Dec 05, 2025
3 min read
See what it means for your next week from help or receiver protection or receiver protection
For each week of the 2025 NFL regular season, I'll use this space to highlight teams facing different funnel defenses and fantasy options that could benefit.
What is entertainment coverage?
A funnel defense, if you're wondering, is a defense that faces an abnormally high rate of pass attempts or rushes.I'll be taking a close look at how opponents play this defense in neutral game scripts -- when the game is still within a jam -- and how good or bad this rush-and-return defense has been lately.
Defining a vague defender is not a real science, and a broken game script can thwart our best-placed plans.It happens.Over the course of a few seasons, I have found it helpful to take a look at this matching tool through this mirror to see if there are any useful additions in the start-up process that we are constantly doseing ourselves throughout the week.
In more detail this analysis will improve.It happens all the time.We have in-depth data for week 13.
▶ Pass the final matchup
Saints vs. Bucs
Tyler and the Saints will pass rush this week, according to analysts.
I'm joking of course.With a terrible team, when the Saints' best plan was rushed. This is my way of telling you, Chivlo fan, that I can't be responsible for how you develop Saints players in Week 14. Please don't sue me.
The Bucs have faced a neutral 62% success rate this season;only the Broncos and Jaguars had a higher neutral success rate against them.The Bucs' opponents since Week 9 have a neutral 65% success rate, with six of the last seven teams Tampa has played well above their expected success rate.
The Saints in Week 8 against these Bucs were 17 percent above their expected success rate, when Spencer Rattler collapsed and Shough got his chance in the center of New Orleans.The Saints had 51 pass attempts in that game and eight non-QB rushes.They passed against the passing judge.Imagine that.
The Saints with Shough under center haven't been very pass-heavy.They had a 57 percent neutral pass percentage with Shoough as the starter, a middle-of-the-pack percentage from Week 9. That's poised to boost Tampa's defense, which demands the pass on all opponents.
Chris Olave, who has seen 44 percent of the team's air yards and 23 percent of the targets since Rashid Shaheed was shipped to Seattle, should obviously remain in all lineups this week.Devaughn Vele, fresh off a hyper-efficient eight-point outing against Miami, is a perfectly reasonable PPR option against the Bucs pass funnel.
Tampa turns people against them, allowing the NFL's best reception per game and rushing the fifth more than expected, and the pass is made in the slot.Juwan Johnson led the Saints with a 55 percent field goal percentage last week.In Week 12 against Atlanta, Johnson broke out of the game for 67.Since his return for the Saints, Johnson has presented himself as a sneaky play if you have a tight end to Week 14.
Dancing
Viking Emperors vs
Chris Rodriguez looks like the latest leader in Cefn Washington.It's nice to take a turn, and that's what managers are doing with their running back this season.Share is to care, things of that nature.
C-Rod, as the kids call him, has 26 of the team's 48 over the past two games.Against the Broncos in Week 13, he led the Washington backfield with 11 touchdowns, while Jeremy McNichols had six and Jacory Craskey-Merritt — relegated to RB3 duty — had four.Rodriguez remained behind McNichols as the primary pass rusher, however, McNichols connected on 15 of 25 pass routes to C-Rod against Denver.JCM ran a total of three.
I'm doing a lot of analysis on Rodriguez because this week the referees will take defenses that opponents run the ball too much, Minnesota is considered the best.Only four teams have seen the lowest number expected against them in 2025.
Please do not mistake this as a green light to act fully and completely against the protection of nature.C-Stick isn't guaranteed more than 15 touches in this one, and his career could be very bright if the Cubs get the playbook on their side early.In Week 13, the Vikings are earning the 11th highest EPA fee for Root.Teams avoid the pass and don't attack Minnesota on the ground.I think Washington might be next.
Of course, this ruins things for the play-caller pass catcher.I wrote in this week's Return Paper that Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz had strong performances against the Broncos, and the play-callers led the NFL in Week 13 with a whopping 499 total team flying yards.That’s more than double his team’s average air yards this season.If he runs a lot against the Vikings, that 499 yards through the air could equal 200 yards.That would be hugely counterproductive for McLaurin and the rest of Washington's pass catchers.
Bears vs. Packers
The Bears, as we already know, don't want to build him.As of Week 13, Ben Johnson's offense boasts a 52 percent pass rate, the fourth-lowest rate on the team.That rate has dropped to 48% since week 8. They will crash on the highway to run to work.
This week they face a green defense that invites the opposition to Giga-Ultra.Over the past six weeks, opponents passing the ball in neutral positions are 42 percent more likely to pass the ball.
Partly to avoid the fierce passing rush of the packers and partly because their rush protection is medium -sized, Green Bay opponents 13 percent joint below their expected pass rate since week 9, when teams began to turn hard towards the run against the packers.
Another first-game plan for Chicago is rushing D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangaghee once again.The Bears lead the NFL in rushing attempts through Week 9.Only the Chiefs have a higher passing percentage than in Week 9. Bears backs may not put together 40 rushing attempts like they did in Week 13 against the Eagles in windy conditions.That doesn't mean they can't prevent more than 30 combined carries from the odd game script.This makes Monangai immediately playable as a flexible in 12-team formats.
Rome Odunze, Colston Lovland, dj Moore and the rest of Chicago's pass catchers will have a hard quereak if the Bears in one of the Bears Vidouts in Week14. Green at a defense faced the fourth-few paces since Week 9.
Broncos vs. Raiders
The black and silver numbers that have been revealed in the past few weeks have been thrown at me like landmines.Starting in week 9, the Raiders have the sixth lowest percentage than expected and the last two opponents - the Browns and the distribution - the Browns run.Vegas Gas opponents are now running the ball at a 50 percent rate in neutral situations.
The move to the run would be new for the Broncos this year.Denver's neutral passer rating this season is 60 percent, sixth-highest in the NFL.Only four teams have a higher passer percentage than expected (PROE) than the Broncos' 13 percent PROE in their Week 13 win at Washington.
When the Broncos faced the Raiders in Week 3, they were 6.6 percent of their expected passing yards, a 10-7 win for Denver.Bo Nix finished with two touchdowns and 2.8 rushing yards.Perhaps the name of this terrible performance will affect Sean Pasha in Denver's second game against the Raiders.
Vegas is not a bad defense.They're allowing ten yards before contact, though they're missing the average that drives them to the top in the NFL.So it can be found.
Rj Harvey has been the Broncos' Leading Rusher for the past two seasons.Harvey took 24 of the team's 36 running backs.His route participation rate (29%) in those two games has troubled them somewhat.Not bad considering HACVEY was targeted for almost 30% of his passes in those two games.The past and often the fight against channel attackers.
