What to do with Texans, Lions D/ST in Week 12 fantasy football on Thanksgiving

The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans defenses have struggled for the most part this season and haven’t found much value for fantasy owners. Should they consider starting either one of them on Thanksgiving Day? Let’s take a closer look.

Fantasy Football Analysis: Texans D/ST, Lions D/ST

The Lions are a slightly worse defense in terms of points per game, allowing an average of 28.7 points in games this year, which is No. 29 among NFL teams. The Texans check in as the No. 23 scoring defense, giving up 27.2 points per game.

In their last outing, Houston allowed 20 points to the New England Patriots and surrendered 435 total yards. Detroit’s defense most recently allowed 20 points to the Carolina Panthers as well as 374 total yards.

Detroit and Houston are just about the same as a scoring offense. The Texans are ranked No. 22 with the Lions right behind at No. 23, as both are scoring an average of 22.7 points.

Offensively, Detroit was shut out on Sunday with key skill players out including wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola in addition to running back D’Andre Swift. In addition, Matthew Stafford played through a thumb injury. The Texans scored 27 points on the Patriots in their last time out with a total of 399 yards, 380 of which came from Deshaun Watson passing and rushing yards.

Start/Sit Recommendation

Detroit is not a defense worth starting going up against a Texans offense that has been on a roll recently, Houston could be an intriguing play especially with the injuries at the Lions skill positions. The Texans could jump into a starting fantasy defense depending on the availability of the Lions roster.