Jacksonville matchup is an ideal way to break out of a slump.

Three other teams have given up at least seven QB1 performances this season. They include the Ravens (vs. Jalen Hurts), Buccaneers (vs. Bryce Young), and Raiders (vs. Patrick Mahomes.) Finally, only two teams allow more fantasy points to quarterbacks than the Bengals, which means another big game for Steelers’ quarterback Russell Wilson.

Speaking of the Steelers, they have still not allowed a QB1 game, and this week it’s up to Joe Burrow to break that streak. The Bills (vs. Brock Purdy?), Lions (vs. Caleb Williams), Dolphins (vs. Love) and 49ers (vs. Josh Allen) have each given up two or fewer QB1 games. Other quarterbacks with difficult matchups include Lamar Jackson (vs. PHI), Jared Goff (vs. CHI), and Jameis Winston (vs. DEN.)Carolina continues to lead the league with 14 top-24 fantasy performances, so this is yet another week to fire up the Buccaneers backs, rookie Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. The pair split carries last week and in this matchup, could both perform as top-15 backs for the week. While we’re talking about the NFC South matchup, the Bucs have also struggled against opposing backfields. Once again, Chuba Hubbard is in for a big performance. Only Saquon Barkley has more RB1 games than Hubbard this season.

Thanks to some juicy matchups, there are many other running backs in good spots for Week Thirteen. Among them are Aaron Jones (vs. ARI), Joe Mixon (vs. JAX), Alvin Kamara (vs. LAR), Isiah Pacheco/Kareem Hunt (vs. LV), Christian McCaffrey (vs. BUF) and Rhamondre Stevenson (vs. IND.)

The Chiefs and Vikings have given up just four top-24 games to running backs all season. Who knows what to expect from the Raiders backfield, but I know I want to avoid it this week. Minnesota offers a tough matchup for veteran James Conner this week.

Other backs in tough spots this Thanksgiving week include Derrick Henry (vs. PHI), Saquon Barkley (vs. BAL) and Travis Etienne (vs. HOU.)

Running Backs

Week 12 RB1s

Season-Long RB1s

Most RB1 Games This Season

Most RB1/2 Games Allowed

The Panthers are back in action after their bye, “leading” the league with 13 top-24 fantasy performances allowed to running backs. Carolina faces off with the Chiefs this week. This should be great news for workhorse back Kareem Hunt, but the return of starter Isiah Pacheco is looming, and could even come this week. If Pacheco remains sidelined, Hunt is an obvious starter. Other teams giving up at least one top-24 fantasy performance per week include the Cardinals (vs. Kenneth Walker), Las Vegas (vs. Javonte Williams), and Tampa Bay (vs. Tracy.)

Surprising star Chuba Hubbard is back off bye but now faces off with the top run defense in the league. The Chiefs have only given up three top-24 performances to opposing backfields. The Vikings match up with the Bears and have also given up just a trio of top-24 games. Bad news for D’Andre Swift this week.

Other backs with difficult matchups this week include Kyren Williams (vs. PHI), Jonathan Taylor (vs. DET), Tony Pollard (vs. HOU,) and Derrick Henry (vs. LAC.)

Wide Receivers

Week 12 WR1s

Season-Long WR1s

Most WR1 Games This Season

Most WR1/2 Games Allowed

The Texans’ defense has separated themselves from the rest of the league and not in a good way. They’ve allowed 16 top-24 performances, three more than any other team in the league. While the Jaguars have been struggling lately and the status of quarterback Trevor Lawrence is in doubt, this matchup is at least a little good news for rookie Brian Thomas.

Other wideouts with strong Week Thirteen matchups include AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith (vs. BAL), Marvin Harrison, Jr. (vs. MIN), George Pickens (vs. CIN), Nico Collins and Tank Dell (vs. JAX), Xavier Legette (vs. TB) and Ladd McConkey (vs. ATL.)

The Giants and Dolphins are tied, allowing the fewest top-24 performances to receivers, but we’ve already discussed them as part of the Thanksgiving slate.

Other receivers in difficult matchups this week include Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (vs. PIT), Terry McLaurin (vs. TEN), DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (vs. NYJ), and Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman (vs. DEN.)

Tight Ends

Week 12 TE1s

Season-Long TE1s

Most TE1 Games This Season

Most TE1 Games Allowed

Four teams have allowed seven TE1 games on the season, making them teams to chase when setting lineups. They include the Ravens (vs. Dallas Goedert), Bengals (vs. Pat Freiermuth), Packers (vs. Jonnu Smith), and Commanders (vs. Chig Okonkwo.) Other tight ends with plus matchups this week are Cade Otton (vs. CAR), Travis Kelce (vs. LV), and Brock Bowers (vs. KC.)

The five teams to give up just two TE1 performances this year are the Cardinals (vs. TJ Hockenson), Falcons (vs. Will Dissly), Giants (vs. Jake Ferguson), 49ers (vs. Dalton Kincaid), and Titans (vs. Zach Ertz.) Other tight ends with matchups to shy away from include Mark Andrews (vs. PHI) and Even Engram (vs. HOU.)

Finally, here is the chart summarizing how teams have fared against each position. I’ve also included the schedule for this week for reference.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.

Latest posts by Ryan McDowell (see all)

• Monday Mocks: January 1QB Dynasty ADP - January 13, 2025
• Monday Mocks: Final 2024 Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft - January 6, 2025
• Dynasty Blueprint: 5 Takeaways From Week 17 - December 31, 2024